Colt Telecom Group Plc, the London and Nasdaq listed digital fiber optic telecommunications provider, is continuing to spend millions of pounds on its infrastructure while adding commercial customers by the dozen. But losses and negative cash flows are set to increase in the short term the company said. Results for the quarter ended March 31 show net losses of 6.7m pounds up substantially from losses last time of 2.9m pounds but revenues rose by 206% to 15.0m pounds. Net cash outflow for the quarter, before issue of shares and repayment of debt, was 11.8m pounds while cash income generated from operating activities was just 158,000 pounds. The huge outflow of cash is down to 14m pounds of investment in Colt’s fiber optic networks. Colt is currently building networks in Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg in Germany, but only the Frankfurt network is operational, generating revenues of 0.5m pounds in the quarter. Construction is also underway in Paris, with a scheduled launch date of June this year. The majority of existing income is from Colt’s established network in London where revenues increased by 19% from the fourth quarter of 1996. The increased net losses for the period were primarily due to the commencement of interest payments on Colt’s substantial long term debts.
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