Telkom Q4 net profit rises 24 pct

* Q4 net profit at 2.6 trln rph vs 2.1 trln rph yr ago

* FY 2010 net profit up 1.2 percent to 11.53 trln rph

Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) , Indonesia's biggest telecommunications firm, reported fourth quarter net profit rose 24 percent as its data and internet businesses boosted revenue to make up for low growth in mobile subscriptions. 

Telkom's mobile unit Telkomsel, 35 percent owned by SingTel , expects mobile subscriber growth at up to 13 percent in 2011, after subscriber revenue only grew 2 percent in 2010.

The firm's fourth quarter 2010 net profit was 2.6 trillion rupiah ($298 million), compared with 2.1 trillion rupiah in the same period a year earlier, Reuters calculations showed based on published full-year and nine month results. 

State-controlled Telkom reported full year 2010 net profit of 11.53 trillion rupiah. That compared with a net profit of 11.4 trillion rupiah a year before, and analysts' forecasts for 2010 of 11.58 trillion rupiah, according to Thomson Reuters' Starmine SmartEstimate. 

Telkom, which has set aside 2 trillion rupiah for a share buyback programme, saw 2010 revenue up 1.4 percent to 68.63 trillion rupiah. 

Telkom has said it is re-evaluating a fixed-wireless deal with PT Bakrie Telecom worth nearly $1 billion as it wants a majority stake. Bakrie Telecom's parent Bakrie & Bros told Reuters this week it was frustated with the slow pace of the deal and could speak to other suitors. 

Telkom is still in talks to acquire a majority stake in Cambodia's largest mobile operator CamGSM in a deal that could be worth more than $500 million, though the firm said last year it expected the deal to be completed by the first quarter. 

The planned deal would be Telkom's first major purchase overseas, and would signal further consolidation as fast-growing Southeast Asian mobile markets mature. 

The firm's shares rose 0.7 percent by 0337 GMT on Thursday after the result, but have fallen 8.8 percent this year to underperform the Jakarta index's 1.7 percent drop. ($1 = 8719 Rupiah). Source: Reuters