International mobile services provider Opera Telecom Ireland has reported record profits and revenues for its financial year ended 30 May 2004. Profits doubled to €414,000 and turnover was up by 33pc to €5.6m.
Shane Leahy, managing director of Opera Telecom Ireland, attributed the company’s strong year to the company’s ongoing technological development in the SMS market and significant contract wins with some major media organisations in Ireland.
“Towards the end of the financial year we became an official network operator in Ireland,” Leahy said. “This, combined with our continued investment in delivery, billing and campaign management infrastructure, gives us an unbeatable market proposition – one that we look forward to leveraging over the coming year as we increase our focus on the broadcast industry, pioneering the development of interactive TV formats and mobile video streaming applications.”
Opera Telecom operates a zero-cost-of-entry, revenue-share model with its clients. The company develops and manages SMS marketing campaigns on behalf of its customers without them having to incur any setup charges. Opera provides the infrastructure set-up and SMS campaign management, which allows companies to generate revenue quickly from their SMS marketing campaigns using unbranded content such as competitions, quizzes, games, news and information services, presented as their own.
Looking ahead, Opera Telecom Ireland plans to grow its business with the continual recruitment of experienced staff. In a statement, the company’s parent Opera Telecom Group said it would be considering potential acquisitions on an international scale. Total group revenues came to €136.4m for the year ended May 2004.
By Gordon Smith