Helio Continues to Lose Money, Investors Will Increase Capital Contribution
4/26/07 – As part of EarthLink’s earnings announcement this morning, the company announced that Los Angeles-based mobile startup Helio—a joint investment of EarthLink and South Korea’s SK Telecom—continues to lose a significant amount of money. But in a sign of confidence in the company’s long-term viability, both EarthLink and SK Telecom announced they would continue to invest in the company.
Helio’s net loss was $63.1 million over the first three months of the year, on revenue of $30.4 million. EarthLink said it expects Helio’s net loss for the year to be between $330 and $360 million.
On a more positive note, EarthLink said it expects Helio to be profitable by 2009. In addition, it expects the company to hit 200,000-250,000 customers by the end of the year, with average revenue per user at $90-$100.
EarthLink also said it will invest another $50-$100 million dollars in Helio over the remainder of the year. SK Telecom this morning also announced it would invest further in the joint venture, but did not specify how much.
A mobile virtual network provider (MVNO), Helio competes with major mobile phone operators like AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless by offering specialized devices and premium data services like video, music and social networking.
Helio - www.helio.com
Comments
thank you sk telecom and earthlink!
Posted by: akelley | April 27, 2007 06:23 AM