Hutchison says it has nearly 12 million 3G customers

Hutchison Whampoa now serves almost 12 million 3G mobile phone customers worldwide, over half of them in Italy, it said Thursday.

The number of 3G users the company serves worldwide grew by nearly 66 percent last year to just over 11 million, it said. As of Thursday, that figure has grown further to 11.9 million, the company said in a statement.

The growth in 3G customers is important globally because the much-hyped service has been slow to catch on overall. More customers are needed to justify building out new services for 3G users, but many users are reluctant to switch over to 3G from current services because there appears to be little reason to do so -- most people use their handsets for voice calls and short messages.

Hutchison Whampoa is based in Hong Kong and also runs extensive port and service operations, and owns properties, hotels, and other businesses including retail and investments, Its 3 Group has been a leader in collecting data from its global operations, which include subscribers in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Sweden, and the U.K.

Italy topped all other countries for the group with over 6 million 3G subscribers, followed by the U.K. and Ireland with 3.6 million, Hutchison said.

Total revenue for the 3 Group more than doubled to HK$37.5 billion (US$4.84 billion), though the group posted a loss for the year due to fierce competition in Europe and the high cost of attracting new mobile phone users.

Hutchison Telecommunications International, a stock market listed company associated to Hutchison Whampoa, had a total of 16.9 million mobile phone subscribers at the end of last year, up 39 percent from the previous year. The company's operations are expanding rapidly in India, the statement says, and it is building networks in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Overall, Hutchison Whampoa reported revenue from all its operations reached HK$241.9 billion (US$31.2 billion in 2005, up by a third compared to HK$181.8 billion (US$23.4 billion) the previous year. Its net profit rose 11 percent to HK$14.3 billion (US$1.85 billion)