These results contrast with those of larger firms in the same sector. Vizzavi, the portal joint adventure between Vodafone and Vivendi, has yet to prove its path to profitability. Figures from Genie, which is part of MMO2, the mobile services company offering consumer and corporate communications solutions in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland, showed that it had made a six month loss of £65m on revenues of only £39m.
Sms.at is owned by German wireless company UCP. Its chief executive, Chriatian Lutz, said that the portal’s good fortune has been the result of the introduction of paid services, including one that allows users to process and send photographs on-line and over mobiles.