Why do some apps require access to a wide range of permissions.

Perhaps someone might like to explain why different apps require access to a range of information on your phone.

For example, I looked at one app and the following was listed as the app having access to.
Edit SMS and read SMS, aces location, directly call phone numbers, send SMS messages, read contact data, view network state.

I think most of us tend to skim over the permissions and just download the app. Are some of these an unnecessary intrusion?