Results reflect economic pressures and impact of special taxes; new corporate structure in place; further expansion into Information Technology with acquisition of Combis
30.4.2010
T-Hrvatski Telekom, Croatia’s leading telecommunications provider, announces unaudited results for the three months to 31 March 2010.
Group Highlights
- T-HT maintained leading market position in all business segments
- Revenue down 6% to HRK 1,943 million (EUR 267 million) as competition intensifies and recession and special taxes impact mobile business
- EBITDA down 13.8% to HRK 819 million (EUR 113 million)
- Net profit decreased by 34.2% to HRK 384 million (EUR 53 million) reflecting significantly lower financial income
- Operating cash flow improved to HRK 542 million (EUR 74 million)
- New Residential and Business divisional structure implemented
- Acquisition of Combis expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approval; significantly expands information technology offering
- General Assembly approved dividend of HRK 34.05 per share
T-Mobile
- Subscribers up 0.6% to nearly 2.8 million
- Post paid subscribers up 11.9% to 943,714; contribute 58.9% of T-Mobile revenue
- Revenue down 12.9% to HRK 863 million (EUR 119 million), hit by recession and special taxes
T-Com
- Internet growth continues; revenue up 20.6% to HRK 328 million (EUR 45 million), ADSL mainlines up 16.3% to 573,319
- IPTV subscribers up 66.1% to 250,805
Ivica Mudrinić, President of the Management Board and CEO, said:
“The first quarter of 2010 has been challenging and it is clear that the recession and new Government taxes are having an impact on our business, especially in mobile. However, the merger of T-Mobile has been completed successfully and the Group is positioned well for when the economy recovers.
With the acquisition of the IT services company Combis, we are diversifying the business and, subject to regulatory approval, intend to offer a highly competitive package of IT and communications services right across Croatia’s business sectors.
“The recession has affected Croatia severely and we are keen to contribute to the recovery by resuming the substantial investment we had planned for fiber-optic access networks that will benefit the entire economy. We are optimistic that the regulatory issues that led to the suspension of this modernisation program will be resolved in a way that allows T-HT to make a fair return on significant investments that no other operator is in a position to make.
“Furthermore, in the face of such a deep and prolonged recession, we remain hopeful that the authorities will recognise the potential damage that the mandatory registration of pre-paid customers could inflict on our already-fragile economy.”