Telekom Austria Group: Q1 08 Driven by Consolidation of MDC and Strong International Contribution
14 Mai 2008 - 7:05AM
PR Newswire (US)
VIENNA, Austria, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- - Both segments
contribute to revenue growth of 9.9% to EUR 1,259.6 million -
EBITDA grows by 4.7% to EUR 498.6 million driven by strong mobile
operations and consolidation of MDC - Mobile communication
subscriber base rises by 50.2% to 15.9 million customers - Fixed
Net access line loss halved to 32,400, broadband net adds increase
by 138.9% - Fixed Net broadband lines increase by 13.3% to 817,600
- Outlook for full year 2008 reiterated - Proposal of at least
stable dividend per share of 75 cents planned for 2008 Telekom
Austria Group (VSE: TKA, OTC US: TKAGY) today announced its results
for the first quarter 2008 ending March 31, 2008. Revenues
increased by 9.9% to EUR 1,259.6 million in 1Q 08 compared to 1Q 07
driven by the consolidation of MDC and eTel as well as by the
strong performance of international operations. EBITDA grew by 4.7%
to EUR 498.6 million mainly due to the consolidation of MDC and
higher contributions from the established mobile communication
operations. Operating income increased by 1.5% to EUR 215.2 million
despite higher depreciation and amortization expenses due to the
contribution of acquisitions and start-up operations. Net income
decreased by 11.9% to EUR 129.7 million during 1Q 08 mainly due to
higher interest expenses following the acquisition of MDC. Earnings
per share decreased by 8.4% to EUR 0.29 as a lower average number
of outstanding shares as a consequence of treasury shares acquired
in 2007 partly compensated for lower net income. Capital
expenditures for tangible and intangible assets decreased by 4.6%
to EUR 159.6 in 1Q 08 due to lower intangible capital expenditures
in Mobile Communication. The acquisition of a licence for the
Republic of Macedonia for EUR 10.0 million was included in 1Q 07
which more than offset the increase in intangible capital
expenditures in Fixed Net. Tangible capital expenditures remained
stable. In line with the focus on deleveraging net debt decreased
by 3.8% to EUR 4,237.8 million at the end of March 2008 compared to
the end of December 2007. Therefore, net debt to EBITDA (last 12
months) decreased from 2.4x to 2.3x. For more detailed information
about the first quarter 2008 please refer to the corresponding
report on Telekom Austria Group's website at
http://www.telekomaustria.com/interim_reports Contacts: Elisabeth
Mattes Group Spokeswoman Phone: +43-664-331-2730 E-Mail: Peter
Zydek Head of Investor Relations Phone: +43(0)59059-1-19000 E-Mail:
DATASOURCE: Telekom Austria Group CONTACT: Contacts: Elisabeth
Mattes, Group Spokeswoman, Phone: +43-664-331-2730, E-Mail: ; Peter
Zydek, Head of Investor Relations, Phone: +43(0)59059-1-19000,
E-Mail:
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