OTE notes that Romania’s economic situation shows no sign of improvement, exacerbating competition.
Romtelecom’s revenue and EBITDA decline in the third quarter “partly reflects a change in revenue-recognition policies related to accrued revenues reversal as well as a switch in commercial policy,” Romtelecom chief financial officer Anastasios Tzoulas said in a press release.
The decline registered in the third quarter mainly reflected a 17% decrease in hard-line telephony services, due to line losses and lower average revenue per user (ARPU), according to OTE.
Romtelecom’s EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) improved to a loss of EUR3 million in July-September, compared to a EUR13.9 million negative result in the same interval a year ago.
The company’s EBITDA margin increased to 23% from 21.5%.
The number of voice service customers dropped 4.5% to 2.527 million, from 2.646 million on September 30, 2010. The decline on the voice service segment was offset by an increase in the number of subscribers on the broadband Internet and television segments.
The number of Romtelecom clients on the Internet segment climbed 16.8% to 1.107 million on September 30, 2011 from 947,379 million on September 30, 2010. On the television service segment, the company’s number of clients in the before mentioned timeframe climbed 20.4% to 1.208 million from 1.003 million.
The number of subscriptions for services offered by Romtelecom (telephony, internet and TV) increased 5.3% to 4.9 million.
The company’s operating expenses dropped 11% in the third quarter of 2011.
Romtelecom’s revenues fell 9.9% in the first nine months of the year to EUR492.5 million, and its EBITDA dropped 28.1% to EUR88.3 million. EBITDA margin decreased to 17.9% from 22.5%. The company’s EBIT loss dropped 39.2% to EUR31.7 million from EUR52.1 million, said OTE.