26.4.2018
Hrvatski Telekom – growth of EBITDA, investments, and net profit in the first quarter
Hrvatski Telekom, Croatia’s leading telecommunications provider, announces its unaudited consolidated results for the three months ended 31 March 2018.
In Q1, Hrvatski Telekom saw the growth of key financial indicators: EBITDA, net profit, and investments.
In Q1 2018, EBITDA before exceptional items increased by HRK 11 million, or 1.6%, to HRK 684 million compared to the same period last year. The EBITDA margin is at 38.1%, which is an increase by 1 percentage point. Crnogorski Telekom also contributed to the profitability growth by realising EBITDA in the amount of HRK 50 million, a HRK 5 million increase compared to EBITDA realised in Q1 2017. Excluding Crnogorski Telekom's contribution, HT Group's EBITDA in Croatia increased by 0.9% compared to the same period last year, amounting to HRK 634 million, along with an EBITDA margin at 38.3 %.
Compared to Q1 2017, net profit increased by HRK 18 million, or 11.8%, to HRK 166 million. The contribution by Crnogorski Telekom shows net profit realisation increased by HRK 3 million compared to Q1 2017. Excepting the contribution by Crnogorski Telekom, the net profit realised by HT Group in Croatia amounts to HRK 160 million, a 10.1% increase compared to the same period last year.
Total consolidated revenue generated in the first three months of 2018 amount to HRK 1,798 million, which is a 1.1% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Continued investment in infrastructure, advanced technology, and innovative services
CAPEX realisation increased by 21.0% compared to Q1 2017, amounting to HRK 442 million, including the contribution by Crnogorski Telekom. Without this effect, HT Group’s CAPEX in Croatia increased by 13.8 % and amount to HRK 392 million.
The next generation access network (NGA) covers 58.1% of households, while optical access coverage is available to 380 thousand households.
In the mobile network, investments provided 4G mobile network indoor coverage at a level of 76.2% of the population, while outdoor coverage reached 98.3%. HT continued with the implementation of the high speed 4G network providing 350 Mbit/s in download.
Q1 2018 saw the start of the large investment programme related to additional modernisation of the mobile network aimed at increase of capacity for higher data traffic and improvement of the customer experience, including even faster Internet access and creation of the foundations for implementation of 5G technology.
In March 2018, a commercial offering of the fastest internet in Croatia was launched, providing symmetrical downlink and uplink speeds of 1 Gbit/s. This is a new technology concept, the so-called TeraStream, where the customer is provided with a dedicated fibre optical line. A TV service featuring content in 4K resolution was also enabled. Currently, the service is available to residential customers, covering about 20,000 households in parts of Zagreb, Split, and Karlovac.
The unique concept of service offering on the telecommunications market – Magenta 1, which marked its second anniversary – has been accepted by more than 134 thousand households, and this figure is continuously rising.
The TV customer base increased by 1.7 %, confirming that Hrvatski Telekom recognises the needs of its customers who, after a TV platform swap, were given the possibility to experience viewing of the TV of the future.
In 2018, focus on growth, new digital experience, and expansion of operations
Commenting on the business results of the first quarter of 2018, Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom, said:
“In the first quarter of 2018, Hrvatski Telekom continued to increase key financial indicators. We saw an increase of EBITDA, net profit, and CAPEX, and we will continue on this path. The focus is on investments in infrastructure, as this way, we are creating the foundations for implementation of 5G technology. In March, we were among the first operators in Europe to launch the commercial offering of Internet access based on the advanced TeraStream technology concept providing speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s. The first quarter of 2018 was also marked by the second birthday of Magenta 1, a unique service on the market that integrates the benefits of Internet, mobile, and TV content offer, and I am extremely proud that the customers have recognised all benefits of this offering, and that the number of customers is continuously rising. Our focus is on further growth and maintaining of our technological superiority due to the best network, the best TV content offer, and the advanced and innovative services we are offering, which is a prerequisite for the best customer experience and a premium position on the market.”