Hrvatski Telekom: stable revenue, increased net profit
Hrvatski Telekom (Reuters: HT.ZA; Bloomberg: HTRA CZ), Croatia's leading telecommunications provider, announces its audited results for the nine months ended 30 September 2016.
Hrvatski Telekom business in the first nine months of the current year was marked by stable revenue and increased net profit and capital expenditures.
Revenue was generated in the amount of HRK 5.184 billion, which is a 0.1% decline compared to the same period in 2015, when revenue amounting to HRK 5.190 billion was recorded.
3Q 2016 recorded a 0.6% growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA before exceptional items) compared to the same period last year. EBITDA amounts to HRK 2.112 billion with a 40.7% EBITDA margin.
Net profit amounts to HRK 752 million, which is 2.9% above the nine months in 2015.
Investment in innovative services and infrastructure
In comparison to the same period last year, capital expenditures increased by 8.3%, to HRK 977 million, with a focus on increase of the broadband Internet access capacity and customer experience improvement.
In the fixed network, fibre optic access was enabled for 257 thousand households, which is about 30,000 households more than at the end of Q2.
Until the end of September 2016, access speeds were increased by two to five times, free of charge, for almost 50% of broadband Internet users.
For 51% of 4G network users, access bitrates up to 225 Mbps were enabled, which is a 20 p.p. increase compared to the end of 2015. 4G mobile network indoor coverage increased to 67.7 % of the population, as compared to 65% at the beginning of 2016.
The new, unique concept of service offering on the Croatian telecommunications market – Magenta 1, launched in H1 2016, was accepted by more than 32,000 households by the end of Q3, which shows that with this innovation HT has recognised their needs.
Commenting on the results of Q3 2016, Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom, said: “In the third quarter again, we delivered good financial results. We are recording growth in the number of customers as well as growth in the segment of mobile operations, broadband, TV and energy. We continued to invest in network infrastructure and innovative services, thus further strengthening our position of a technological leader on the Croatian market. We are focused on further improvement of the customer experience. In the third quarter, we also presented HT’s Economic Atlas, a study of social and economic contribution conducted by the Zagreb Economic Institute. The study showed that, during the last five years, HT has been the largest private investor in Croatia, that it has provided 3 percent of the Croatian GDP and generated more than 27 thousand jobs in Croatia. HT is the leading Croatian company in terms of its positive impact on the wider business and social environment, whose business activities have brought about the largest newly generated value to the Croatian economy.”