Hrvatski Telekom records excellent financial performance for the first nine months 2018, including profit increase by 18.6 per cent.
Hrvatski Telekom (Reuters: HT.ZA; Bloomberg: HTRA CZ), Croatia’s leading telecommunications provider, announces its unaudited consolidated results for the first nine months of 2018 ended 30 September 2018.
The first nine months of 2018 were marked by an increase in all key financial indicators of Hrvatski Telekom.
The total consolidated revenue generated in 3Q 2018 is by HRK 2 million higher compared to the same period in 2017 and amounts to HRK 5,787 million.
Compared to the same period last year, EBITDA before exceptional items for the first nine months of 2018 has increased by 3.5% to HRK 2,427 million, with an EBITDA margin of 41.9%. Profitability increase has also been supported by Crnogorski Telekom, which has generated an EBITDA of HRK 177 million, which is an increase of 5.2% compared to the EBITDA CT generated in the same period in 2017.
HT’s net profit amounts to HRK 872 million, which is a 18.6% increase compared to the same period last year.
Investment in network infrastructure continues, leadership position in all segments firmly established
Hrvatski Telekom has continued with its investments in the third quarter of 2018: a total of HRK 1,241 million has been invested so far. The major part of this amount has been spent for the modernization of HT’s fixed and mobile network infrastructure.
Next generation access network (NGA) now covers 58.1% households, while optical access coverage is available to 399 thousand households. 4G network indoor coverage in mobile network is at the level of 78.7%, while outdoor coverage has reached 98.4%. HT has continued with the implementation of the high-speed 4G network, providing 350 Mbit/s in download.
HT’s big investment program of mobile network modernization continued in Q3. After having successfully completed network modernisation in Istria, HT will soon finish infrastructure modernisation in the City of Zagreb as well.
In the first 9 months of 2018, Hrvatski Telekom has maintained its strong leadership position across all telecommunication services.
The customer base of HT’s unique services concept, Magenta 1, continues to grow. Today, more than 168 thousand households are using this service. The recently launched Magenta 1 offering for business customers is also showing good results. HT’s has kept its leadership position in the TV offering, with more than 413 thousand customers using its TV service.
For additional improvement of customer experience and as an important step towards intensified digitalisation, HT has offered to its customers the new One App application. It has been implemented on a new technology concept, featuring a faster response time, user-friendliness, and a range of new functionalities. In a short time, 78% of users of the previous application “My Telecom” has switched to One App.
Until the end of the year, HT will keep focusing on investments, growth and increased quality of service
Commenting on the business results achieved in the first nine months of 2018, Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom, pointed out:
“We have delivered excellent results in the first 9 months of 2018. Judging from the growth in all our key financial indicators, Q3 2018 has been one of our best quarters in the last 5 years. Until the end of the year, we plan to continue with our investments, which are now exceeding HRK 1,241 million. By doing so, we will be re-confirming our position as the leading investor in Croatia.
After ensuring the preconditions for the implementation of 5G network in Istria this summer, we have now implemented this cutting-edge mobile technology in the City of Zagreb as well. At the same time, we have introduced the first commercial NB-IoT network in this part of Europe, thus enabling a further development and implementation of new smart IT solutions.
Apart from investments in the modernization of the fixed and mobile network, until the end of the year we plan to keep focusing on the growth in all our business segments, development of innovative products and improvement in the quality of service for all our customers."