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Budapest, February 27, 2014 00:00
Magyar Telekom (Reuters: MTEL.BU and
Bloomberg: MTELEKOM HB), the leading Hungarian telecommunications service
provider, today reported its consolidated financial results for the fourth
quarter and full year of 2013, in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Highlights:
Christopher Mattheisen, CEO commented:
“As
expected, during 2013 we achieved revenue growth of 5% driven
by an increasing contribution from SI/IT services and higher retail gas and electricity
revenues. Through continued pursuit of our bundling strategy in the Telekom
Hungary segment, we successfully reduced churn rates in traditional fixed voice
to 2%. At the same time, we recorded strong growth in our market shares in both
fixed internet and the TV segment, where through a combination of value
enhancing acquisitions and organic growth we managed to gain the most TV
subscribers on the market. In the recent months, the main highlights on the
mobile market were the new unlimited tariff packages. Our ‘Next’ flat rate
mobile packages were met with high demand from both new and existing customers,
with successful upselling efforts softening pressure on ARPU levels.
In Macedonia, the competitive pressures
did not ease during the fourth quarter and dampened the financial performance.
However, profitability remained high with an EBITDA margin of 39%, and we were
also the first operator in the country to launch 4G services at the beginning
of December last year. In Montenegro, we managed to increase our share of the
mobile voice market during the year, whilst also managing to maintain our
market leader positions in the fixed voice, broadband and TV segments.
With a full year decline of just under 8%,
EBITDA was somewhat ahead of our expectations thanks to better operational
performance in Hungary. As planned, we reduced our Capex in 2013 by 5% to HUF 87.5
billion (excluding spectrum acquisitions and annual frequency fee
capitalizations).
Looking ahead
to 2014, we expect lower growth in retail energy and equipment sales to lead to
a decline in our revenues of up to 3% compared to 2013. Our reported EBITDA is
expected to decline by 3%-6% driven by the continued, albeit more gradual,
shift in our revenue mix to lower margin services. Our Capex target (excluding
any spectrum acquisitions and annual frequency fee
capitalizations) for the year is
around HUF 87 billion, which we plan to spend on projects geared towards
enhancing future levels of efficiency, such as IP migration and integrated CRM
and billing systems.”
This investor news contains forward-looking statements. Statements that
are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on
current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore should not have undue
reliance placed upon them.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any of them in
light of new information or future events. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We
caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Such
factors are described in, among other things, our annual financial statements
for the year ended December 31, 2012, available on our website at https://www.telekom.huwhich have been prepared in accordance
with International Financial
Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board (“IASB”) and adopted by the European Union.
In addition to figures prepared in accordance with IFRS, Magyar Telekom
also presents non-GAAP financial performance measures, including, among others,
EBITDA, EBITDA margin, underlying EBITDA, underlying EBITDA margin and net
debt. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a
substitute for, the information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Non-GAAP
financial performance measures are not subject to IFRS or any other generally
accepted accounting principles. Other companies may define these terms in
different ways. For further information relevant to the interpretation of these
terms, please refer to the chapter “Reconciliation of pro forma figures”, which
is posted on Magyar Telekom’s Investor Relations webpage at
www.telekom.hu/investor_relations.