Ljubljana, 08 November (STA) - Slovenia's telecom incumbent Telekom Slovenije posted EUR 39.9 million in net profit in the first three quarters of the year, up 2% year-on-year. Sales revenue rose by 7% to EUR 518.8 million in the period.
Releasing the results on Wednesday, the company said it generated growth despite much higher costs of electricity and expenditure related to the damage to the infrastructure caused by the August floods.
The group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up by 4% year-on-year to EUR 181.8 million. The EBITDA-to-sales ratio was 35%.
If energy prices remained at the 2022 levels, and taking into account the state aid for energy resources and adapting for the net effect of the August floods, EBITDA would have been 10% higher than in the comparable period of 2022, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 16% year-on-year to EUR 59.5 million.
The group received EUR 2.3 million in state aid in the period between January and the end of September under a law to mitigate the impact of high electricity and natural gas prices on companies.
If energy prices remained at the 2022-level, and by taking into account the state aid and adapting for the net effect of the floods, the operating profit would have been 37% higher year-on-year, the company said.
This September, the group had 2% more mobile users than a year ago. In addition, the core company also generated growth in financial services, eHealth, insurance, IT services, and merchandise sales.
All members of the group posted higher revenue. In the mobile segment, revenue is higher due to the growth in the number of subscribers in Slovenia and Kosovo, where the number of prepaid subscribers is also up, as well as due to higher revenue from mobile retail goods and revenue from the wholesale market.
The group expects to trump the initially projected revenue and profit figures for 2023. It now expects annual operating revenue to the tune of EUR 699 million, EBITDA of EUR 226 million and net profit of EUR 38 million.
