Ljubljana, 28 August (STA) - Telekom Slovenije, the majority state-owned telecoms incumbent, saw group net profit rise by 25% in the first six months of the year to EUR 29.6 million as sales revenue increased by 4% to EUR 346.6 million on the back of user growth and higher sales of IT merchandise and services, show unaudited interim results released on Wednesday.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to EUR 38.7 million, an increase of 7% relative to the same period last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 4% to EUR 121.4.
The group earmarked EUR 79.7 million for investments in the first six months of the year and has increased the capacity of its mobile network by more than 30% and its 5G network nearly threefold in the last 18 months.
It says the number of retail mobile users grew by 4% year-on-year, while the number of fixed retail broadband users increased by 2%.
Telekom covers 98% of the population with its 4G network, while more than 65% of the population are now able to access the 5G network, up from 40% a year ago. In 2025 it plans to provide 5G coverage to 99% of the population.
Telekom's domestic market shares grew by 0.2 percentage points across key segments over the previous quarter and the company now has 28.2% of the fixed broadband market, 42% of the IPTV market and 35.2% of the mobile telephony market.
As for the end-of-year outlook, the company is confident it will achieve the target of operating revenue of EUR 717.4 million, EBITDA of EUR 233.6 million and net profit of EUR 43.2 million.
