Israeli mobile network operator, Cellcom has reported first quarter revenues up by 3% to NIS 1.4 billion (US$381 million), while net income was down by 9% at NIS 314 million (US$85 million), attributed to an increase in financing expenses. Total Revenues (including revenues from end-user equipment) increased 1.2% to NIS 1.58 billion (US$426 million).
The subscriber base increased approx. 21,000 during the first quarter, all post-paid subscribers; reaching approx. 3.313 million at the end of March 2010. 3G subscribers reached approx. 1.037 million at the end of March 2010, net addition of approx. 40,000 in the first quarter 2010.
The Churn Rate in the first quarter 2010 was 5.4%, compared to 5.0% in the first quarter last year. The churn for both quarters was primarily impacted by the churn of pre-paid subscribers, characterized by lower contribution, and subscribers with collection problems.
Commenting on the results, Amos Shapira, Chief Executive Officer said, "Cellcom Israel continues its strong performance in the first quarter of 2010 with sustained growth in service revenues, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, operating income and subscriber base."
"We operate in a heavily regulated industry and face an increasing number of proposed regulatory changes. The Israeli Ministry of Communications recently announced that it is considering a substantial decrease of interconnect tariffs among Israeli operators. This proposed decrease follows other regulatory changes that are currently under its consideration. We intend to object to the decrease of interconnect tariffs as suggested, especially to the way it is implemented, which may have an adverse effect on the Company's results, and we plan to take measures to mitigate its impact."
No comments:
Post a Comment