Cosmote's revenues grow but operational profit down in the first part of the year

Telecom operator Cosmote grew its revenues by 6.3 percent in the second quarter of this year, to EUR 115 million, according to data announced by its mother company OTE. The revenues for the first half of the year reached EUR 229 million, up 9.7 percent on the first half of 2009. Cosmote is the only telecom operator active in Romania to have posted an increase in revenues in the second quarter of the year. Both Orange and Vodafone have seen their revenues shrinking during this period. The company's operational profit (EBITDA) was of EUR 18.7 million, a drop of 11.8 percent on the same period of last year. For the first half of the year, Cosmote's EBITDA dropped by 30 percent, to EUR 25.3 million. Cosmote’s total customer base in Romania reached 6.7 million (excluding Zapp), of which 19.8 percent was postpaid. For the pre-paid card Cosmote had aggressive advertising campaigns. “The increase in the postpaid customer base, especially in the business segment, generated significant revenue growth. The number of prepaid customers also rose despite fierce competition in this segment. In the quarter, service revenues were up by 2.6 percent, with outgoing service revenues alone posting an increase of more than 1 percent,” wrote OTE in its financial statement. “With a market share now in excess of 24% and the ability to offer 3G services following the acquisition of Zapp, Cosmote Romania focuses on expanding its presence in the broadband and corporate markets,” the report goes on. Romtelecom, the landline fixed operator owned by OTE, has started working with Cosmote Romania to launch joint solutions, including on-net pricing between the Romtelecom and Cosmote networks. Cosmote has recently launched a pre-paid 3G mobile internet offer, joining its competitor Vodafone which has already done so. (in picture, Stefanos Theocharopoulos, CEO of Cosmote Romania)