Telekom Romania’s revenues drop as the group continues to lose clients

Telekom Romania, part of Deutsche Telekom group, posted a 7.7% drop in revenues in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of last year, to EUR 241 million. The group’s operational profit EBITDA also went down by 16.7%, to EUR 55 million, according to Deutsche Telekom’s quarterly report. Most of the lost revenues were attributable to the reduction in mobile termination charges in the second quarter of 2014, according to Deutsche Telekom. However, Telekom Romania also continued to lose clients. The number of mobile customers was little over 6 million, at the end of March 2015, 0.6% lower than at the end of December 2014 and 1.2% lower compared to the end of March 2014. The number of fixed voice lines has dropped by 2.2% since the beginning of this year and 6.5% in the last 12 months, to 2.19 million. The number of broadband internet lines also recorded a slight decline, to 1.19 million. The TV segment is the only one that grew for Telekom Romania in the first quarter, with the number of TV subscribers going up by 3.2% compared to December 2014, to 1.41 million. The number of clients opting for integrated service packages (TV, broadband internet, fixed and mobile voice services) doubled in the first three months, to 88,000. Telekom Romania launched integrated fixed-mobile services in September 2014, when Deutsche Telekom officially launched its “T” brand in Romania and merged the operations of the former Romtelecom and Cosmote companies. Deutsche Telekom’s business in Romania declines after rebranding Telekom Romania will invest EUR 160 mln this year in network upgrade Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com