STA, 2 April 2020 - Telekom Slovenije, the majority state-owned telecoms incumbent, posted a group net profit of EUR 1.2 million for 2019, a fraction of the EUR 33.3 million it recorded a year before, largely due to a one-off payment over a now dissolved media joint venture.
Telekom had been ordered by a court of arbitration in late-2019 to buy out its partner in the joint venture, the Greece-based Antenna Group, for EUR 17.6 million plus interest, significantly above what it initially offered.
The company said on Thursday that without the one-off charge for the media venture Antenna TV SL and the associated events it would have posted a 13% increase in like-for-like profit over the year before.
Group profit before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was at EUR 205.4 million, an increase of 11%, whereas pre-tax profit (EBIT) rose by 73% to EUR 31 million, shows the financial report.
Group net sales stood at EUR 675.4 million, which is 6% below the 2018 level. The company however says that the figures are not directly comparable since Blicnet, a Bosnian subsidiary which was sold in 2018, was still included in financials for 2018.
Additionally, revenue contracted in the segments international wholesale traffic, mobile subscriptions and IT sales, while increases were recorded in the segments e-health, energy and financial services.
Group operating revenue thus totalled EUR 681.7 million, down one percent over the year before.
Investments amounted to almost EUR 168 million, which is below plans. The company says it had optimised purchasing and achieved the goals with lower investment outlays.
Having spent EUR 93 on dividend payments last year, Telekom does not plan to pay out dividends this year. While it has an accumulated profit of EUR 30.2 million, it plans to retain it quoting "uncertain impacts and unclear consequences" of the coronavirus pandemic.
Telekom CEO Tomaž Seljak is quoted as saying that the company quickly responded to the pandemic to ensure uninterrupted operation, but due to uncertainty about the gravity and duration of the pandemic it cannot reliably estimate how it will affect its operations.
