July 26 (SeeNews) - Telekom Austria said its Bulgarian unit Mobiltel posted first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 61.6 million euro ($71.7 million), down 4.3% year-on-year on proforma basis.
The revenues of Mobiltel, which operates under the Mtel brand, rose 5% year-on-year to 206.8 million euro in the January-June period, the Austrian telco group said in a statement late on Tuesday. The rise was driven by increased equipment revenues due to ongoing high demand for smart devices and increased sales prices due to lower subsidies.
The company's EBITDA margin declined to 29.8% from 32.7% in the first half of 2016.
In the second quarter alone, the company's EBITDA rose by 8.6% to 33.4 million euro, while revenues added 3.4% to 103.3 million euro.
"In the second quarter of 2017, the competitive environment in Bulgaria remained challenging. This was still particularly visible in the business segment, which is improving but still negative in a year-on-year comparison. To counter price pressure, Mobiltel maintained its focus on value-based management and enhanced efforts to retain high-value customers," the company said.
Total mobile subscribers in the second quarter of 2017 rose by 0.7% year-on-year to 4.1 million mainly due to gains in the prepaid and business segments driven by improved sales performance.
First-half capital expenditure rose 13% on the year to 39.9 million euro.
Mobiltel's main competitors are Norway's Telenor and the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) operating under the brand name Vivacom.
($=0.8587 euro)