February 19 (SeeNews) - Telekom Romania's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 5.4% year-on-year in 2019, reaching 143.7 million euro ($155.6 million), the company's Greek parent OTE said on Wednesday.
"In Romania, turnaround efforts are gaining traction, supporting a gradual recovery," OTE CEO and chairman, Michael Tsamaz, said in a statement.
Telekom Romania's total revenues in 2019 were 5% higher year-on-year at 980.2 million euro, mainly reflecting the robust performance in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the strong performance in wholesale revenues attributed to increased international transit traffic.
Revenues from retail fixed services in Romania fell by 7.3% to 229 million euro in the period under review, reflecting the intense competitive environment in this segment.
Revenues from mobile services decreased by an annual 3.7% to 310 million euro in 2019.
Telekom Romania's mobile customer base totaled 4 million at the end of the fourth quarter, down 12.8% year-on-year.
Revenues from wholesale services were down 18.7% on the year in 2019, mainly due to a reduction in low-margin international transit traffic
"In 2019 operations in Romania made notable progress across all major financial indicators: for the first time in over three years, Revenue, EBITDA and Operating Free cash flow all improved," OTE said.
In the fourth quarter alone, Telekom Romania's EBITDA doubled to 51.6 million euro, while revenues rose by 19.3% to 288.9 million euro.
In December, Telekom Romania announced the renewal of Miroslav Majoros’ tenure as CEO for one more year.
At the end of July, Telekom Romania announced it will lay off 692 of all 5,831 people it employs, as part of a reorganisation programme which began in 2017.
Also in July, local media reported that Deutsche Telekom could sell its Romanian subsidiary’s business lines separately to speed up the divestment process.
OTE, in which Deutsche Telekom is the largest shareholder, is present in Romania since 2014. OTE's units in Romania - fixed-line operator RomTelecom and mobile operator Cosmote - were rebranded as Telekom Communications Romania and Telekom Mobile Romania, respectively, in September 2014.
Telekom Communications Romania is majority owned by OTE with 54%, while Romania's communications ministry holds 45.99%. Telekom Mobile Romania is owned by OTE Group member Cosmote Mobile Communications with 69.9%, Telekom Romania Communications with 30% and other minority shareholders.
In May, OTE Group completed the sale of its entire stake of 99.757% in Telekom Albania to Bulgaria-registered Albania Telecom Invest company for a total gross equity consideration of 50 million euro.
($ = 0.9232 euro)