O2 Ireland posts a rise of 5% in the subscriber base
Telefonica O2 Ireland has experienced a drop of 1.7% in service revenues to €227 million in the fourth quarter, in comparison with the same period a year ago. According to the company, monthly blended Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for the quarter declined to €42.60, down from €43.70 in the preceding three months and from €45.70 in the fourth quarter in 2007.
The incumbent added 14,589 subscribers and totals its subscriber base to 1.728 million. The subscriber base rose by 5% in comparison to last year. O2 Ireland subscribers sent 699 million text messages between October and December, up 73.9% compared with the same quarter in 2007. Monthly ARPU for post paid subscribers was €69.2.20, down from €72.20 on the comparable 2007 period for the quarter.
Paul Whelan, Chief Financial Officer Telef³nica O2 Ireland, said trading conditions during the last quarter of 2008 had been difficult for all businesses including telecoms.
Although we saw a slight decline in revenues, we continued to win customers in the marketplace, adding almost 15,000 new customers in the quarter, and 82,000 in total in 2008,†he said.
The company said data revenues continued to grow as a percentage of overall service revenues during the quarter, driven by growth in non-SMS revenues and now account for 8.3%.
