MTel posts a drop of 2.9% in Q1’09 net profits (Hungary)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTel, the Hungarian communication service provider has posted Q1’09 net profit of HUF21.54 billion (USD100.7 million) at the end of March, down by 2.9% year-on-year. The telco’s drop in net profits was driven by decline in its core business operations as the impact of the economic slowdown combined with higher operating costs related to the weakness of the Hungarian forint.
Q1’09 EBITDA fell by 6.3% to HUF64.6 billion, below market expectations, largely the result of a one-time gain from the sale of real estate assets in Q1 2008 and a faster than expected shift in the revenue mix toward lower margin products, MTel said.
The Hungarian telco reported revenues of HUF159.41 billion down 2% since Q1’08, impacted by falls in its fixed line, mobile and internet business segments. The decline was partially counterbalanced as the weak forint helped soften the fall on the top line through revenues denominated in euros from the company’s foreign subsidiaries in Macedonia and Montenegro, it said.
‘Although the external environment has deteriorated quite significantly since we published our public targets for this year, we still believe that the announced targets can be met if the economic situation does not worsen further,’ said MTel Chairman and CEO Christopher Mattheisen.