Bulgaria
In July 2005 the Telekom Austria Group acquired a 100% stake in Mobiltel, the leading Bulgarian provider of mobile communications services, and successfully completed the integration process in 2006.
In 2009 Mobiltel, the leading mobile communication operator in Bulgaria, was able to keep its market share almost stable at 49.8% with approximately 5.4 million customers.
At the same time, the number of contract customers rose by 13.9%. The country’s overall economic situation had a negative impact on the development of demand in both the residential and business customer segments. There was also a substantial decline in termination charges.
Mobiltel’s revenues declined by 7.9% to EUR 614.7 million in the 2009 financial year. EBITDA amounted to EUR 327.1 million, 11.8% lower than in 2008. Substantial reductions in operating expenses prevented a sharper fall. The EBITDA margin remained at a high level of 53.2% after 55.6% in 2008. Operating income was 25.2% lower than in 2008, amounting to EUR 147.9 million.
