Telekom Austria Group’s Christmas Business Shows Strong Results with Fixed Net Access Line Growth in 4Q 2009
Vienna, January 20, 2010: The Telekom Austria Group (VSE: TKA, OTC US: TKAGY) today announced its latest access line figures for the Fixed Net segment and subscriber and market figures for Mobile Communication as of year-end 2009.
Fixed Net
For the first time in more than ten years, the Fixed Net segment reported quarterly access line net additions in the fourth quarter of 2009 due to a continuing strong uptake of product bundles. The consistent trend in the reduction of access line losses over the past two years accelerated substantially during 2009 and resulted in a 76.1% decline in net access line losses, bringing figures to 23,300 compared to 97,600 line losses in 2008. The total number of fixed net access lines remained stable at 2.3 million at the end of December 2009 compared to the end of December 2008.
Fixed net broadband lines grew by 15.5% year-on-year from 885,700 lines as of December 31, 2008 to 1,022,600 lines as of December 31, 2009. This growth was driven by a strong increase in broadband retail lines, which overcompensated for a decline in broadband wholesale lines and demonstrated Telekom Austria’s ongoing success in repositioning its Fixed Net’s retail product offering.
The number of aonTV subscribers increased by 58.9% to 101,300 subscribers in 2009 compared to the previous year.
Detailed Fixed Net Figures:
| Dec. 31, 2009 | Dec. 31, 2008 | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total access lines (´000) | 2,313.5 | 2,336.8 | -1.0 % |
| Fixed net broadband retail lines (´000) | 967.2 | 818.9 | 18.1 % |
| Fixed net broadband wholesale lines (´000) | 55.4 | 66.8 | -17.1 % |
| Fixed net broadband lines (´000) | 1,022.6 | 885.7 | 15.5 % |
| aonTV subscribers | 101,300 | 63,800 | 58.9 % |
Mobile Communication
The Mobile Communication segment’s subscriber base grew by 6.4% in the year under review from 17.8 million subscribers at the end of 2008 to 18.9 million customers at year-end 2009, an overall increase of 1.1 million customers.
mobilkom austria, the leading mobile operator in Austria, recorded a total of 114,800 net adds in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company was able to further expand its overall subscriber base by 7.5% to 4.8 million customers during the year under review, with contract subscribers showing a double-digit increase of 12.6%. mobilkom austria also succeeded in growing its market share from 42.5% at the end of 2008 to 42.6% at the end of 2009. Mobile broadband subscribers rose by 140,000 to 540,000 and the mobile penetration rate in Austria reached 135.7% as of December 31, 2009.
Mobiltel, the leading mobile operator in Bulgaria, reached a total of 109,600 net adds in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company’s subscriber base remained almost stable at 5.4 million customers year-on-year. Compared to 2008, Mobiltel’s market share remained almost unchanged at a level of approximately 50% and the mobile penetration rate in Bulgaria reached 142.0% at the end of the year under review.
Velcom, the second largest mobile operator in Belarus, grew its overall subscriber base by 10.9% from 3.7 million customers at year-end 2008 to 4.1 million at the end of 2009. The company recorded a total of 121,100 net adds in the fourth quarter of 2009 alone. Velcom’s market share declined to 42.7% at the end of December 2009 compared to 44.8% at the end of December 2008. The mobile penetration rate in Belarus amounted to 99.4% at year-end 2009.
Vipnet, the second largest mobile operator in Croatia, increased its subscriber base by 4.7% to 2.6 million customers at year-end 2009. Vipnet’s market share increased and reached a level of 42.6% in the fourth quarter 2009. The mobile penetration rate in Croatia was 138.4% at the end of the year under review.
Si.mobil, the second largest mobile operator in Slovenia, increased its customer base by 3.3% to 589,400 customers as of year-end 2009. The company recorded a total of 9,200 net additions during the fourth quarter 2009. Si.mobil’s market share rose from 27.7% to 28.2% year-on-year. Mobile penetration rate in Slovenia amounted to 102.9% as of end of 2009 and remained almost unchanged compared to the end of 2008.
Vip mobile, the third largest mobile operator in the Republic of Serbia, grew its subscriber base by 27.1% to 1,153,900 customers in 2009 compared to 907,900 subscribers at year-end 2008 and had a market share of 12.0% at the end of the year under review. The mobile penetration rate reached 128.4% in the Republic of Serbia in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Vip operator, the third largest mobile operator in the Republic of Macedonia, recorded 303,700 subscribers at year-end 2009 compared to 242,000 subscribers at the end of the previous year, which corresponds to an overall increase of 25.5% year-on-year. Vip operator grew its market share significantly from 10.7% as of end of 2008 to 15.9% at year-end 2009. As of December 31, 2009 the mobile penetration rate in the Republic of Macedonia amounted to 92.7%.
Detailed Mobile Communication Figures (26.2 KB)
Telekom Austria Group’s full year results 2009 will be announced on February 24, 2010.
Contact:
Elisabeth Mattes
Telekom Austria Group’s Spokeswoman
Tel.: : +43 664 331 2730
E-Mail: elisabeth.mattes@telekom.at
