Eesti Telekom, Estonia’s largest telecoms company, which has fixed line and broadband operations under the Elion banner and mobile operations under the EMT moniker, has reported a fall of 16.8% in net profit to EUR24 million (USD31.3 million) for the three months ended 31 March 2009. The operator attributed the fall in net profit to the economic slowdown and regulations that have forced it to reduce interconnection fees. Total revenues for the group also fell 10% to EUR85.4 million from EUR94.9 million a year earlier, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 10.3% year-on-year to EUR33 million.
One bright spot for the operator was the report that mobile subscriber figures have continued to rise, with EMT reporting a 2% rise to 766,000 at end-March 2009.