Danish telecoms operator TDC has reported its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2009, posting revenue of DKK35.94 billion (USD6.67 billion), up 0.9% year-on-year. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year increased 6.9% compared to 2008 to reach DKK13.05 billion, while gross profit in full year 2009 amounted to DKK25.79 billion, up 2.4%. TDC’s corporate division, Nordic Business, saw EBITDA grow by 5% to DKK10.54 million in 2009, attributed to cost reductions across all business lines, while revenue for the full year declined by 3.1% to DKK26.08 billion. Turnover generated by TDC’s Swiss telco Sunrise increased 13.3% compared with 2008 to DKK9.87 billion, as a result of increased revenue from the landline wholesale segment and more mobile voice customers. Sunrise’s EBITDA grew 16.9% during 2009 to reach DKK2.51 billion. ’I am very pleased with the result for 2009, especially seen in the light of the fierce competition and difficult economic environment,’ said TDC’s President and CEO, Henrik Poulsen, adding, ’We have managed to increase our revenue as well as securing significant earnings growth in a difficult market.’ The company said it aims to become the best performing telecoms company in Europe by 2012, expecting net revenue to grow by 1%-3% in 2010 and EBITDA to increase by 3%-4%.
TDC’s customer base increased by half a million during 2009 to 11.7 million (up 4.6% year-on-year), of which 8.6 million were in the group’s domestic market and 2.9 million in Switzerland. The company attributed the rise to successful product launches and targeted acquisitions, including Danish fixed line voice and broadband service provider Fullrate. Of TDC’s domestic customers at end-2009, 3.372 million were mobile subscribers (an increase of 12% compared to the year earlier), 1.435 million took a broadband internet connection (up 12% y-o-y) and 1.249 million subscribed to a TV package (a rise of 9.6%). Danish landline telephony customers meanwhile continued to decline year-on-year, falling 5.8% in 2009 to 1.99 million.