Oi targets mobile growth as third-quarter revenues fall

Brazilian telecoms group Oi has announced that net revenues for the third quarter of 2011 stood at BRL6.9 billion (USD4 billion), a fall of 5.5% year-on-year and largely reflecting the operator’s difficulties in adding enough mobile subscribers to offset a declining fixed line subscriber base. Chief Financial Officer Alex Zornig told reporters that the company hopes to address the issue by offering more bundled packages including mobile, broadband and TV services rather than pure wireline voice telephony plans. Third-quarter net income attributable to controlling shareholders fell by more than 32% year-on-year to BRL285 million. Reuters quotes Zornig as saying that the company is targeting a 25% share of the mobile subscriber market by 2014. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database the company currently has an 18.8% market share, below that of its three main rivals: TIM Brasil and Telecom Americas both claimed 25.1% of the market at the end of June 2011, with market leader Vivo boasting a 29% share.