Smartphone uptake keeps Polkomtel income steady as subscriber numbers slide

Polish cellco Polkomtel, which operates under the ‘Plus’ brand, has reported total revenues of PLN1.759 billion (USD515.2 million) for the first quarter of 2012, down slightly from PLN1.761 billion in the corresponding period of 2011. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 1.14% year-on-year to PLN708 million, whilst its EBITDA margin grew by 0.4 percentage points to 40.2%. Data usage also increased, with the cellco noting a 47% increase in smartphone users. Despite the higher smartphone uptake, Polkomtel’s customer base slipped to 13.856 million from 13.993 million reported at end-December 2011.