Hungarian quadruple-play network operator Magyar Telekom, part of the Deutsche Telekom group, has reported its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2017. In the three months ended 31 March total revenues rose by 1.6% year-on-year to HUF140.507 billion (USD492 million), whilst operating profit dropped by 38.8% y-o-y to HUF12.622 billion, and net profit fell by 59.2% to HUF4.104 billion. Quarterly EBITDA was 16.5% lower than the year-ago period, at HUF38.342 billion. The figures are based on continuing operations (pro forma) only, Magyar Telekom having recently divested Montenegro’s Crnogorski Telekom to Croatian sister company T-Hrvatski Telekom.
The company’s announcement highlighted revenue growth driven by mobile data and integrated B2B ICT solutions. An increase in mobile equipment revenues and accelerating post-paid customer growth (driving ARPU upwards) in Hungary also bolstered revenues. ‘Stable’ fixed telephony revenues in Hungary supported by a rising fixed broadband and pay-TV user base also helped the top-line figure. At Macedonian subsidiary Makedonski Telekom (MakTel) a decline in wholesale revenues (largely due to network termination rate reductions) was partly compensated by growth in mobile data and pay-TV (both driven by higher subscriber bases). Group EBITDA decline was attributed to an absence of one-off gains which boosted Q1 2016 results (from the sales of Infopark and Origo), as well as higher mobile equipment subsidies. The group noted that a net transaction price of HUF36.4 billion was received on the disposal of Crnogorski Telekom.