Danish telco TDC, the country’s leading operator in terms of subscribers, has published its financial results for the three months ended 30 September 2020, reporting a 5.3% decline in revenues year-on-year to DKK3.993 billion (USD631 million), down from DKK4.215 billion in Q3 2019. The fall was driven mainly by lower TV, internet and network revenue and the continued decline in landline voice services, which was partially offset by growth in mobility services. Meanwhile, EBITDA marginally dropped 0.8% to DKK1.643 billion in Q3 2020, while Q3 gross profit totalled DKK2.862 billion (4.9% y-o-y). Profit for the period improved, however, to DKK149 million (up from DKK97 million in Q3 2019), while capital expenditures in Q3 were up 16.9% y-o-y to DKK1.263 billion, due to increased investment in upgrading the mobile network in preparation for the 5G launch (which took place on 7 September 2020) and the swap to Ericsson equipment, as well as TDC’s fibre rollout.
The company highlighted that the negative impacts from COVID-19 have related mainly to reduced roaming profits experienced by Nuuday. TDC is expecting a flat to slightly declining EBITDA for full year 2020, strategic CAPEX investments in 5G and fibre of around DKK2.6 billion and total CAPEX spending of between DKK5.5 billion and DKK5.9 billion.