Swisscom Q1 revenue up, profit down
May 6, 2015
In the first quarter of 2015, Swisscom’s net revenue increased by CHF 72 million (€69.4m) or 2.6 per cent year-on-year to CHF 2,893 million. Adjusted for company acquisitions and on the basis of constant exchange rates, revenue increased by CHF 83 million or 2.9 per cent, of which CHF 46 million was attributable to the Swiss business. EBITDA declined by 0.9 per cent or CHF 10 million to CHF 1.051 million. Adjusted for company acquisitions and pension fund costs not affecting cash flow (in accordance with IAS 19) and on the basis of constant exchange rates, EBITDA increased by CHF 25 million or 2.4 per cent. Net income fell by CHF 22 million or 5.9 per cent to CHF 351 million as a result of lower operating income and higher net financial expense, which was largely attributable to foreign exchange losses.
Group-wide capital expenditure increased by CHF 30 million or 5.8 per cent to CHF 549 million; in Switzerland, it rose by CHF 43 million or 12.5 per cent to CHF 388 million due to the expansion of broadband networks. By the end of March 2015, Swisscom had connected some 1.5 million homes and businesses with ultra-fast broadband – with either fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) or the latest fibre-optic technology such as fibre-to-the-street (FTTS), fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) and vectoring technology.
“Despite currency turbulence and rising competitive pressure, we started off the year with good results,” said CEO Urs Schaeppi. “Our business is shaped by sustained high investment coupled with simultaneous price pressure. Our launch of Natel infinity plus on 13 April practically eliminated roaming charges for a lot of our customers. This price reduction alone totalled more than CHF 100 million a year. We gained new customers with Swisscom TV, bundled contracts and at Fastweb.”