BRUSSELS--Belgacom SA (BELG.BT) said Friday that while profit
declined in the first quarter, it is on track to meet full-year
guidance -- with profit declining less sharply than analysts had
predicted.
Net profit at the company was 149 million euros for the first
quarter of 2014, down from EUR171 million in the first quarter of
2013. Analysts had forecast a decline to EUR136 million.
EBITDA was EUR412 million, or 6.6% lower than during the same
period a year ago.
The revenue of Belgium's former state-owned monopoly telecoms
operator's International Carrier Services, BICS -- which provides
mobile network infrastructure for operators abroad -- came in
significantly below the level for the comparable period in 2013,
the company said.
Excluding BICS, Belgacom's core revenue was down 3.9% from the
prior year, or down 3% when excluding the EUR11 million capital
gain recorded in the first quarter of 2013, the company said.
The overall decline was foreseen and is mainly due to the impact
from regulatory measures. European Union rules have forced telecoms
companies to reduce voice and data roaming prices, applied when
consumers travel abroad, since 1 July 2012. Moreover, the
regulators in Belgium and Luxembourg have been reducing the mobile
termination rate, or MTR--the fee mobile operators charge each
other to connect calls.
"We continued to have good growth in our Internet and TV
customer base, leading to a slightly increasing TV market share in
all regions," Chief Executive Dominique Leroy said in a statement.
Still, she added, although mobile phone contracts are proving
resilient, "Belgacom's prepaid [pay as you go] base, on the other
hand, declined further, in line with market trends."
The company reiterated full-year guidance for its main business,
excluding International Carrier Services, of sales falling 1%-2%
from 2013, and EBITDA declining 3% to 4% compared with the 2013
EBITDA of EUR1.713 billion.
-- Write to Frances Robinson at
frances.robinson@dowjones.com
Access Investor Kit for Belgacom SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=BE0003810273
Access Investor Kit for Belgacom SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US0777011000
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires