BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
-- During 2007, the Telecom Argentina Group continued with an important expansion of its business. Consolidated Net Revenues grew 23% vs. the previous year ("FY06"), amounting to P$9,074 million. Major revenue increase came from the Cellular business with an expansion of 34% and from Internet businesses with a growth of 23%, both with respect to FY06. -- The cellular customer base reached 12.3 million (+28%), Broadband subscribers totaled 783,000 (+71%), while fixed lines in service increased by 3% to 4.2 million. -- Operating Profit before Depreciation and Amortization ("OPBDA") reached P$3,052 million (+34% vs. FY06), equivalent to 34% of Net Revenues, mainly fueled by cellular telephony growth. On the contrary, fixed telephony profitability continues weakening due to frozen tariffs and the inflation effect on the general cost structure. -- Net Income reached P$884 million (2.6x more than FY06). This result includes P$102 million from the sale of the subsidiary Publicom, occurred during the first months of FY07. -- The Telecom Group continued developing its strong investment plan, allocating P$1,441 million during FY07 (+18% vs. FY06), where P$799 million were allocated to fixed telephony (+35% vs. FY06). -- Net Financial Debt (before NPV effect) declined to P$2,055 million (-P$1,443 million vs. December 2006), primarily as a result of the cash flow generated by operations. The Net Financial Debt to OPBDA ratio declined from 1.5x as of the end of FY06, to 0.7x as of the end of FY07. -- On February 19, 2008 Fitch Ratings upgraded the long-term debt rating of Telecom Argentina and Telecom Personal to B+ on the International Scale and to AA- on the Local Scale. (*) Non-financial data unaudited As of December-31 2007 2006 Change Change % Consolidated Net Revenues (in MM P$) 9,074 7,372 1,702 23% Voice, Data & Internet 3,302 3,053 249 8% Cellular 5,772 4,319 1,453 34% Operating Profit before D&A (in MM P$) 3,052 2,285 767 34% Operating Profit (in MM P$) 1,636 894 742 83% Net Income (in MM P$) 884 244 640 262% Shareholder's equity (in MM P$) 3,030 2,129 901 42% Net Financial Debt - Before NPV effect (in MM P$) 2,055 3,498 (1,443) -41% Net Financial Debt - Book value (in MM P$) 1,993 3,352 (1,359) -41% CAPEX (in MM P$) 1,441 1,225 216 18% Lines in service (Fixed lines -in thousands) 4,208 4,095 113 3% Cellular customers (in thousands) 12,292 9,589 2,703 28% Personal (Argentina) 10,666 8,425 2,241 27% Nucleo (Paraguay) 1,626 1,164 462 40% ADSL customers (in thousands) 783 457 326 71% Fixed line traffic (in MM minutes, Internet & Public Telephony not incl.) 16,877 16,914 (37) 0% Incoming/Outgoing cellular voice traffic in Arg.(in MM minutes) 9,946 7,610 2,336 31% Average Revenue per user (ARPU ) Fixed Telephony/voice (in P$) 39 39 -- 0% Average Revenue per user (ARPU ) Cellular Telephony Arg. (in P$) 39 39 -- 0%
Telecom Argentina (BASE: TECO2, NYSE: TEO), one of Argentina's leading telecommunications groups, announced today Net Income of P$884 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.
During FY07, Consolidated Net Revenues increased 23% (+P$1,702 million vs. FY06) to P$9,074 million, mainly fueled by the cellular and Broadband businesses.
Moreover, OPBDA increased by 34% (+P$767 million) to P$3,052 million (34% of Consolidated Net Revenues). This level of operating profits before depreciation and amortization is consequence of the substantial improvement in revenues, together with a better efficiency in costs.
Company Activities Consolidated Net Revenues
The evolution in Consolidated Net Revenues by reportable segment was as follows:
Voice, Data Transmission & Internet
Revenues generated by these services amounted to P$3,302 million, +8% vs. FY06.
Voice
Total Revenues for this service reached P$2,601 million (+5% vs. FY06), despite there was no increase in regulated tariffs during the period.
Monthly Charges and Supplementary Services increased by P$30 million or 4%, to P$746 million, as a consequence of higher number of lines in service (+3%), reaching 4.2 million of lines.
Revenues generated by traffic (Local Measured Service, Domestic Long Distance and International Telephony) totaled P$1,230 million, with an increase of 4% vs. FY06.
Interconnection revenues amounted to P$373 million (+17%), mainly fueled by traffic originating in cellular lines but transported by and terminated in fixed-line network.
Public Telephony & Other
Other revenues reached P$252 million, barely exceeding P$250 million in FY06. This amount was affected by an increase in billing & collecting commission and handset sales but partially compensated by a decrease in Public Telephony revenues.
Internet and Data Transmission
Total revenues coming from Internet services reached P$528 million (+23% vs. FY06), due to the increase in the Broadband business, driven by commercial promotions, innovation of service portfolio and better network coverage.
Moreover, Telecom's Broadband subscribers reached 783,000 as of December 2007(+71% vs. Dec-06). Therefore, lines with this type of connections represent approximately 19% of Telecom's fixed-lines in service.
Telecom confirms its market oriented approach, based on delivering higher velocity solutions, allowing its customers to access increasingly complex multimedia content as well as new value- added services. Since October, Telecom Argentina has improved its Broadband portfolio by automatically upgrading its Arnet 640 K customers to Arnet 1 Mb product. In addition, Telecom launched the Arnet 20 Mb product, the fastest connection available in the Argentine market.
Revenues generated by Data transmission amounted to P$173 million, (+11% vs. FY06). The Company continues actively working with the corporate market, as well as with the Government sector, providing know-how and experience in telecommunication skills, supplying tailor-made and converging systems that integrate voice & data services -for both fixed and cellular services- together with multimedia solutions, all with the latest generation technology, leading the development of VPN-IP (Virtual Private Net on Internet Protocol) and MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switching) networks.
In connection with the Government sector, Telecom assists on e-government enterprises, such as solution for administrative management, 911, emergency services and cameras for security and medical treatment. Furthermore, regarding ICT, the Company has endorsed the development of data networks. Therefore, Telecom Datacenter experienced an important growth, assuring high availability of Broadband connectivity, outsourcing and contingency solutions to its clients.
Cellular Telephony
The Cellular Telephony business achieved consolidated growth and increased its participation in the Group's total revenues (64% vs. 59% in FY06). During FY07 this business generated revenues of P$5,772 million (+34% vs. FY06). Total subscribers reached 12.3 million.
Telecom Personal in Argentina
As of December 31, 2007, Personal's subscribers reached 10.7 million in Argentina (+2.2 million or +27% vs. FY06). Approximately 66% of the overall subscriber base was prepaid and 34% was postpaid.
Total voice traffic increased by 31% vs. FY06 while outgoing SMS traffic confirming its higher usage increased from an average of 741 million messages in 4Q06 to an average of 1,016 million (+37%) in 4Q07. Because of this enhancement in traffic and the use of value added services, the Average Monthly Revenue per User ("ARPU") increased by P$42 in 4Q07, compared to P$40 in 4Q06, positioning the Company as one of the highest ARPUs in the market. Consequently, ARPU determined on an annual basis remained stable at P$39 in FY07 compared to FY06.
Revenues totaled P$5,339 million (+P$1,375 million or +35% vs. FY06). Service revenues increased by P$1,328 million or 39% vs. FY06, while handset sales grew by 9% in the period.
Reconfirming its strong focus on technological innovation, Personal continued the expansion of its Third Generation Network (3G/3.5G). In anticipation to the summer season, during 4Q07, the Company introduced the latest services for 3G in main Argentine tourist cities and also in Uruguay, adding them to those existing coverage available in Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario.
In terms of products and services, further agreements to introduce exclusive mobile content to the Multimedia Portal WAP were executed. The development of innovative value-added services was also such enhanced, with Full Track Download (Full MP3) and instant messages, together with MSN.
In addition, Personal continued with the expansion of its commercial network by opening new customer offices. As of December 2007, Personal counted with 45 commercial offices, gaining commercial capillarity and confirming its institutional presence throughout Argentina. Accordingly, customer satisfaction was enhanced, mainly by improving waiting time and increasing dedicated attention.
Nucleo
Personal's controlled subsidiary that operates in Paraguay, generated revenues equivalent to P$433 million (+22% vs. FY06).
By the end of the year 2007, the subscriber base reached approximately 1.6 million, +40% vs. FY06. Prepaid and Postpaid customers represented 90% and 10%, respectively.
Consolidated Operating Costs
The Cost of Services Provided, Administrative Expenses and Selling Expenses totaled P$7,438 million in FY07, which represents an increase of P$960 million or +15% vs. FY06. Notwithstanding, as a percentage of Net Revenues, this evolution represents a decrease of 600 basis points (88% in FY06 vs. 82% in FY07) which means an improvement in efficiency and better use of costs.
The breakdown of costs is as follow: -- Salaries and Social Security Contributions: P$960 million (+16%), affected by raising salaries and an increase of cellular business personnel (+283 in FY07 vs. FY06). -- Taxes: P$660 million (+22%), in line with the general evolution of revenue volume. -- Agents and Prepaid Card Commissions: $704 million (+28%), due to the expansion of subscribers and the volume of the prepaid cards sold. -- Advertising: P$306 million (+36%) to support commercial activity in cellular telephony and internet. -- Cost of Voice, Data & Cellular handsets: decreased to P$893 million (-11%) as a consequence of fewer handset sales, taking into account the level of market penetration reached and due to a lower number of handsets upgrade from TDMA to GSM. -- TLRD and Roaming: P$760 million (+31%) due to increased traffic among cellular operators. -- Depreciation of Fixed and Intangible Assets: P$1,416 million, stable when compared to FY06. Fixed-line telephony totaled P$828 million and Cellular telephony $588 million. Consolidated Financial and Holding Results
Financial and Holding Results resulted in a loss of P$441 million, as compared to the P$484 million loss registered in FY06. Although net interest decreased by P$145 million such reduction was compensated by the effect of foreign currency exchange (-P$42 million) and holding losses on handsets inventories (P$54 million).
Net Financial Debt
As of December 31, 2007, Net Financial Debt (Loans before the effect of NPV valuation, minus Cash, Cash Equivalents and Other credits from derivative Investments) amounted to P$2,055 million, a reduction of P$1,443 million as compared to December 2006. This decrease is due to the generation of operating cash flow and the result of Publicom sale that permitted debt cancellation for P$1,290 million (P$889 million in Telecom Argentina and P$401 million in Telecom Personal).
Consolidated Capital Expenditures
A total amount of P$1,441 million (including material by P$139 million) was invested in fixed and intangibles assets. Such amount was allocated between the Voice, Data and Internet businesses (P$799 million) and the cellular business (P$642 million).
Main Capex projects the Voice, Data and Internet Businesses related to the expansion of Broadband services and the upgrade of the network for services of a new generation (NGN), while in the cellular business, improvement of the network (capacity, coverage and 3G), and the launch of new and innovative value-added services, were areas of focus.
Commercial Initiatives
Within the technological upgrade initiated by Telecom in the fixed-line business, three outstanding announcements were made:
In connection with SMEs target, Telecom renewed its portfolio of services, with integrated solutions that combine fixed and mobile telephony, data transmission and internet, thus strengthening its position as integrated provider of telecommunication solutions.
Regarding the mass market, the Company launched for the first time in the country, the SMS (Short Message Service) for fixed lines, as a first step of several innovations that Telecom will offer its residential clients, and which will change home communications.
In addition, in December 2007 Telecom Argentina launched video-call product, becoming then the first operator in South America to provide a service that integrates voice and video for mass market.
Recent Relevant Matters
The Board of Directors of Telecom Personal has submitted for consideration of its Shareholder's Meeting a cash distribution of dividends for an amount of P$220 million.
On February 19, 2008 Fitch Ratings upgraded the long-term debt rating of Telecom Argentina and Telecom Personal to B+ from B on the International Scale and to AA- from A on the Local Scale.
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Telecom is the parent company of a leading telecommunications group in Argentina, where it offers directly or through its controlled subsidiaries local and long distance fixed-line telephony, cellular, data transmission and Internet services, among other services. Additionally, through a controlled subsidiary, the Telecom Group offers cellular services in Paraguay. The Company commenced operations on November 8, 1990, upon the Argentine government's transfer of the telecommunications system in the northern region of Argentina.
Nortel Inversora S.A. ("Nortel"), which acquired the majority of the Company from the Argentine government, holds 54.74% of Telecom's common stock. Nortel is a holding company where the common stock (approximately 68% of capital stock) is owned by Sofora Telecomunicaciones S.A. Additionally, Nortel capital stock is comprised of preferred shares that are held by minority shareholders.
As of December 31, 2007, Telecom had 984,380,978 shares outstanding.
For more information, please contact the Investor Relations Department:
Pedro Insussarry
54-11-4968-3743
Solange Barthe Dennin
54-11-4968-3752
Evangelina Sanchez
54-11-4968-3718
Ruth Fuhrmann
54-11-4968-4448
Voice Mail: 54-11-4968-3628
Fax: 54-11-4313-5842
E-mail:
This document may contain statements that could constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the Company's expectations for its future performance, revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, liquidity and capital structure; the effects of its debt restructuring process; the impact of emergency laws enacted by the Argentine Government; and the impact of rate changes and competition on the Company's future financial performance. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "intends," "should," "seeks," "estimates," "future" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect the Company's expected results. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of emergency laws enacted by the Argentine government that have resulted in the repeal of Argentina's Convertibility law, devaluation of the peso, various changes in restrictions on the ability to exchange pesos into foreign currencies, and currency transfer policy generally, the "pesification" of tariffs charged for public services, the elimination of indexes to adjust rates charged for public services and the Executive branch announcement to renegotiate the terms of the concessions granted to public service providers, including Telecom. Due to extensive changes in laws and economic and business conditions in Argentina, it is difficult to predict the impact of these changes on the Company's financial condition. Other factors may include, but are not limited to, the evolution of the economy in Argentina, growing inflationary pressure and evolution in consumer spending and the outcome of certain legal proceedings. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date of this document. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events and circumstances after the date of this press release, including, without limitation, changes in the Company's business or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are encouraged to consult the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as periodic filings made on Form 6-K, which are filed with or furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for further information concerning risks and uncertainties faced by Telecom.
