Q1 2013: FURTHER GROWTH OF DATA SERVICES

Growth of the customer base, mainly in the contract segment
More services for less money
Twice as much data transmitted in the Czech Republic’s fastest network 

Prague, May 8 2013 – The first quarter of 2013 confirmed the trends of the previous period: further development of data services and the ongoing decrease of the average amount spent per customer, while the consumption of telecommunications services increased again. The operator extended the fastest mobile technology HSPA+ 42 to several other cities strengthening its position of the data quality leader, and introduced a new, simplified generation of data tariff plans for attractive prices, while increasing the speed in all offered plans. 

As compared with the same period of the previous year, the number of T-Mobile customers increased by 4.0% to nearly 5.6 million, of whom more than 56% were contract customers. The use of telecommunications services again saw growth, while the average revenue per user dropped again. Despite a number of factors hindering the development of the Czech telecommunications market, T‑Mobile succeeded in maintaining its leading position in the mobile segment and achieving satisfactory results.  

“We consider our results for the first quarter as satisfactory, in spite of the prolonged downward trend on the market and increased competition,” says Milan Vašina, T-Mobile’s Managing Director, adding: “What I find particularly pleasing is the growth of data services and the positive development of the customer base. This is the result of our long-term efforts to achieve the best price:value ratio for our customers.” 

CUSTOMERS
As of 31 March 2013, T-Mobile had nearly 5.6 million customers using mobile services. An ever increasing number of them use one or more of the tariff plans: the number of contract customers reached more than 3.1 million, accounting for more than 56% of the customer base. T-Mobile attracted 72,000 new customers (Net Adds), 65,000 of them signing a contract with the operator. More than 2.4 million customers used the prepaid Twist service at the end of the first quarter. The average monthly churn rate (i.e. the share of customers who decided to stop using the operator’s services) slightly declined to 1.1%.   

Users of T-Mobile’s mobile services called an average of 134 minutes per month during the first quarter of this year, 1.5% more as compared with the previous year. Consumption grew in all areas – the number of calling minutes and text messages, but above all the volume of transmitted data which increased by 93% as compared with the previous year, reaching nearly 1,307 terabytes.

‘000	Q1/2012	Q1/2013	% y/y (rounded)
Number of customers – mobile services	5,354	5,570	4.0%
Contract customers	2,899	3,137	8.2%
Prepaid customers	2,455	2,434	-0.9%
Net adds	-27	72	n/a
Contract customers	26	65	n/a
Prepaid customers	-54	7	n/a
Average monthly churn – mobile services	1.2%	1.1%	-0.2%p
Contract customers	0.5%	0.4%	-0.1%p

FINANCIAL INDICATORS
Despite the fact that prices of telecommunications services have been dropping in real terms while consumption has been rising, T-Mobile succeeded in achieving good financial results. The operator has been successfully compensating declining revenues with a strong emphasis on the efficiency of all its activities, though without reducing investments in technologies and services provided to customers. Total revenues from mobile and fixed-line services reached nearly CZK 5.8 billion, with revenues from mobile services totalling almost CZK 5.1 billion. The average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile services was CZK 301, which is 15.9% less compared with the previous year. The growing use of data services is mirrored in the share of non-voice services in the revenues from mobile services, which increased by 4 percentage points to the record level of 31%.  

CZK	Q1/2012	Q1/2013	% y/y (rounded)
Total revenues (million)	6,397	5,786	-9.6%
Services revenues (million) – mobile services	5,766	5,051	-12.4%
EBITDA (million) (integrated services)	3,095	2,651	-14.3%
EBITDA margin (EBITDA/total revenues)	48.4%	45.8%	-2.6%p
ARPU – mobile services	358	301	-15.9%
Contract customers	538	443	-17.7%
Prepaid customers	141	119	-15.6%
Non-voice % of ARPU – mobile services	27%	31%	4%p

Information about T-Mobile’s other activities in Q1 2013 is available here.

 

 

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.