MTel growth stable and assured, says CEO
Magyar Telekomʼs growth is stable and assured, outgoing CEO Christopher Mattheisen said at a press conference Wednesday, a day after the telco published first-quarter earnings.
MTelʼs Q1 revenue rose 7.2% to HUF 150.6 billion, the earnings report released late Tuesday showed. Direct cost of sales outpaced that increase, climbing 12.3% to HUF 59.5 bln. Gross profit climbed 4.1% to HUF 91.1 bln.
After-tax profit fell 33.7% to HUF 9.5 bln. However, excluding the impact of the sale of MTelʼs Montenegrin unit early in 2017, profit nearly doubled.
CFO János Szabó said MTel has achieved the marks set down in its guidance in the recent period, in spite of significant changes on the market, such as the change of ownership at rival Telenor. Nothing is foreseen that could significantly impact MTelʼs guidance for this year, he said, adding that the company is prepared to meet the challenges, national news agency MTI reported.
MTelʼs guidance for this year shows revenue of around HUF 600 bln and EBITDA of about HUF 190 bln.
Assessing MTelʼs Q1 earnings, Szabó said sales of equipment in the fixed-line segment have grown markedly, raising sales of related services. In the mobile segment, revenue was driven by data services, he added.
Mattheisen, who will leave MTel as of July 1, called his replacement, Tibor Rékasi, "a seasoned leader" and an "ideal choice" for CEO. Rékasi said the knowledge he has acquired in MTelʼs corporate and retail divisions would serve the company well in future. Taking over Mattheisenʼs position will not bring a change in strategy, he added, noting that he had already earlier participated in deciding MTelʼs business strategy.
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