BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

14/11/2007

Telekom Austria Q3 net 173.7 mln eur; raises FY EBITDA, revenues outlook on MDC

VIENNA (Thomson Financial) - Telekom Austria Group said net profit for the third quarter declined over 18 pct year-on-year to 173.3 mln eur, exceeding consensus of 170 mln, due to due to lower operating income and higher interest expenses in the period.

Telekom Austria said it will raise its full year outlook for EBITDA and revenues, thanks to the planned consolidation from the fourth quarter of its acquisition of a 70 pct stake in MDC in Belarus, which it bought for 730 mln in October.

EBITDA for the three-month period ending Sept 30 was 521.2 mln eur versus 549.9 mln reported for the same period a year before, down as a result of 18.1 mln eur costs arising for the start-up of its operations in Serbia and Macedonia.

'The recent acquisition of MDC demonstrates the consistent execution of our strategy and strengthens our emerging market profile. Furthermore, MDC will have a positive impact on revenues and EBITDA starting from the fourth quarter 2007,' said Boris Nemsic, chief executive of Telekom Austria.

Revenues increased by 3.6 pct to 1.277 bln eur in the third quarter from 1.23 mln a year before because of higher revenues in both the mobile and fixed net segments.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/11/14/afx4336389.html

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