Mobistar group confirms its forecasts for the whole 2011 financial year

Brussels, 20 October 2011 – Today, Mobistar publishes its results for the third quarter that ended on 30 September 2011. The number of customers for Mobistar mobile postpaid, mobile Internet, machine-to-machine activities and fixed telephony services in Belgium continues to grow. The results are once again squeezed by the impact of regulation (69 million euros on turnover and 33 million euros on EBITDA). The group confirms its financial forecasts for the 2011 financial year.

Key facts:

• At the end of the third quarter of 2011, the Mobistar group had 4,150,719 active mobile telephony customers, an increase of 3.6 % or 146,055 customers more compared with a year earlier. 
• The number of Mobistar S.A. postpaid customers rose by 108,407 over the year, making  the proportion of postpaid customers in the overall customer base of Mobistar S.A. 65 % on 30 September 2011, compared with 62.9 % a year earlier.
• Mobistar S.A. had 129,749 customers for mobile Internet at the end of the third quarter of 2011, compared with 103,610 customers a year earlier, an increase of 25.3 %. The share of mobile data in service revenues rose to 36.7 % at the end of September 2011, compared with 31.5 % a year earlier.
• At the end of September 2011, Mobistar S.A. had 71,377 ADSL customers, 46.5 % up on a year earlier. The number of Mobistar S.A. activated and installed Starpack (quadruple play) customers was 26,643 at the end of the third quarter of 2011.
• Mobistar S.A. counted 341,038 active ‘machine-to-machine’ cards at the end of the third quarter of 2011, or an increase of 104.3 % compared with September 2010.
• The number of Mobistar S.A. active fixed telephone lines rose by 23.4 %, from 172,364 on 30 September 2010 to 212,675 a year later.
• On 30 September 2011, the Mobistar group recorded total consolidated turnover, including the consolidation of MES S.A. (Mobistar Enterprise Services) for 9 months, of 1,225.1 million euros, 0.7 % less than the 1,233.7 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2010 (-1.8 % excl. MES S.A.). Without the regulatory impact, the consolidated turnover would have been 1,292.1 million euros. 
• The EBITDA of the Mobistar group was negatively impacted by the fall in MTR and roaming tariffs, and amounted to 400.9 million euros at the end of September 2011, or 4.1 % lower than at the end of September 2010 (-6 % excl. MES S.A.). Without the impact of the regulation, the EBITDA would have been 434.3 million euros. The EBITDA margin of Mobistar group was 35.6 % (36.2 % excl. MES S.A.) at the end of the third quarter of 2011, compared with 36.8 % a year earlier.
• At the end of the third quarter of 2011, the Mobistar group recorded a consolidated net profit amounting to 168.5 million euros, or 12.6 % lower than at the end of September 2010 (-14.7 % excl. MES S.A.).
• The net investments by the Mobistar group for the first 9 months of 2011 were 104.1 million euros, or 9.2 % of the service revenues, compared with 100.8 million euros the previous year, or 3.3 % more (1.8 % excl. MES S.A.).
• The organic cash-flow of the Mobistar group was 207.1 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2011, compared with 288 million euros a year earlier, or a fall of 28.1 % (-30.9 % excl. MES S.A.) a consequence of the lower EBITDA and the increase in the paid income taxes.
• Based on the results of the first nine months of 2011, Mobistar can confirm its financial forecasts for the whole 2011 financial year.

Complete press release (PDF)