In the first nine months of this year, Swisscom's net revenue fell by 1.8 percent to CHF 8.93 million and its EBITDA dropped 1 percent to CHF 3580 million. On the basis of constant exchange rates, net revenue decreased slightly by 0.3 percent, while EBITDA remained virtually unchanged with plus 0.1 percentage points. Swisscom´s Italian subsidiary Fastweb increased revenue in local currency by 10 percent, unable to offset a drop of CFH 220 million in Swiss revenues, due the ongoing price erosion. Excluding one-off items such as the adjustment of depreciation periods as well as charges in the previous year related to the termination of long-term leasing agreements, Swisscom+s net profit is on a par with the prior-year level and including one-off items, the net profit for the first nine months grew by 16.6 percent to CHF 1.534 billion.
Swisscom’s DSL customer base grew by 4.5 percent year-on-year to 1.798 million on 30 September of this year and the customer base for its IPTV service Bluewin TV almost double from 95,000 on 30 September 2008 to 186,000 on 30 September of this year. The number of unbundled fixed lines increased year-on-year from 12,000 to 115,000. Swisscom’s mobile customer base increased year-on-year by a net 259,000 (+4.9%) to 5.54 million. The new iPhone 3GS was successfully launched on the market on 19 June of this year and by the end of September sales of the new-generation handsets totalled 79,000. Since the rollout of the iPhone on 11 July 2008, Swisscom has sold a total of 330,000 units. Revenue on new mobile data services (excluding SMS) increased by 19.3 percent to CHF 302 million. Average monthly revenue per mobile user (ARPU) declined by 5.7 percent from CHF 53 to CHF 50 as a result of lower prices and the introduction of new tariff models. Average monthly minutes per mobile user (AMPU) fell slightly by 1.8 percent to 112 minutes.
Swisscom expects the decline in its Swiss business to continue for the rest of the year as a consequence of ongoing stiff competition, unbundling and a levelling-off of growth in the mobile and broadband market. Excluding Fastweb, Swisscom expects to close the 2009 financial year with revenue down by as much as CHF 300 million to between CHF 9.2 billion and CHF 9.3 billion, EBITDA of between CHF 3.8 billion and CHF 3.9 billion and capital expenditure of around CHF 1.35 billion. Fastweb is expected to close with revenue of around EUR 1.8 billion, EBITDA of around EUR 560 million and capital expenditure in the region of EUR 415 million. Group operating free cash flow, including Fastweb, will lie between CHF 2.6 billion and CHF 2.7 billion.