Last week in telecoms: Vodafone earnings, German deal in danger, Italy heading for more network sharing

News General Europe 20 MAY 2019
Last week in telecoms: Vodafone earnings, German deal in danger, Italy heading for more network sharing

Vodafone's quarterly results and dividend cut set the TPSI European Telecoms Services lower last week. The index ended week 20 down 0.7 percent, against a 1.9 percent gain for the EuroStoxx 50 index. Iridium, without significant news, and 1&1 Drillisch also ended the week down sharply. The winners included Mobilezone and Rostelecom.

German shares down

Vodafone (-11% in week 20) reported its Q4 results, but lowered its dividend to reduce its leverage and sold its New Zealand unit. The African holding Vodacom also reported.

In Germany, objections mounted against the merger with Liberty Global's (-4.1%) Unitymedia, this time from the country's commercial broadcasters. In other news from Germany, a trio of companies released their Q1 results: United Internet (-6.0%), its listed subsidiary 1&1 Drillisch (-12.2%), as well as business services provider QSC (-6.2%).

Swiss retailer Mobilezone (+10%) decided to enter the German market through an acquisition. Spanish operator MasMovil may make a similar move, according to reports it's considering buying a company from KKR to enter the Portuguese market.

Italy: sharing networks

In Italy the incumbent TIM (-0.9%) suggested that a merger with infrastructure operator Open Fiber (unlisted) would make sense, but hadn't yet contacted Open Fiber co-owner Enel.

TIM previously entered into a 5G network sharing deal with Vodafone Italy, a deal which is now criticised by Iliad's (-0.7%) Italian unit. TIM responded by inviting Iliad Italia into the joint venture.

In yet another study it was concluded that the Italian 4G tariffs are now the cheapest in Europe. Vodafone Italia however remarked that it felt that the influence of Iliad's market entry, one year ago, was starting to ease. Still, more pricing adjustments came to the market, now from CK Hutchison's (-1.9%) 3 Italia (notably a price hike) and a promotion from Wind.

More earnings

Other companies reporting included:

Categories:

General

Companies:

Sunrise,  TIM,  Vodafone,  Drillisch,  Digi,  Cyfrowy Polsat,  Eutelsat,  Iliad,  Iridium,  Liberty Global,  Masmovil,  Mobilezone,  QSC,  Rostelecom,  United Internet

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ITALY 17 MAY 2019

3 Italia to hike price of 'Play 30' plan by EUR 3 a month on 16 June

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EUROPE 17 MAY 2019

Italian 4G tariffs cheapest in Europe at USD 19 a month - study

Italy has become the cheapest country in Europe for residential 4G services thanks to the price war unleashed by the market entry of France's Iliad, according to the latest study from Point Topic. A comparison of the average monthly subscription charges offered by mobile broadband providers across the EU-28, Norway and Switzerland revealed that Italians paid USD 19.20 a month for their 4G plans in the first quarter of 2019, followed by Poland at just over USD 20, and Belgium and Germany at around USD 25.

ITALY 17 MAY 2019

TIM yet to officially contact Enel over Open Fiber tie-up

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ICELAND 16 MAY 2019

Syn lifts Q1 EBITDA 5%, revenue dips 1%, maintains FY outlook

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SWITZERLAND 16 MAY 2019

Sunrise raises FY adjusted EBITDA guidance after 13% growth in Q1

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ROMANIA 16 MAY 2019

Digi Communications revenues up 21%, but moves to net loss of EUR 18 mln in Q1

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FRANCE 16 MAY 2019

Bouygues Telecom continues growth trend momentum, Q1 EBITDA up 20%

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ITALY 16 MAY 2019

TIM prepared to expand Vodafone 5G deal to Iliad - CEO

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Rostelecom lifts revenues, net profit in Q1

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ITALY 15 MAY 2019

Iliad impact 'starting to moderate' - Vodafone CEO

The impact on the Italian mobile market of low-cost challenger Iliad is starting to wane and may soon stabilise, according to Vodafone CEO Nick Read. "In Italy, competitive intensity has begun to moderate… and MNP activity has fallen back to levels experienced prior to Iliad's entry," said Read in a conference call following the publication of Vodafone's quarterly results. He added that he fully expected Iliad to increase its pricing over time because it's "structurally unprofitable at current levels".

ITALY 15 MAY 2019

Italy's Wind offering prepay clients bonus 30GB on EUR 50 top-up

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GLOBAL 15 MAY 2019

Eutelsat lowers FY revenue outlook, as underlying revenues contract 4% in fiscal Q3

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GERMANY 15 MAY 2019

United Internet meets targets with slight increase in revenues, EBITDA in Q1

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