Swisscom reported an increase in net revenue of CHF 58 million or 1.0 percent year-on-year to CHF 5.758 billion in the first half of this year. Adjusted for company acquisitions and disposals and on the basis of constant exchange rates, revenue increased by CHF 105 million or 1.8 percent, of which CHF 41 million was attributable to the Swiss business. EBITDA declined by 2.2 percent or CHF 49 million to CHF 2.133 billion. Adjusted for non-recurring items and on the basis of constant exchange rates, EBITDA increased by CHF 40 million or 1.9 percent.
Net income fell by 2.7 percent to CHF 784 million, with the lower interest expense partially offsetting the lower operating income.
Group-wide capital expenditure increased by CHF 25 million (2.2%) to CHF 1.142 billion. In Switzerland, it rose by CHF 73 million (9.5%) to CHF 842 million due to the expansion of broadband networks. At the end of June, Swisscom had connected more than 2.5 million homes and businesses to ultra-fast broadband at speeds in excess of 50 Mbps. Of this number, around 1.6 million lines were equipped with the latest fibre-optic technology.
The group’s headcount increased by 1,258 full time-equivalent positions (6.2%) to 21,486, largely as a result of the acquisition of PubliGroupe in September 2014 and of Veltigroup in January of this year. Swisscom sold its subsidiary Alphapay in May and Hospitality Services in June. Excluding company acquisitions and disposals, the number of employees increased by 348 (1.7%) on account of an expansion in customer services and of broadband and connection networks. In Switzerland, the number of employees increased by 7.3 percent in full time-equivalent positions to 18,828.
At the end of June, 2.2 million customers (67%) of private subscription customers were using the Natel infinity offerings (including infinity plus). The number of mobile lines increased year-on-year by 1.7 percent to 6.6 million (+31,000 in the first half of the year).
The number of postpaid lines including bundled offerings rose by 145,000 year-on-year and up by 63,000 over the first half of the year. The number of prepaid lines declined by 34,000 in comparison with 2014 and by 32,000 over the first six months. In the first half of this year, Swisscom sold a total of 620,000 mobile handsets (-8.6%). The number of postpaid smartphone users increased from 71 percent to 74 percent within the space of a year. By the end of June, the number of customers using a bundled package had increased year-on-year by 17.7 percent to 1.31 million. Revenue from bundled contracts rose year-on-year by 18.5 percent to CHF 1.077 billion.
The number of Swisscom TV connections increased year-on-year by 13.5 percent to 1.2 million (+73,000 in H1). Swisscom TV 2.0 counted 564,000 customers by the end of June. The number of fixed-line broadband connections (retail) enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent to 1.92 million. The number of revenue generating units (RGUs) increased year-on-year by 1.6 percent to 12.4 million.
The new Enterprise Customers division increased revenue with external customers by 3.5 percent year-on-year to CHF 1.205 billion. Adjusted for company acquisitions, revenue fell by 1.5 percent as a result of strong price pressure. Incoming orders rose by 20 percent year-on-year.
The financial outlook for the current fiscal year is now based on an average euro exchange rate of CHF 1.05. Swisscom expects net revenue of more than CHF 11.5 billion, EBITDA in excess of CHF 4.2 billion and capital expenditure of over CHF 2.3 billion. If the targets are met, Swisscom will propose to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders payment of an unchanged dividend of CHF 22 per share for the 2015 financial year.
