Telecom Italia reported full-year results short of its targets, due to continued weakness in Italy and a slowdown in Brazil. The company had forecast flat sales and EBITDA for the year and reported revenues down 1.5 percent to EUR 29.5 billion and EBITDA 4.2 percent lower at EUR 11.7 billion.
In Italy, revenues fell 5.8 percent to EUR 17.9 billion, hurt by cuts to mobile termination rates, tough competition and the weak economic climate. EBITDA fell a slower 5.2 percent to EUR 8.7 billion, helped the margin improve to 48.6 percent. In the fourth quarter, the drop in wireline revenues accelerated to 8.7 percent, to EUR 3.19 billion, while mobile unit TIM did slightly better than the previous quarter, with sales down 9.5 percent to EUR 1.66 billion.
TIM added a net 36,000 new subscribers in the quarter, for a total 32.159 million at year-end, down 0.2 percent from 2011. Fourth-quarter handset sales were down 6.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.71 million, while usage rose 3.1 percent to an average 168 minutes per customer. ARPU dropped 12.2 percent year-on-year to EUR 14.9.
In the fixed-line market, retail broadband subscribers were down by 10,000 versus Q3 at 7.02 million, while the fixed-line telephony base fell by 203,000 to 15.90 million. IPTV customers were down by 27 percent year-on-year and 16,000 from Q3 to 195,000.
Adjusted net debt fell to EUR 28.3 billion at year-end from EUR 30.4 billion in 2011, but did not meet the group's target of EUR 27.5 billion. Operating cash flow improved to EUR 6.5 billion from EUR 5.8 billion in 2011, and capex fell to EUR 5.2 billion from EUR 6.1 billion.
Telecom Italia said it will publish a new strategic plan for 2013-2015 at the presentation of its annual results later on 08 February. It has also decided to delay a decision on the proposed sale of its broadcast unit, Telecom Italia Media.
