ATHENS--Greece's former monopoly phone company, Hellenic
Telecommunications Organization SA (HTO.AT), or OTE, Friday said
third-quarter net profit rose slighty due to cost cuts, adding it
expects revenue to remain pressured due to challenging markets.
MAIN FACTS:
-Revenue for the third quarter dipped 10.2% year-on-year to
EUR1.18 billion (2011: EUR1.31 billion)
-Third-quarter net profit was EUR109 million versus a profit of
EUR107.7 million a year earlier.
-Third-quarter earnings per share was EUR0.22 (2011:
EUR0.21)
-The company said focus on cash flow generation led to
considerable improvements compared to prior periods as it cut net
debt by a further EUR212 million during the quarter, adding up to a
reduction of over EUR1 billion in the past 12 months.
-OTE reduced net debt to EUR3 billion at the end of Sept, from
EUR3.8 billion at the end of last year.
-Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Tsamaz: "We are making
rapid progress with our refinancing plans, having already received
commitments for roughly half a billion euros of our syndicated
loan, and are fully confident that all components will be in place
on schedule by the end of the first quarter of 2013."
-Outlook: OTE expects revenues in the final months of 2012 to
remain under pressure as a result of challenging economic
conditions, intense competition and regulatory termination cuts in
several markets. Stringent implementation of cost-containment
programs should enable OTE to further mitigate the impact of
revenue declines on its profitability and financial performance, it
added.
Write to Stelios Bouras at stelios.bouras@dowjones.com
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