(2019-02-26) Global Telecom Holding reports 4Q 2018 earnings Global Telecom Holding (GTHE) returns to profitability in 4Q 2018, recording a net profit of USD 98 million during the period. Revenues for the quarter were USD 702 million while EBITDA reached USD 305 million, yielding a solid EBITDA margin of 43.5%.
Global Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“GTH”, or “the Company”), a leading international telecommunications company operating mobile networks in high-growth markets in Africa and Asia, announced today its results for the quarter ended 31 December 2018.
Note from Vincenzo Nesci, Chief Executive Officer;
“In Q4 2018, GTH maintained growth of its customer base across all markets, with total customers of 104.4 million. Revenue increased organically1 by 11.6% year-on-year in Q4 2018, despite a slight decrease in reported revenues of 3.1% year-on-year to USD 702 million during Q4 2018, mainly as result of adverse currency movements in Pakistan.
Customer growth and mobile data demand were reflected in enhanced performance at the EBITDA level organically1. Reported EBITDA was USD 305 million for Q4 2018, representing a 1.2 percentage-point margin increase to 43.52%. The period also saw a net profit of USD 98 million in Q4 2018 compared to a net loss of USD 136 million in Q4 2017.
In Pakistan, the market remained competitive. Despite this, Jazz continued to show growth in both revenue and customers during the period by competitively servicing the growing demand for data and access to social network platforms. Jazz saw an increase in customer subscriptions of 4.8% year-on-year, driven by the expansion of its data network and higher bundle penetration, while the suspension of taxes collected from customers by mobile operators saw a significant increase in MOU and data usage. Both factors almost equally contributed to organic3 revenue growth of 22.7% year-on-year in 4Q18.
In Algeria, Djezzy’s operating trends continued to stabilize during Q4 2018. The customer base grew by 5.7% year-on-year and by 1.3% quarter-on-quarter, driven by continued positive uptake of new offers launched earlier in 2018. Despite a healthy growth in its customer base, revenues declined organically4 by 1.7% year-on-year during Q4 2018 due to declining ARPU, with the market subject to intense price competition.
In Bangladesh, competitive forces continued to exert downward pressure on prices during Q4 2018, with data offers coming under particular strain. Bangladesh’s regulatory environment remains challenging and limits customer growth in the market. Despite these factors, Banglalink, saw its revenues increase organically during Q4 2018 by 1.3% year-on-year driven by growth in organic4
service revenues of 2.6% year-on-year. Banglalink continues to focus on acquiring customers despite a highly competitive market, differentiating its offer with improved network availability.
