The Chronicles of…

Deutsche Telekom’s Broadband / Fixed Network division saw its revenues decrease by 7.7 percent to EUR 5.38 billion in the first quarter of this year, due to lower revenues in Germany caused by fixed line loss and the divestment of Deutsche Telekom’s ISPs in France (Club Internet) and Spain (Ya.com). The German revenues of T-Home dropped by 6.1 percent to EUR 4.8 billion, while the international revenues decreased by 19.2 percent to EUR 564 million. The operational profit for BB/FN decreased by 6.9 percent to EUR 909 million and the adjusted EBITDA grew by 1.9 percent to EUR 1.91 billion, due to a 0.5 percent growth in German EBITDA to EUR 1.7 billion in the first quarter of this year. At the same time the international EBITDA grew by 11.7 percent year-on-year to EUR 200 million, due to the divestments of Club Internet and Ya.com that both previously made negative contributions to EBITDA.

The number of broadband lines in Germany increased by 1.9 million compared with the first quarter of 2007 to 12.96 million, while the number of customers with Complete packages increased by 5.4 million to 11.1 million. German line losses developed in line with expectations: around 120,000 lines were lost, primarily due to the increasing availability of all-IP lines, essentially as resale competitors switched their business models. As a result of the corresponding fall in demand for DSL resale products in new business, the number of DSL resale lines fell to 3.4 million. Between 0.8 and 1.1 million line losses are forecast for the full year due to all-IP migration. Another approximately 460,000 are line losses in the true sense of the word, with the forecast for the full year of some 1.7 to 1.9 million losses in this category remaining unchanged. The broadband market outside Germany also continued on a growth course in the first quarter of 2008. With a total of 1.49 million broadband lines including resale products, the Broadband/Fixed Network segment recorded an increase of around 34.8 percent year-on-year outside Germany.

T-Mobile Germany’s revenues down 3.4%, customers up to 37.1 mln
T-Mobile Germany saw its revenues decrease by 3.4 percent during the first quarter to EUR 1.9 billion, but efficiency gains and cost reductions reduced the EBITDA drop to 1.1 percent year-on-year. For the first quarter of this year, T-Mobile Germany reports an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 692 million. The non-voice share of the service revenues grew by 1 percent to 21 percent compared with Q1 2007. T‑Mobile’s customer base increased year-on-year by 12.3 percent to 37.1 million on 31 March of this year. The customer acquisition costs (SAC) grew by 49.2 percent to EUR 97, due to a 55 percent increase in prepaid SAC to EUR 36. The ARPU dropped to EUR 16, driven by a 6.2 percent decrease of postpaid ARPU and a 33.3 percent decrease of prepaid ARPU to EUR 4.

T-Com Montenegro sees significant Q1 customer growth
Montenegrin telecommunications service provider T-Com Crna Gora, a subsidiary of the Magyar Telekom group, reports a revenue increase of 9.3 percent to HUF 4.8 billion in Q1, as the decline in retail voice traffic was offset by a strong increase in internet, data and wholesale traffic revenues. The ADSL customer base almost tripled from a year ago to 24,100, while demand for IPTV services also contributed to broadband revenues. The number of fixed lines rose 0.2 percent from a year ago to nearly 190,000. Wholesale revenue growth was driven by the reclassification of incoming Serbian calls from domestic to international since May 2007. EBITDA tripled due to provisions created last year for employees leaving the company and reached HUF 1.7 billion in Q1, while EBITDA margin was 35.7 in Q1 2008. T-Mobile Crna Gora Q1 revenue also increased 15.1 percent to HUF 3.7 billion, due to strong customer growth and increased mobile termination rates. As a result of the entrance of the third mobile operator, mobile termination rates were raised in May 2007 and handset subsidies increased. ARPU dropped by 8 percent to HUF 2,740 due to new offers with lower tariff levels and bundled minutes. EBITDA decreased by 24.6 percent to HUF 0.7 billion with an EBITDA margin of 18.3 percent, influenced mainly by higher revenue-related payments and increased acquisition costs. The number of customers increased 26.7 percent from a year ago to 433,853, of which 18.3 percent were postpaid.

Magyar Telekom revenues under pressure in Q1
Telecommunications service provider T-Com Hungary, part of the Magyar Telekom group, reports a revenue drop of 5.2 percent to HUF 57.6 billion in Q1, mainly driven by decreasing voice revenues, with increasing competition primarily from mobile and cable operators causing a continuous reduction in traffic and average tariff levels. Internet revenues increased 2.3 percent to HUF 12.9 billion, primarily because of the slowdown in ADSL customer numbers and the decline in average broadband price levels. The total number of broadband connections was nearly 735,000, up 17 percent from a year ago, while the fixed-line connections were down 7.1 percent to 2.211 million. EBITDA was up by 2.1 percent to HUF 25.4 billion, and the EBITDA margin was 44.1 percent. T-Mobile Hungary reported Q1 revenue up just 0.2 percent to HUF 67 billion, as the growth in the customer base and expansion of value-added service revenues were mostly offset by a decline in wholesale voice revenues due to the cut in mobile termination rates both in February 2007 and January 2008. EBITDA increased by 3.4 percent to HUF 28.9 billion as lower termination rates also decreased revenue-related payments, while decreasing asymmetry in the termination rates helped the EBITDA margin to reach 43.1 percent in Q1. ARPU decreased by 8 percent to HUF 4,090 due to the declining tariff levels, the cut in mobile termination rates and the higher inactive ratio. Average acquisition cost per new customer increased by 10.2 percent to HUF 7,178, reflecting the higher subsidies for postpaid customers and 3G/HSDPA enabled devices. The population-based coverage of the HSDPA network reached 55 percent. T-Mobile Hungary finished the period with 4.928 million customers, of which 37.4 percent were postpaid.

T-Mobile UK revenues grow 2.6%, 17.12 mln customers
T-Mobile UK reports a 2.6 percent increase of its first quarter revenues to GBP 801 million compared with the first quarter of 2007. The ARPU revenues grew by 2.1 percent to GBP 723 million and the adjusted EBITDA grew by 16 percent to GBP 174 million. At the same time the non voice share of ARPU revenues grew by 2 percent to 22 percent. The customer base grew by 2.3 percent year-on-year to 17.124 million including Virgin Mobile customers, of which 3.86 million customers use postpaid services (up 1%) and 13.26 million use prepaid services (up 2.7%). The customer acquisition costs (SAC) decreased by 25.5 percent to GBP 70, due to a 34.4 percent increase in prepaid SAC to GBP 43 and a 34.5 percent decrease in postpaid SAC to GBP 169. The ARPU stabilised at GBP 20, despite a 2.3 percent drop in postpaid ARPU to GBP 43. Prepaid ARPU remained stable at GBP 9 compared with the first quarter of 2007.

T-Mobile Macedonia Q1 revenues up 11%, T-Com grows 1%
T-Com Macedonia, subsidiary of the Magyar Telekom group, reports a first-quarter revenue increase of 1 percent to HUF 10.3 billion, as higher internet, data and equipment revenues offset the lower voice traffic. Both retail and wholesale voice revenues decreased due to increasing mobile substitution and competition from alternative operators. The company posted a 4.8 percent annual drop in the number of fixed lines, to 486,700, while the internet subscriber base was up 74 percent to almost 80,000. EBITDA increased by 18.2 percent to HUF 6.1 billion, driven mainly by the sale of Montenegrin company Montmank in February, with a net profit of HUF 1.3 billion. The EBITDA margin was 59.1 percent in Q1. T-Mobile Macedonia reported a Q1 revenue increase of 10.9 percent to HUF 10.3 billion in a growing market characterized by strong tariff competition. The customer base increased 28.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.244 million, while ARPU dropped 14 percent to HUF 2,475, which was the result of the continuous tariff decrease driven by the increased competition after the entrance of the third mobile operator. EBITDA increased by 6.4 percent to HUF 5.4 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 52.3 percent.

T-Mobile Austria’s revenues, EBITDA drop by more than 10%
T-Mobile Austria sees its revenues decrease by 11.6 percent year-on-year to EUR 274 million in the first quarter of this year, with ARPU revenues dropping 10.2 percent to EUR 264 million. The adjusted EBITDA dropped by 32.1 percent year-on-year to EUR 76 million. The revenue and EBITDA decreases were caused by a continued price war on the Austrian mobile market. T-Mobile’s customer base grew by 6.5 percent year-on-year to 3.3 million on 31 March. The customer acquisition costs (SAC) decreased by 17.9 percent to EUR 92, due to a 33.3 percent increase in prepaid SAC to EUR 6. The ARPU dropped to EUR 27, driven by a 18.2 percent decrease of postpaid ARPU to EUR 36 and a 10 percent decrease of prepaid ARPU to EUR 9.

T-Mobile Netherlands adds 36,000 customers in Q1
T-Mobile Netherlands added a net 36,000 new customers in the first quarter, taking its total base to 5.16 million. That includes the customers acquired from Orange. T-Mobile reported sales of EUR 416 million for the quarter, up from EUR 288 million a year ago thanks to the takeover, with EBITDA up 4 percent from a year ago to EUR 62 million. In a statement, T-Mobile said it was pleased not only with the new customer wins but also with the fact that fewer customers were leaving the operator. T-Mobile said that numerous Orange customers were now renewing their contracts with T-Mobile. The integration of Orange is now well under way, and T-Mobile has also started converting the Orange shops. The operator also reported a drop in subscriber acquisition costs for the quarter, while non-voice services rose to a new record of 23 percent of ARPU.

T-Mobile USA revenues grow 12.5%, 30.8 million customers
T-Mobile USA reports a 14.1 percent revenue growth for the first quarter of this year to USD 4.5 billion, while excluding the SunCom acquisition; the revenues grew by 12.5 percent year-on-year. The non-voice share of the service revenues grew by 2 percent to 17 percent. During the same time, the quarterly adjusted EBITDA grew by 18 percent to USD 1.45 billion. The customer base grew by 2.1 million during the first quarter including 1.1 million SunCom customers, to 30.8 million on 31 March of this year. The net additions amounted to 981,000 compared with 980,000 net additions in Q1 2007 and included 732,000 postpaid customers. The number of myFaves customers has passed the 5.5 million mark. T-Mobile USA’s customer acquisition costs (SAC) decreased by 11 percent year-on-year to USD 136 driven by a 10.7 percent drop in postpaid SAC to USD 192. At the same time the ARPU dropped by 2 percent to USD 50, despite an increase of 15.8 percent in prepaid ARPU to USD 22. T-Mobile USA also see the postpaid churn drop to 1.7 percent compared with 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

Najviše gube radnici s najnižim plaćama i puno radnog staža

SSSH tvrdi da će ovakvim Zakonom najviše izgubiti radnici s najnižim plaćama, kojih danas u Hrvatskoj ima 245.555, kao i radnici s više od 20 godina staža.

Po novom prijedlogu neće se uračunavati nedjelje u vrijeme tijekom kojega se isplaćuju naknade, ukida se jednokratni dodatak za radnike s 20 i više godina staža. Ukida se i najniži zajamčeni iznos novčane naknade, koji po aktualnom zakonu iz 2003. godine iznosi 1.026,20 kuna.

Dugotrajno nezaposlene osobe morat će prihvatiti sve poslove za koje se procijeni da odgovaraju njihovim psihofizičkim sposobnostima. Druge države ograničavaju i vrste poslova koje i dugotrajno nezaposlene osobe moraju prihvatiti, dok kod nas sada to neće biti slučaj.

Po ovom prijedlogu, ako radnik radi na crno ukida mu se naknada, a nakon tri mjeseca ima se pravo ponovno prijaviti u evidenciju. SSSH smatra da se time kažnjavaju radnici koji nemaju utjecaj na takvu situaciju, umjesto da za zakonitost rada odgovaraju poslodavci.