Telekom Romania Mobile in Q2 2022: positive trend continues

• EBITDA growth for 6 consecutive quarters – 105.5% EBITDA growth yoy; 165% EBITDA growth for H1 2022 compared to H1 2021;
• Q2 2022 revenues up 4.9% yoy;
• Customer base up 11.3% yoy – both contracts and prepaid subscribers’ numbers have increased;
• FCF growth –11 out of last 12 quarters FCF positive.

As of 30 June 2022, Telekom Romania Mobile had 3.94 million customers, up 11.3% year-on-year. In the second quarter of this year, the operator recorded almost 120,000 new users in absolute terms, a confirmation of the growing interest and customer trust in its services and a consequence of delivering on its brand promise: Mobile as you want it. Simple and fair.

At the end of the quarter, the company had 1.78 million postpaid subscribers, up 5.3% yoy, and 2.15 million prepaid users, up 16.8% yoy.

According to the company’s data, 80% of Telekom Mobile’s customers are promoters of its services and of the new portfolio launched in April, and its promise What you see is what you pay. All these results are a proof of Telekom Mobile’s efforts to understand customers’ needs and offer them the most suitable solutions.

The increase in the number of customers came amid the company’s continuous efforts to improve the quality of the network, in addition to launching attractive commercial offers. Over the past year, Telekom Mobile’s network quality has improved in 1,200 localities with 10.6 million inhabitants, and in the last six months, improvement work has resulted in better coverage in over 440 urban and rural areas with a total of 345,000 inhabitants, while 4G coverage has exceeded 98% of the population.

At the same time, the company is continuing its ambitious plan to connect its base stations to solar panels, replacing the current power sources with renewable ones. This is an investment, which will considerably reduce the company’s carbon footprint in the following years, contributing to a greener future for Romania.

“Telekom Mobile has proven to be a high performing organisation over the last three quarters, achieving better results across all key performance indicators. We have focused our strategy on one thing: treating our customers with respect and fairness, in line with the commitment our brand has made to all Romanians, to give them Mobile as you want it. Simple and fair. All we have done and will continue to do is to treat our customers as we would like to be treated in turn. The trust we have received from them shows that we have chosen the right strategy”, said Dina Tsybulskaya, Telekom Romania Mobile CEO.

Telekom Romania’s financials reflect these positive results in customer acquisition and retention. In Q2 2022, revenues increased by 4.7%, to 78.2 million euro, excluding the impact of wholesale (MVNO) and other income related to fixed operations. For the first half of year, revenues were 156.6 million euro, up 3.1% yoy.

Q2 EBITDA doubled to 13.7 million euro yoy, while for the 6-month period growth reached 165% yoy, to 25.4 million euro.

In addition to these achievements, Telekom Mobile has taken decisive steps towards becoming a digital operator. The number of customers receiving e-bills increased by 11% compared to the same period last year and the number of digital payments also rose by 18% compared to Q2 2021. In addition, the company increased the number of robotic-assisted automated processes (RPAs) by 43% compared to the same period in 2021, which helps both streamline the customer experience and the work of the company’s employees.

“We are still in uncertain times. The second quarter of the year saw a rise in inflation rates, which reached 15% in June 2022, putting pressure on customers and businesses. Moreover, the increase in Covid cases during the last weeks means that we still have to fight this pandemic. Good news came at the end of the first quarter of the year, as GDP rose by 6.5% yoy, and I am sure that Romania will manage to pass these obstacles and maintain economic growth”, said Nicolas Mahler, Chief Financial Officer Telekom Romania Mobile.

“In this environment, we have continued our efforts in implementing smart, agile and digital processes, to increase operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. We see that this is really paying off not only in reducing operational costs but also in improving customer feedback. This endeavor, combined with great commercial offers, generated a recipe for success”, continued Nicolas Mahler.

At the end of the second quarter, Telekom Romania Mobile moved its activity to the new location, @Expo. “We have recently moved to our new headquarters which fit better our mobile challenger attitude. It is a place of fresh inspiration that will motivate our people”, mentioned Nicolas Mahler.

In mid-June, Telekom Mobile launched a summer offer, still available for customers, lining-up the new NELIMITAT tariff plans with unlimited connectivity (internet, voice, and SMS) in Romania and access to roaming services in the European Economic Area (EEA) included from the start, according to Roam Like at Home regulations, applicable to all customers in the EEA.

“The new Telekom Mobile subscription portfolio has been designed as a further step towards fulfilling the promise the company made last autumn to offer its customers a simpler and fairer mobile experience with transparent pricing and simpler benefits. And the feedback we have received from customers on the new tariff plans proves that we are giving them the service they really want and trust”, said Andreea Cramer, Chief Commercial Officer, Telekom Romania Mobile.