TDC Group financial statements meet expectations

TDC Group’s financial statements for Q2 2017 meet expectations with an operating profit (EBITDA) of DKK 2.1 billion. There is continued improvement in the Danish mobile business, which has seen an increase in gross profit for the third consecutive quarter.

The financial statements that TDC Group is presenting on Thursday morning are in line with previous announcements. The company’s total revenue for the quarter amounts to DKK 5.1 billion, while the operating profit is DKK 2.1 billion, corresponding to a decrease of 2.9% and 2.8% respectively, compared with the prior-year period.

“In 2017, we are well on our way to stabilising our entire business. Thus, the financial statements are satisfactory and in line with our expectations for the full year. In particular, I would like to highlight the good development in our domestic mobile operation with gross profit growth for the third quarter in a row. Customers are willing to pay slightly more for access to Denmark’s best mobile network despite fierce competition on the market,” explains Pernille Erenbjerg, Group CEO and President, from the TDC Group.

The gross profit in the Danish mobile business increased in Q2 by 1.8% compared with the previous year, even though the number of mobile customers fell by 10,000 in the course of the three-month period. Mobile growth is driven by private customers, who are now paying DKK 3 more than a year ago for access to TDC Group’s mobile network, which was recently named Denmark’s best mobile network for the third successive year by the Danish Technological Institute.

Boom in data usage abroad
The financial statements are TDC Group’s first since the latest EU Roaming Regulation came into force. Since 15 June – i.e. the last 16 days of Q2 – TDC Group’s customers have been able to use mobile data in most European countries without incurring extra charges.

“In connection with the new rules, we have ensured access to the best mobile networks in Europe, so our customers have the best connection both at home and away, and we can see that they have embraced it,” says Pernille Erenbjerg.

The first figures from June and July show that data usage by TDC Group’s customers in Europe has increased more than sevenfold since last year.

“I am pleased that our customers have warmly welcomed the option of using mobile data without any concerns during their holiday. The data usage abroad will more or less land within the range we expected, but we won’t know exactly until later in the year,” says Pernille Erenbjerg.

Previously, TDC Group estimated that the roaming regulation would cost more around DKK 150 million as, despite new rules on neutral billing, TDC Group has to pay foreign operators for the data usage, which is increasing markedly.

Popular TV box
In terms of customer numbers, TDC Group saw its TV customer base fall by 23,000 during the quarter. Much of this can be attributed to the loss of a single large business customer, while the remainder is due in particular to customers choosing to only have broadband.

“We are well aware of the trends in the TV market, and we see our role as that of a provider of all types of content for consumers, be it in the form of TV, streaming services or combined. Therefore, we are speeding up the roll-out of our TV box, which in the past quarter has achieved the best sales figures so far,” says Pernille Erenbjerg.

Since the launch of TDC Group’s strategy ‘Always simpler and better’ in January 2016, a number of initiatives have been implemented which are designed to make things simpler for both the customer and internally in the company.

“We are still on course with our strategy, and thanks to a number of digital initiatives we have taken important steps making it simpler and better for our customers. This means, among other things, that we have given our customers new self-service options that will improve the customer experience. For example, a customer can now book and re-book a technician online,” says Pernille Erenbjerg.

The new initiatives have contributed to a 14% fall in the number of calls to customer support compared with last year.

Further information:
TDC Press, tel. +45 7020 3510