TDC Group on the right track

The TDC Group will present quarterly financial statements on Wednesday morning, with revenue of DKK 5.2 billion and operating profit of DKK 2.2 billion. A decrease of 11.6 per cent compared to the previous year.

Several strategic initiatives extending the 'Always simpler and better' strategy were launched during the quarter, and the merger of the two consumer brands – TDC Consumer and YouSee – was largely completed.

"We are now so comfortable with the merger and our performance in general, that we are slightly improving our guidance for this year's operating profit and cash flow," says Group CEO Pernille Erenbjerg from the TDC Group.

"We have continued to see a difficult Danish market during the quarter, but our gross profit in Denmark is improving. Earnings in our Danish mobile business have grown organically for the last two quarters, for the first time in five years, and we are again delivering a very strong result in Norway. I am also pleased that we have already initiated several of our strategic initiatives, exactly as planned," adds Pernille Erenbjerg.

The mobile customer base, which includes both call subscriptions and pure data subscriptions, grew by 13,000 residential customers and 3,000 business customers during the quarter. In the consumer market, the TDC Group has maintained the same revenue per mobile customer as in Q3 last year, despite a much stricter European roaming regulation.

"We are continuing to experience price pressure in the business market. But the new European roaming regulation is also being felt, and will continue to affect us in the coming quarters," explains Pernille Erenbjerg.

New mobile product
The Norwegian subsidiary, Get, introduced mobile telephony targeting existing Get customers with special advantages for customers who have both TV and broadband. Under the new mobile packages, Get customers can take their products with them on the move, and can get one combined invoice and service from a single customer Care centre.

"We strive to give our customers better solutions and have developed our Norwegian products based on our experience from Denmark, where we have unique insight into customers' needs. Following this launch, it will be both better and simpler to be a Get customer," says Pernille Erenbjerg.

Better connections for Danes
The TDC Group secured a new mobile licence during the quarter in the Danish Government's 1800 MHz frequency auction. The licence allows the TDC Group to retain its current spectrum for offering mobile telephony and mobile broadband in Denmark.

"With the new licence we have committed ourselves to rolling out mobile broadband to more than 700 addresses which currently have weak coverage. This is a responsibility we are happy to accept, and it goes hand in hand with our strategy of ensuring better connections for the entire country," says Pernille Erenbjerg.

In addition to its mobile network, the TDC Group is expanding its broadband network throughout Denmark, including in rural areas. The TDC Group launched its rural area initiative in 2016, which ensures better broadband in sparsely populated areas. Over 1,000 households in Sjællands Odde and the Zealand villages of Plejelt and Græse received a new broadband network in Q3. In Q4, the TDC Group expects an additional 17 rural areas will have new broadband installed, including many households on Langeland.

Additional information:
Fact sheet is attached
TDC Group Communications, tel. +45 7020 3510