Telefónica Europe has delivered like for like revenue growth of 6.4% in the first quarter, with growth of 5.3% in operating income. Its customer base is now said to be at 42.8 million (+8.8% year on year) with almost 3.5 million customers added.
In the UK, O2 grew revenue 12.6% and OIBDA 13.1%, while O2 Germany's performance continued to improve, with positive revenue growth for the first time in 4 quarters (+1.5%) and net mobile customer additions of 536,000, over 3 times the figure for the same period last year;
Telefónica O2 Czech Republic maintained its momentum in the Czech mobile market with 5.1% growth in mobile service revenues and reduced fixed line losses year on year (74,000 in Q1 2008 vs. 115,000 in Q1 2007).
The group says it has continued to build on and broaden its product portfolio: customer base of almost 900,000 retail DSL and IPTV customers across Europe; over ¾ of a million wholesale DSL customers; mobile broadband launched in UK, almost 40,000 mobile broadband customers already in Ireland.
The group reported total mobile data revenues amounted to €903 million in the first quarter, with non-SMS data revenue of €205 million, growth of 40.6% year on year.
Matthew Key, Chairman & Chief Executive of Telefónica Europe, commented: "Telefónica Europe has delivered a strong start to the year, with like for like revenue growth in the first quarter of 6.4% and 5.3% growth in operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA). Over the past 12 months we have added almost 3.5 million customers across Europe (including over 2 million mobile contract customers), growth of 8.8% in competitive markets. Part of our success has been in anticipating customer needs and delivering propositions that customers value – for example, our Simplicity tariff in the UK offers flexibility and our lowest pay monthly rate, an attractive choice for customers in the current economic climate
"In the UK we outperformed the market again, posting revenue growth of 12.6% for the quarter and adding 206,000 net contract customers, 2½ times the figure for the first quarter last year. Despite a slowdown on the high street, we are currently seeing no evidence of significant change in our customers spend or usage, but continue to monitor behaviour. Growth in 12 month rolling ARPU of £13 year on year in the UK illustrates that we are successfully focusing on higher value customers.
"In Germany, there are signs we are regaining our momentum with positive revenue growth of 1.5% in the quarter, Mobile service revenue also showed an encouraging trend, as expected, with a decline of 0.9% year on year in the first quarter, compared to a decline of 6.5% in the fourth quarter 2007. We were very pleased with net additions of 536,000 mobile customers during the quarter, over 3 times the figure for the first quarter last year, although the market continues to be challenging, with blended monthly ARPU down 13.4% year on year. Our Fonic brand has continued its success attracting over 320,000 customers in just 7 months and we will continue to expand our distribution channels. Our Telefónica Deutschland DSL business continues to perform well, with a 3 fold increase in unbundled lines to 845,000 and 38.2% growth in fixed wholesale revenues.
"The Czech Republic business delivered group revenue growth of 1.6% in the first quarter, with 5.1% service revenue growth in the Czech mobile business, which added 33,000 customers in the quarter, compared with a decline of 23,000 in Q1 last year. The percentage of contract customers in the base now stands at 44.7%, compared to only 40.6% at the end of March 2007. In the fixed line business, the total number of ADSL lines stood at 587,000 at the end of March, growth of 16.7% year on year.
"In a competitive market O2 Ireland traded well in the quarter, adding 17,000 customers in total, with 19,000 on contract, a significant improvement on last year. O2 Broadband, our wireless mobile broadband solution, continues to have good traction in the market, offering a real alternative to fixed broadband in the home in a market that is under penetrated and has good growth potential."