PRAGUE: Telecoms group O2 Czech Republic will likely post a 40 percent year-on-year drop in fourth-quarter net profit, a sharp fall after a one-off gain had lifted earnings in the same period the year before, a Reuters poll showed.
The average estimate of seven analysts in the poll was for net profit of 1.17 billion crowns ($47.85 million).
The Czech group has seen declining revenue and profit from its fixed-line and mobile businesses in recent years but posted an 11 percent profit rise in the fourth quarter of 2013 after booking one-off compensation received on the basis of a network-sharing agreement.
"We expect an improving trend in revenue, (meaning) a smaller year-on-year decline compared with previous quarters, but a steep decline in profitability," Komercni Banka analyst Josef Nemy said.
Czech billionaire Petr Kellner's investment group PPF bought a majority stake in O2 Czech Republic from Telefonica last year and has since raised its share to over 83 percent through buybacks.
Markets will be looking for company comments on a dividend and structural changes at the firm that new management has flagged. In January, it said it was taking steps to separate its fixed and mobile infrastructure into a new company.
In December, shareholders approved extending a loan of up to 24.8 billion crowns to PPF to pay off part of its acquisition debt. The moves have raised investor concern over future dividends and shares are down 28 percent since September.
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