Sunrise 2008 with more profit and less sales
Telecommunications provider Sunrise increased its total number of customers by 26% to 2.86 million last year. Net profit rose by 8.8 percent, but the company generated 4.8 percent less revenue.
Telecom provider Sunrise increased the number of customers by a good quarter in 2008 with the takeover of Tele 2. However, the price offensives against market leader Swisscom caused sales to fall by 4.8 percent to CHF 1.856 billion. At the same time, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by CHF 59 million to CHF 459 million. Net profit, on the other hand, improved by 8.8 percent to CHF 185 million, as Sunrise announced on Thursday. The main reason for the higher net result is a reversal of CHF 30 million from the former monopolist Swisscom, which lowered prices on the "last mile" for 2007 and 2008 at the behest of the Swiss Federal Communications Commission (Comcom).
Two years after taking office, Switzerland's second-largest telecoms provider is in a much better position, Sunrise CEO Christoph Brand told the media in Zurich, according to SDA. With the repositioning of the brand, the number of customers rose by 584,000 to 2.86 million last year. 419,000 of these came from the takeover of Tele 2 in the fall. Tele 2 CEO Mats Tilly and CFO Horst Rzepka are now leaving the company at the end of February 2009.
The acquisition for CHF 50 million increased Sunrise's investments by 8.5 percent to CHF 205 million. The funds flowed primarily into the expansion of the broadband, fiber optic and mobile network. By the end of 2008, Sunrise had connected 153 local centers with its own fiber optic broadband network. The growth and investment course is to be continued in 2009: Sunrise plans to create 100 jobs in the stores, provide 80 percent of households with its own broadband services and expand the mobile network. At the end of January
In 2009, Sunrise supplied 28,800 customers with ADSL2+ and thus "unbundled" them.
Parent company writes off
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows: the Danish parent company TDC is writing off an additional CHF 600 million to Sunrise. The reason given for this is that the regulatory legal framework and the "hesitant liberalization" have worsened the prospects for private telecom companies in Switzerland.
The prices that alternative providers have to pay for the use of the former PTT network are still the key obstacle to further intensification of competition and the main reason for higher prices than abroad, said Brand. In 2008, Sunrise transferred CHF 334 million to Swisscom, 0.9 percent more than in the previous year and "far too much" for Brand. Another reason for the write-down was the generally difficult economic situation worldwide. TDC had thrown out its managing director, former Swisscom CEO Jens Alder, in November.
Two years after taking office, Switzerland's second-largest telecoms provider is in a much better position, Sunrise CEO Christoph Brand told the media in Zurich, according to SDA. With the repositioning of the brand, the number of customers rose by 584,000 to 2.86 million last year. 419,000 of these came from the takeover of Tele 2 in the fall. Tele 2 CEO Mats Tilly and CFO Horst Rzepka are now leaving the company at the end of February 2009.
The acquisition for CHF 50 million increased Sunrise's investments by 8.5 percent to CHF 205 million. The funds flowed primarily into the expansion of the broadband, fiber optic and mobile network. By the end of 2008, Sunrise had connected 153 local centers with its own fiber optic broadband network. The growth and investment course is to be continued in 2009: Sunrise plans to create 100 jobs in the stores, provide 80 percent of households with its own broadband services and expand the mobile network. At the end of January
In 2009, Sunrise supplied 28,800 customers with ADSL2+ and thus "unbundled" them.
Parent company writes off
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows: the Danish parent company TDC is writing off an additional CHF 600 million to Sunrise. The reason given for this is that the regulatory legal framework and the "hesitant liberalization" have worsened the prospects for private telecom companies in Switzerland.
The prices that alternative providers have to pay for the use of the former PTT network are still the key obstacle to further intensification of competition and the main reason for higher prices than abroad, said Brand. In 2008, Sunrise transferred CHF 334 million to Swisscom, 0.9 percent more than in the previous year and "far too much" for Brand. Another reason for the write-down was the generally difficult economic situation worldwide. TDC had thrown out its managing director, former Swisscom CEO Jens Alder, in November.
