Swisscom: Sustained growth at Fastweb

In the first half of 2009, Swisscom recorded lower revenue in its Swiss business, continued growth at Fastweb and a higher net profit than in the first half of 2008. In the first half of 2009, Swisscom's net revenue fell by 1.2% to CHF 5,917 million and the operating result by 3.8% to CHF 2,235 million. On a constant currency basis, net revenue rose by 0.3% and EBITDA fell by 2.7%. The Italian subsidiary Fastweb increased revenue in local currency by 12.9%. According to Swisscom, the continuing price erosion in the Swiss business amounting to around CHF 200 million could not be compensated for by customer growth and new offers, resulting in a decline in net revenue in Switzerland of around CHF 150 million. At CHF 1,352 million, the operating free cash flow was almost maintained at the previous year's level, while the Group's net profit rose by 20.7% to CHF 1,021 million.
Compared to the previous year, the number of DSL broadband connections in Switzerland rose by 96,000 to around 1.8 million connections. At the same time, the number of unbundled fixed network connections increased to 82,000. The number of Bluewin TV customers more than doubled within the space of a year and stood at 165,000 at the end of the second quarter of 2009.
The detailed interim report is available at www.swisscom.ch/q2-report-2009 can be viewed.