Net profit was particularly hard hit and contracted by 29.9% to 447 million francs, against 638 million in the first quarter of 2021.
Swisscom started 2022 on a slow note, with a decline in net profit due to one-off effects, but also in revenue, while the operating result improved. The blue giant confirms all its objectives for the current financial year.
Net profit was particularly hard hit and contracted by 29.9% to 447 million francs, against 638 million in the first quarter of 2021, wrote Swisscom on Thursday in a press release. This decline is explained by the exceptional effects recorded last year, namely the transfer of a stake in the Italian subsidiary Fastweb and the sale of a stake in Belgium. Without these effects, Swisscom would have ended the quarter with a positive result.
Operating profit Ebit rose by 6.4% to 549 million francs, while operating profit before depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) improved by 1.2% to 1.14 billion. Turnover contracted by 1.2% to 2.77 billion.
The performance is above the expectations of analysts polled by AWP. They expect an average turnover of 2.76 billion francs, an Ebitda of 1.10 billion and a net profit of 375 million.
Stagnating sales in Switzerland
In detail, the turnover of telecommunications activities in Switzerland contracted due to price pressure, while the Italian subsidiary Fastweb continued to grow, indicates Swisscom. In Switzerland, core business contracted by 0.5%, while revenue from telecommunications services fell by 1.8%. The IT solutions sector grew by 8.8%. Finally, Fastweb sales increased by 2.4%.
In mobile telephony, the number of conventional billing connections increased by 162,000 during the period, while the number of prepaid connections fell by 188,000. At the end of 2022, Swisscom had 6.15 million mobile connections.
Swisscom confirms all of its financial targets for the current financial year. The blue giant is aiming for a net turnover of between 11.1 and 11.2 billion francs, in Ebitda of around 4.4 billion and investments of 2.3 billion. If these objectives are achieved, Swisscom wishes to pay an unchanged dividend of CHF 22 per share for 2022.
Finally, Swisscom renewed the agreement with Sunrise UPC concerning access to its network. The latter thus continues to have access to the Swisscom fixed network throughout Switzerland, including the new fiber optics to come.