Eircom earnings still falling

Management at Irish incumbent Eircom believe the business is moving in the right direction, despite a further fall in EBITDA during fiscal 1Q12, covering the three months to end September.
 
EBITDA fell €14 million year-on-year to €124 million during the quarter, and revenue dipped €26 million to €363 million. However, chief executive Herb Hribar notes the operator’s rate of decline is slowing, and that cost cutting measures are starting to pay off. Operating costs in fiscal 1Q12 were down 4% to €160 million.
 
The operator again declined to provide profit and loss information for the quarter, with Hribar preferring to focus on its fiber build-out program. “I am delighted to announce the locations of the next 300,000 homes and businesses across Ireland that will receive fiber broadband,” he notes in the firm’s results sheet. The network currently covers 150,000 premises, and work to connect the additional addresses is scheduled to be completed by December 2014.
 
However, the results show fixed line continues to be a weak point for the telco. EBITDA for the segment fell 12% year-on-year in fiscal 1Q12, revenue 7%, as the firm lost 2,000 broadband customers and 19,000 PSTN subscribers. Those declines were offset to a degree by a 3% rise in mobile customers during the quarter, but chief financial officer Richard Moat says the quarterly figures show “why we must aggressively address the costs in our business.”
 
The telco is set to cut 2,000 jobs over the next two years as part of its cost cutting efforts.