by MaryLou Costa (marylouc@mobilenewscwp.co.uk)
T-Mobile customers down 1.2 per cent from Q3 last year but EBITDA up 18.7 per cent from Q2 this year
T-Mobile's Q3 results have shown a small drop in its customer base from Q3 last year with a six per cent decline in revenues.
The network reported 16.61 million customers, compared with 16.8 million customers in Q3 last year, a drop of 1.2 per cent. Its contract customer base measured at 4.07 million, an increase of 1.4 per cent on the same quarter last year, while the prepay base fell two per cent to 12.54 million.
Total net revenues came in at £744 million for the quarter, down six per cent from £794 million in Q3 last year. Service revenues were also down around six per cent, from £727 million in Q3 last year to £680 million in Q3 this year. However, EBITDA is up 18.7 per cent from Q2 this year, to £159 million for Q3. EBITDA margin is up from 17.3 per cent in Q2 to 21.4 per cent.
ARPU is down five per cent, from £20 to £19. But sales of data devices to access mobile broadband rose 71.4 per cent year-on-year.
The company said service revenue was impacted by the introduction August 1 of lower regulatory caps on mobile termination rates.
It also said the increase in its contract customer base was a result of having "maintained its focus on selective investment in the market with the aim of restoring profitability and margins", and the lanch of new Combi value tariffs.
The prepay customer base was up 0.5 per cent from Q2 this year, which the network said was "driven by successive enhancements to the prepay portfolio", with offers such as free texts for life and weekend and monthly top up rewards, as well as the launch of the Pulse prepay Android handset.
T-Mobile UK managing director Richard Moat (pictured) said: "In the third quarter, T-Mobile UK has continued to strengthen by attracting new customers, reinforcing its brand and marketplace position and markedly improving its financial performance.
"I'm pleased that over the quarter we have substantially improved our operating efficiency with the result that profitability and margins have bounced back to levels that are appropriate for a business of our scale. At the same time, we've adjusted our product portfolio in key segments with the emphasis on leading the market on value and we will continue this trend through to the end of the year.
"A highlight of the quarter was the announcement of exclusive negotiations between Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom on proposals to create a 50:50 joint venture between T-Mobile UK and Orange UK. This is an exciting prospect which will create a new UK mobile leader. It will reinforce competition, create the best mobile network and enable us to invest more than either we or Orange UK on our own could do in network expansion, innovative new services and new mobile devices. It will also mean we can take full advantage of the opportunities that new technology is bringing for very high-speed mobile broadband. All this is to the great benefit of our customers and to the UK as a whole."
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