Telecom Italia's Board of Directors met yesterday under the chairmanship of Franco Bernabè to examine the Group's preliminary results at December 31, 2012.
Franco Bernabè commented: “In 2012 the Group managed to achieve a growing turnover, at the same time confirming good profitability, one of the highest in the sector also thanks to the results of the domestic business, which achieved all the objectives for the year, reiterating the role of main generator of cash flow for the Group.
We look to the future with greater serenity also thanks to the new regulatory approach outlined by the European Commission aimed at guaranteeing the stability of wholesale copper prices and adequate incentives for investments in new fiber networks. This approach will allow us to act more effectively in the challenging competitive context that the evolution of internet-related services is shaping".
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE TELECOM ITALIA GROUP
Revenues for 2012 amounted to 29.503 million euros, down by 1,5% compared to 2011 (29.957 million euros); the reduction of 454 million euros is mainly due to the Domestic Business Unit which is offset by the increase relating to the Argentina Business Unit (+564 million euros) and the Brazil Business Unit (+134 million euros). In terms of organic change, consolidated revenues recorded an increase of 0,5% (+151 million euros).
In detail, the organic change in revenues is calculated excluding:
– the effect of exchange rate changes equal to -569 million euros, mainly relating to the Brazil Business Unit (-535 million euros) and to a lesser extent to the Argentina Business Unit (-55 million euros) and other companies in the Group (+21 million euros);
– the effect of the change in the scope of consolidation (-14 million euros) mainly attributable to the disposals of the investees Loquendo (Domestic Business Unit) which took place on 30 September 2011 and Matrix (Other Activities) which took place on 31 October 2012;
– the effect of a reduction in revenues of 22 million euros due to the settlement of commercial disputes with other operators.
EBITDA amounted to 11.665 million euros and decreased, compared to the previous year, by 506 million euros (-4,2%), with an EBITDA margin of 39,5% (40,6% in the financial year 2011). In organic terms, EBITDA decreased by 246 million euros (-2,0%) compared to the previous year and the margin on revenues decreased by one percentage point, going from 41,2% in 2011 to 40,2% in 2012, due to the greater weight of revenues from South America, whose margin is lower than that of the Domestic Business, as well as the increase in revenues from mobile terminals, aimed at greater penetration of data services.
Operating free cash flow amounted to €6.466 million, up €699 million on 2011 (€5.767 million), making a positive contribution to the reduction in net financial debt. In particular, adjusted net financial debt at December 31, 2012 amounted to 28.274 million euros, down by 2.140 million euros compared to December 31, 2011 (30.414 million euros).
In the fourth quarter of 2012, adjusted net financial debt decreased by 1.211 million euros compared to the end of September 2012; in particular, the generation of operating cash largely absorbed the requirement deriving from the payment of income taxes for approximately 700 million euro.
The liquidity margin as at 31 December 2012 amounted to €16,14 billion (€14,7 billion at the end of 2011) and consisted of liquidity of €8,19 billion (€7,72 billion as at 31 December 2011 ) and unused committed credit lines for a total amount of €7,95 billion (€7 billion at the end of 2011). This margin allows coverage of financial liabilities maturing over the next 18-24 months. The Group's personnel at 31 December 2012 amounted to 83.184 units, of which 54.419 in Italy (84.154 units at the end of 2011, of which 56.878 in Italy).
