“On mobile we must continue to grow as we did in 2015, when in the fourth quarter we have finally reached the zero line in terms of growth in revenue from services. On the fixed network we aim to stabilize revenues, while the strategy in Brazil is clear: the company will finance itself, strengthening its position with greater mobile coverage". As the CEO of Telecom Italia, Marco Patuano, commented in London on the new industrial plan presented by the TLC with expiry in 2018. During the conference call it also emerged that Telecom Italia is not considering the hypothesis of distributing, on the 2015 accounts, a coupon on ordinary shares, but only the minimum savings statute. “We are not considering distributing a dividend on ordinary shares, but only the statutory minimum on savings shares,” said CFO Piergiorgio Peluso.
The managing director instead confirmed that "there will be a boost on investments and above all on Capex (capital expenditure) destined for innovation, which already in 2015 grew by over half a billion compared to 2014". At the same time, with the aim of reducing net debt, Patuano indicated among the priorities "the reduction of Opex (operating costs), the sale of Inwit shares for 1,3 billion and the sale of Telecom Argentina, probably by 2016”.
Speaking of debt, which is one of the aspects that least convinces the markets as it turns out rose above 2015 billion in 27 (today also for this Telecom Italia lost up to 8% in Piazza Affari), the CEO was keen to clarify that “the figure is affected by the impact of IAS17, without which year on year it would have decreased by almost 1 billion euro. However, I can assure you that we will reduce it ”. Patuano expressed overall satisfaction with i 2015 accounts, which saw the turnover from services drop slightly on an annual basis, but confirm itself above 18 billion globally and above 14 billion in Italy.
“The EBITDA figure to take into account is the organic one at 6,6 billion, down 4,9% – said Patuano in London, also commenting on the good indications for the fourth quarter -. In Italy, investments are starting to pay off: hedging LTE, counted in paying users, in effective contracts, is tripled since the beginning of the year and now reaches 88% of the population. Optical fiber has grown by half a million customers, while unfortunately we have slowed down on the fixed network". The balance of 'net adds', the difference between new contracts and abandonments, was also positive: “The trend of new contracts is increasing, especially in the fourth quarter. However, we must reduce cancellations, which are more stable but which increased in the fourth quarter ".
With regard to the network coverage the goal of the new plan, as the president also explained Joseph Recchi who also spoke in London, "is to reach, for the first time, 98% already by 2017". The investment will be 1,2 billion euros, while for optical fibre, which aims to reach 84% of the population within 2-3 years, the estimated cost is 3,6 billion, 600 million more than on the previous floor. Then there is the challenge of ultra-broadband: "The government plan - said Recchi - aims to cover the parts of the territory not yet covered and where there is no market, where it is difficult to invest without state intervention . Even the reforms are starting to have positive effects on companies: the demand for connectivity and digital services is growing. We focus a lot on the Italian system: our plan is set up taking into account one 1% annual growth of the country's GDP".
Recchi also spoke of Brazil: “There we are i second operators in a country of 200 million inhabitants, although now the economic situation is now weak. We need to strengthen our position, the goal is to reach 90% of the population with our network”.
