OTE reports 13.3 pct rise in Q3 net profits

OTE said fixed-telephony revenue grew in the third quarter, supported by broadband and TV services, while mobile telephony revenues also rose in the July-September period.

Group EBITDA margin remained strong at 36 pct. Turnover totaled 971 million euros in the third quarter, down 1.7 pct from the same period last year, while nine-month turnover totaled 2.865 billion euros, down 1.3 pct from 2014.

Commnenting on the results, Mihalis Tsamaz, chairman and chief executive of the Group said: "We are very pleased with our performance in the previous quarter in Greece, in an environment still remaining difficult. These performance justified our decision to invest steadily all these years to offer high-technology and the best service to our customers. A natural development of this strategic decision is the introduction of a single trademark COSMOTE for our commercial activities in Greece, which we recently adopted. In Romania we continue facing challenges, but we expect that our investments will begin offering results by the end of next year".

OTE expects to continue improving its performance for the rest of the year, although its results could be negatively affected by increasing tax burdens and a consequent possible reduction in purchasing power of both consumers and enterprises. OTE said its investment programme will reach around 500 million euros.