Direi che per ora è piuttosto tranquillo: i timori originavano anche da un rischio indebolimento delle valute dell'est rispetto all'Euro originato da problemi di solvibilità di alcuni paesi dell'area balcanica, ma sembrerebbero essersi attenuati rispetto a qualche mese fa e l'Euro, contrariamente alle attese, credo si sia piuttosto indebolito e non rafforzato rispetto alle stesse.
Intanto, mentre non c'ero, è arrivata la trimestrale di Telekom Austria: c'è la conferma di un indebolimento dei conti nel 2010 in termini di fatturato e di EBITDA atteso, però nulla di drammatico, ed i tagli ai costi hanno più che compensato gli effetti sull'utile netto.
- FEBRUARY 24, 2010, 6:46 A.M. ET
2ND UPDATE: Telekom Austria Net Beats Consensus On Cost Cuts
(Adds detail, analyst comments, stock price.)
By Flemming Emil Hansen
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
VIENNA (Dow Jones)--Telekom Austria AG (TKA.VI) said Wednesday it swung to a net profit in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' estimates, helped mainly by a leaner cost structure and strong sales of bundled products.
Austria's largest telecommunications company proposed a 2009 dividend of EUR0.75 a share, and also confirmed its previous guidance for 2010.
Telekom Austria expects sales and earnings in the full year to be hurt by continued fierce home market price competition, the economic crisis and newly introduced regulatory hurdles, as well as declining fixed-line voice minutes.
It targets a fall in sales of some EUR100 million, to EUR4.7 billion, and earnings before interest and tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, to fall to EUR1.6 billion, or about EUR200 million less than in 2009. Its outlook assumes stable currencies.
The company said the planned merger of its fixed-line division and Austria-based wireless operations has also been excluded in the guidance, the implementation of which will burden cash flow by some EUR80 million in 2010, and also have a negative bottom line effect in 2011. From 2014 or 2015 on, Telekom Austria estimates the positive effect of the merger will be EUR100 million a year.
The outlook is "rather weak", said Erste Bank analyst Vera Sutedja, but earnings surprised positively mainly due to larger than anticipated cost savings in the fourth quarter. Erste Bank kept its hold rating on the stock, with a EUR10.7 price target.
The company posted "a solid set of numbers," said UniCredit MIB analyst Harald Weghofer, but lacked a catalyst to spark a share rally.
At 1105 GMT, Telekom Austria's shares traded up 1%, or EUR0.1, at EUR9.9, amid a 0.2% fall in the Vienna ATX 20 index.
Telekom Austria's fourth-quarter net profit was EUR63.6 million, compared with a net loss of EUR437.7 million in the same period a year ago when it was hit by a EUR632.1 million provision for job cuts.
An average of nine analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had estimated net profit at EUR38 million.
Excluding the provisions, fourth-quarter net profit rose 18% year-on-year Telekom Austria said. It attributed the rise to a 9.5% reduction in operating expenses and lower depreciation and amortization costs, which more than offset a decline in sales.
Telekom Austria said also its focus on sales of bundled products helped add new subscribers in the ailing land line segment in the fourth quarter for the first time in 10 years.
Sales in the fourth quarter fell 9.6% to EUR1.18 billion from EUR1.31 billion, primarily due to weaker revenue from the wireless division, which was hit by currency devaluations in several of its six Eastern European markets and tough price competition at home.
Analysts had forecast sales at EUR1.2 billion.
Ebitda swung to a profit of EUR399.4 million from a loss of EUR211.6 million a year earlier, while earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, came to EUR120 million, up from a year-ago loss of EUR515.7 million.
Stripped of the year-earlier provisions, Ebitda fell 5% on the year while EBIT rose 3.1%. Analysts had estimated Ebitda at EUR388 million, and EBIT at EUR100 million.
Telekom Austria restated Wednesday its intention of maintaining a dividend floor of EUR0.75 a share at least until 2012.