Mobilezone with higher sales and maintained operating profit
Published: Friday, Aug 16th 2024, 07:30
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After the downturn in the previous year, cell phone provider Mobilezone has recovered. Sales increased slightly in the first half of the year, while operating profit remained stable. The Group expects an increase in operating profit for the full year 2024.
Sales rose by 1.1 percent to CHF 479.5 million, as Mobilezone announced in a press release on Friday. The weakness of the euro had a negative impact on the result. Adjusted for currency effects, turnover would have grown by 3.0 percent.
Operating profit (EBIT) remained unchanged at CHF 28.1 million. At the bottom line, Mobilezone achieved a net profit of 20.3 million francs. This is 2.9 percent less than a year ago.
The Group's figures fell short of the financial community's expectations. According to the news agency AWP, analysts had on average expected higher sales and profits.
Confident for 2024
In Switzerland, sales shrank by 10.6 percent to 135 million francs. Due to lower customer numbers in the stores, sales in the contract and accessories business fell, according to the report. Meanwhile, operating profit EBIT remained stable at 15.1 million.
"In Germany, sales figures increased in the first half of the year despite a persistently challenging market environment," said Mobilezone. Sales climbed by 9.3% to 363 million euros (+6.1% in CHF). EBIT rose slightly to 13.5 million euros after 13.3 million in the previous year. In the reporting currency of Swiss francs, however, it fell by 0.2 million to 13.0 million Swiss francs.
Aiming for the lower end of the EBIT range
Mobilezone is slightly more cautious than before for the current financial year: it is on track and can confirm the EBIT target of CHF 68 and 75 million at the lower end of this range. The addition "at the lower end of this range" is new. In the previous year, Mobilezone achieved an EBIT of CHF 65.7 million.
The company also confirmed its target of increasing the EBIT margin to 8.0% by 2025 from 6.5% in 2023. And "the attractive dividend policy will be continued", it said.
In the MVNO business with the Talktalk, Digital Republic and HIGH brands, strong growth to over 370,000 customers by the end of 2024 (31.12.2023: 295,300) is still planned. The company expects the MVNO contribution to EBITDA to increase further. The ratio of net debt to EBITDA is expected to be between 1 and 1.2 at the end of the year.
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