OTE and Romtelecom see TV growth despite economic woes

Deutsche Telekom-backed Greek telco OTE and Romanian subsidiary Romtelecom posted strong TV growth in the year to June, despite highly problematic economic circumstances.

OTE had 54,400 IPTV customers at the end of June, up 78.9% year-on-year, while its overall internet customer based remained largely flat at 1.15 million.

OTE saw overall revenues for the second quarter fall 7.6% to €1.255 billion, while EBITDA fell by 14.3% to €397 million. However, cost-cutting measures meant the telco posted positive net income of €62 million compared to a €61 million loss in 2010.

Romtelecom, the OTE-backed Romanian telco, had 1,222,336 TV customers at the end of June, up 30.9% year-on-year. However, intense price competition in the telecom sector generally meant that revenues from the Romanian operation were down 7% at €166.1 million.