CT CEO G. Berdar indicated that Q2 results (due on July 29) would not be surprising: further declining costs (both capex and opex) should offset weak revenues on the fixed-line business due to client migration to mobile operators. Mr. Berdar also said that CT should not be forced to make further write-offs this year. Finally he reiterated the company was not planning any acquisitions for now, given its planned privatisation and focus on restructuring. All the above statements are in line with our projections/expectations, they should not be a surprise for the market.
Separately, Telekom Austria ruled out it might be interested in Cesky Telecom yesterday, as it is only looking for mobile operators in the CEE region that provide interesting growth opportunities. We think an acquisition of CT by Telekom Austria was never considered to be a realistic scenario by investors.
Also separately, the company will reportedly hire an advisor to help it with the privatisation process.
Jan Hajek