Czech cellular operators’ figures, released yesterday, revealed that total penetration stood at 52.8% at the end of June, vs. 42.1% at the end of 2000. We believe that 65% penetration is achievable by the end of the year. The continued massive acquisition of new users will contribute to operators’ strong revenue growth, but will put pressure on their margins. Cesky Telecom’s Eurotel remains the clear market leader (49% market share, 44% of new acquisitions), followed by Ceske radiokomunikace’s RadioMobil (41% market share, 34% share of new acquisitions). The figures released yesterday indicate that RadioMobil has been relatively harder hit by the expansion of the third operator, Cesky Mobil, than Eurotel. The reported numbers are good but are unlikely to have much effect on the two telecom stocks.
(Ondřej Daťka)