Swedish Tele2

Europe's leading alternative telecoms operator Tele2 reported core earnings above market expectations on July 26 and said its Swedish mobile operations had healthy margins. The group said it had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 1.69 billion Swedish crowns ($216.3 million), above the average of forecasts in a Reuters poll of 1.46 billion. Sales were 12.04 billion versus a forecast 11.90.
It said operating margin in the Swedish mobile business, where competition has been intense, edged up to 45 percent from 44 percent in the same period of 2004.
Net customer intake, however, undershot expectations at 722,000 versus a forecast 981,900.
It said that recent acquisitions of Comunitel in Spain and Versatel in the Netherlands would, once completed, contribute significantly to EBITDA results in those countries.