Telecom Italia updates forecasts on revenues, Ebitda after DAZN deal

MILAN: Italian telecoms group Telecom Italia (TIM) said on Monday it was updating its forecasts on its revenues and core earnings following its agreement with streaming service DAZN for the distribution of Italy's top-flight soccer championship.

Earlier this year DAZN won the main domestic rights to screen Italy's Serie A soccer championship for the next three seasons and sealed a technological and distribution deal with TIM to give its Serie A bid a boost.

TIM said it now forecast a low- to mid-single digit growth for its organic service revenues in the 2022-2023 period, versus a previous forecast for a low single digit growth.

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Organic core earnings (EBITDA) are expected to show a mid-single digit growth in the same period, compared to a previous forecast for a low- to mid-single digit growth.

However, TIM now expects its organic EBITDA to fall this year, with a low- to mid-single digit decrease, versus a previous forecast for a stable- to low-single digit growth.

Revised EBITDA forecast for 2021 was a consequence of delays in the implementation of its voucher plan for families and companies, as well as of incremental costs for the start-up of the DAZN partnership, TIM said.

The company reiterated a forecast for a "stable to low" single-digit growth for this year's organic service revenues and confirmed its dividends distribution policy of 1 euro cent for ordinary shares and 2.75 euro cents for savings shares.