Smartphones boosted the net profit of Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) subsidiary Pelephone Communications Ltd. 20% to NIS 310 million for the first quarter of 2010 from NIS 259 million for the corresponding quarter of 2010.
Revenue rose 4.1% to NIS 1.45 billion for the first quarter from NIS 1.39 billion for the corresponding quarter. Services revenue totaled NIS 949 million.
Pelephone said that higher consumer demand for mobile Internet boosted handset sales in general, particularly for smartphones. Equipment sales rose 75% to NIS 501 million for the first quarter from the corresponding quarter.
While Pelephone increased the number of total active subscribers by just 3.3% to 2.88 million at the end of March from 2.79 million a year earlier, the number of 3G HSPA subscribers soared 74% to 1.47 million - more than half of all subscribers - from 845,000 a year earlier.
Although monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) was unchanged at NIS 110, average monthly minutes of use (MOU) rose 6.8% to 359 minutes in the first quarter from 336 minutes in the corresponding quarter.
Cash flow from operations fell 12% to NIS 308 million for the first quarter from NIS 350 million for the corresponding quarter, partly because of equipment purchases under 36 installment plans. Free cash flow fell 32% to NIS 175 million for the first quarter from NIS 228 million for the corresponding quarter, due to higher capital expenditures.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 12, 2011
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