Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) finished the first quarter of 2018 with NIS 2.3 billion in revenue, 3.8% less than in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease resulted from lower revenue in all the group's main sectors.
Operating profit totaled NIS 462 million in the first quarter, compared with NIS 566 million in the corresponding quarter last year, an 18.4% drop. EBITDA amounted to NIS 987 million, 41.8%, 0.7% less than the NIS 994 million (40.5%) in the first quarter last year.
EBITDA excluding operating expenses/revenue and the effect of implementing IFRS 16 totaled NIS 908 million in the first quarter, 8.3% less than the NIS 990 million in the first quarter of 2017. Net profit was NIS 260 million, down 25.7%, compared with NIS 350 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Bezeq Landline reported NIS 1.063 billion in revenue for the first quarter, down 1.4%, compared with NIS 1.078 billion in the first quarter of 2017. The company attributed the decline to lower revenues from telephony services, while revenue from Internet, cloud, and digital services rose.
Revenue from telephony services fell 9.6% from NIS 334 million in the first quarter last year to NIS 302 million in the first quarter this year. Average revenue per line dropped 5.4%, while the number of telephone lines fell 4.9%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 24, 2018
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