Once they earned billions of shekels a year. Today, one of them is already losing money. Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR), one of the three veteran cellular phone companies, today reported a NIS 9 million loss in the third quarter of 2015, compared with a NIS 40 million profit in the corresponding quarter last year.
In addition to falling revenue, the loss is also a result of a NIS 35 million one-time expense for the company's employee retirement plan and lower gross profit on equipment sales. On the other hand, the loss was partly offset by revenue from the new framework agreement with Orange and the positive effect of revenue from seasonal roaming revenue.
Partner's revenue was down 9% to NIS 1 billion. Revenue from services dropped 12% to NIS 760 million, and EBITDA plummeted 30% to NIS 196 million. The company's free cash flow surged 160% to NIS 291 million, but the number of its subscribers continued its slide with a loss of 155,000 to 2.74 million subscribers, a 5% dip, and average monthly revenue per subscriber was off 7% to NIS 71.
"The third quarter results reflect the telecommunications market environment in which competition in the cellular market remains intense and is characterized by continued price erosion," Partner CEO Isaac Benbenisti said. "The reform of the fixed line wholesale market, which includes internet and fixed telephony services, has still not been implemented as anticipated, and we are experiencing many difficulties, as well as prolonged and cumbersome regulatory processes, which limit the potential to succeed and create a competitive telecommunications market. We hope that the Ministry of Communications will remove the barriers as soon as possible, in order to fully implement the reform and enable customers to experience a quality service with an advanced technology at attractive prices, in both internet and fixed telephony services."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 11, 2015
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