Mobistar, confident, confirms its forecasts for the financial year 2011

Brussels, 26 July 2011 – Today, Mobistar publishes its financial results for the first half year of 2011. Mobistar progressed well in the postpaid mobile, machine-to-machine and mobile Internet services, as well as in sales of smartphones and fixed lines activities during the first six months of 2011. The Mobistar group´s results for the first half of 2011 were significantly affected by the reduction in the mobile termination and roaming rates (54.5 million euros on the turnover and 27.9 million euros on the EBITDA).

Key facts:

• On 30 June 2011, the Mobistar group recorded an increase of 4.9 % of its active mobile telephony customers base, attaining a total of 4,103,237, an additional 192,398 customers compared to the end of June 2010, including 130,376 new postpaid customers. The share of postpaid customers in the customer base of Mobistar S.A. went from 62.2 % at the end of June 2010 to 64.3 % one year later.
• The number of mobile Internet users of Mobistar S.A. rose by 30.8 %, amounting to 122,019 at the end of the first half of 2011, an increase of 28,737 users compared to the previous year.
• Mobistar S.A. recorded 282,734 active ´machine-to-machine´ cards on 30 June 2011, an increase of 95.2 % compared to the end of June 2010.
• Mobistar S.A. had 68,886 ADSL customers on 30 June 2011, 23,773 more than at the end of June 2010, an increase of 52.7 %. The number of activated and installed ´Starpack´ customers (the combined offer including television) of Mobistar S.A. amounted to 21,002 at the end of the first half of 2011.
  
• The number of active fixed telephone lines of Mobistar S.A. increased by 25.5 %, rising from 164,981 active fixed telephone lines at the end of the first half of 2010 to 207,114 active lines one year later.
• At the end of the first half of 2011, the Mobistar group recorded a consolidated turnover of 819.9 million euros, compared to 818.8 million euros one year earlier, a slight increase of 0.1 % (-1.8 % excluding MES). Without the regulatory impact, the consolidated turnover would have risen by 6.8 % (+5 % excluding MES). Thanks to the increased use of mobile data, the share of mobile data in service revenues went from 31% at the end of June 2010 to 33.3 % one year later.
• At the end of June 2011, the Mobistar group recorded an EBITDA margin on service revenues of 36.1 % (36.8 % excluding MES), compared to 37 % at the end of the first half of 2010. The EBITDA amounted to 270.6 million euros at the end of June 2011, representing a decrease of 3.9 % (-6.2 % excluding MES) compared to 281.6 million euros recorded one year earlier. Without the regulatory impact, the EBITDA would have risen by 6 % (+3.8 % excluding MES).
• On 30 June 2011, the consolidated net profit of the Mobistar group amounted to 116.2 million euros, compared to 132.4 million euros at the end of June 2010, a reduction of 12.2 % (-14 % excluding MES).
• During the first half of 2011, the Mobistar group invested 67.1 million euros, 9 % of the service revenues, compared to 55 million euros or 7 % of the service revenues during the first half of 2010, representing an increase of 22 % (+18.7 % excluding MES). 
  
• The organic cash-flow amounted to 151.7 million euros on 30 June 2011, compared to 200.2 million euros one year earlier, a decrease of 24.2 % in one year (-29.8 % excluding MES).