Brussels, 23 October 2007 - At the end of September 2007, the number of active Mobistar and VOXmobile customers had risen by 7.7 % compared with the same period one year earlier. This growth results from the success of the new range of segmented products and a series of partnerships. Regulatory pressure and tougher competition continue to influence the consolidated turnover, which fell by 2.5 % at the end of September 2007 compared with the end of September 2006.
On 30 September 2007, Mobistar S.A. had 3,241,622 active mobile customers - an increase of 5.2 % compared with 3,080,695 customers one year earlier. TempoMusic, one of the flagship products launched as part of a segmented approach, now has more than 500,000 customers. The customer base including MVNO cards now stands at 3,335,245. This partnership strategy has been a commercial success, with more than 90,000 customers for Telenet and Lycamobile. The number of Mobistar ADSL customers remains stable.
The share of postpaid customers in the customer base stood at 53.7 % at the end of September. The ARPU fell from 39.14 euros to 35.61 euros a month per active customer, representing a decrease of 9 % in one year. This decrease is due to the fall in mobile termination rates (MTR) and roaming rates, as well as increased pressure on prices, but it was partially covered by a rise in usage.
As a result, the total turnover of Mobistar S.A., which stood at 1,116 million euros at the end of September 2007, fell by 3.3 % compared with the previous year. Service revenues fell by 3.8 % in the first nine months to 1,078 million euros, compared with 1,120 million euros one year earlier.
The growth prospects of the Luxembourg operator VOXmobile forecast by Mobistar at the time of its acquisition have now been confirmed. On 30 September 2007, VOXmobile had 75,987 active mobile customers - an increase of 24 % compared with 61,162 active customers one year earlier. Since 2 July 2007, the turnover of the Luxembourg operator has been consolidated. The total turnover for the three months up to 30 September 2007 stood at 9.1 million euros, representing a growth of 7 % compared with the previous year. Service revenues rose by 4 % in three months to 7.7 million euros.
The consolidated turnover on 30 September 2007 amounted 1,125.1 million euros, 1,085.7 million euros of which came from telephony.
Within this context, Mobistar confirms both for turnover and net profit a slight decrease of 2 to 4 % for the financial year 2007 (the consolidation of VOXmobile included as of 2 July 2007).