In Brief
OTE telecom Q3 net profit seen up 19 pct Greece’s largest telecom OTE, partly owned by Deutsche Telekom, is expected to post a 19 percent rise in third-quarter profit on increased ADSL Internet connections and mobile take-up. The average net profit forecast of six analysts polled by Reuters was 186 million euros, up from 156 million euros for the same period a year ago. Higher revenues from Internet services and OTE’s mobile unit Cosmote are expected to offset a continued loss in fixed-line telephony. OTE has steadily lost clients to smaller operators since Greece opened up its market in 2001, which has weighed on the group’s earnings. «Net income is accelerating due to the earnings accretion from the buyout of Cosmote minorities,» Morgan Stanley said. «We expect a weaker wire-line performance in terms of revenues and EBITDA.» OTE earlier this year completed a buyout of Cosmote for about 2.8 billion euros as part of its plans to take full advantage of mobile telephony growth in the region. OTE will announce Q3 figures tomorrow. (Reuters, Kathimerini) Cyprus sentiment shows biggest drop in 7 months Cyprus business and consumer sentiment registered their sharpest fall in seven months in November, a survey showed yesterday. The economic sentiment indicator fell to 77.6, falling by 15.5 on the back of concern over shrinking demand for services, a flagging construction sector and worsening consumer sentiment. «Businesses are more cautious at prospects for demand over the next three months,» the survey released by the University of Cyprus said. There was broad-based pessimism from all sectors, particularly construction, where businesses expected a fall in employment and prices in coming months, it said. Retail trade sentiment showed a marked decline, with respondents anticipating a cutback in orders due to lower sales. (Reuters) Intralot earnings Intralot, the world’s second-largest lottery systems supplier, is seen reporting a 1.3 percent drop in nine-month profits as start-up costs in new markets in Europe, Oceania and the United States weigh. Intralot will report its results on Friday before the market opens. Eight analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast net profits of 84.37 million euros ($106.3 million) versus 85.5 million euros in the same period last year. Analysts said Intralot, which runs sports betting games in 12 countries, is seen booking high start-up costs in Italy, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands and the US state of Ohio, which will more than offset strong revenues. (Reuters) Cosmofon sale Slovenian telecoms provider Telekom said yesterday it hopes to buy the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) mobile phone operator Cosmofon, adding it was also looking for other takeover opportunities in the Balkans. «We are focused on the opportunity in Macedonia but are also interested in purchases in other states of the former Yugoslavia,» Telekom’s spokeswoman Darinka Pavlic Kamien, told Reuters. She said Cosmofon, which is owned by Greek company OTE, is expected to be sold in February or March for antitrust reasons after Deutsche Telekom bought 25 percent of OTE this year. Slovenia’s Telekom is in talk with banks to secure a 400-million-euro ($500 million) syndicated loan for acquisition purposes. (Reuters)
