RCS/RDS provides strategic insights

Romania’s RCS/RDS, one of the leading providers of TV services in the CEE region, has provided unusually frank insights into its financial performance and business strategy.

Speaking at length to ZF, its general director Alexandru Oprea said the company had an operating profit of $274 million (€200.7 million) on revenues of $710 million in 2009.

As of the end of 2009, RCS/RDS had 8.225 million subscriptions for internet, telephony and TV services in six markets, the biggest being Romania (6.74 million) and Hungary (840,000). This, added Oprea, was down to an investment level comparable to that of Orange, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom/OTE, even though its income was lower than that of international competitors.

All told, he continued, RCS/RDS invested over $1 billion between 2007-9, chiefly on infrastructure development. This means that it now faces lower capital expenditure than competitors such as UPC and Romtelecom and is well positioned to grow further.

Commenting on last month’s postponed $200 million bond issue, Oprea said that the response had been good from potential investors. However, market conditions, affected by the Greek debt crisis, forced it to delay the process.