The Greek telco Forthnet saw a sharp reduction in its pay-TV subscriber base in the year to June 30, with the number of customers falling by 8% to 423,279.
At the same time, the number of households receiving triple-play/bundled services fell by 9.8% to 296,150, as did the percentage of triple-play/bundled services of the total (by 1.8pp to 42.3%).
Revenues, including other income, in H1 amounted to €149,353,000 (-9.6%) and EBITDA was €16,099,000 (-40%).
In its latest set of results, the company notes that its subscriber base declined as a result of a cautious commercial policy, the imposition of a 10% tax and a 5% tax on fixed-line services.
It also says that the underperformance of the Super League has contributed decisively to the decline in financial figures. Having exhausted all negotiations without results, Forthnet has filed a lawsuit for a price reduction of the collective management agreement.
Commenting on the results, Forthnet’s CEO Panos Papadopoulos said: “The continuing recession coupled with the imposition the 10% tax on pay-TV and 5% tax on fixed line services had a negative impact on household spending for the first half of 2017. At the same time, the continuing under performance of the Super League had a negative effect not only on our subscription base, but also on our financials. In this unfavourable macroeconomic environment, we continue to implement a conservative commercial policy and take actions to further improve our cost base”.
