Telecom Italia Full-year Loss Narrows, Scraps Dividend

(RTTNews) - Telecom Italia Group (TI, TIAOF.PK) Friday reported a narrower loss for full year 2013, reflecting a fall in impairment loss on goodwill. The Italian telecom company also scrapped its dividend for common share for 2014, as it aims using the available resources for innovative investments plan.

Annual revenues declined 9.1 percent, but the firm said it saw a reduction in the trend of losses in revenue. Domestic revenues fell 9.6 percent due to stiff competition, a sharp reduction in prices, as well as some factors of a regulatory nature. Brazil business unit revenues fell 7.1 percent from last year.

CEO Marco Patuano said, "The results of the 2013 financial year, especially the signs from the last quarter, regarding both the net financial debt reduction and the performance of the domestic market, leave us hopeful for 2014."

For the full year, loss attributable to owners of the parent narrowed to 674 million euros or about $934 million from 1.63 billion euros in the previous year.

Impairment losses on non-current assets were 2.19 billion euros, as against a loss of 4.18 billion euros in the prior year. Excluding the write-down, Group profit would have been 1.5 billion euros.

EBITDA, a key earnings metric, totaled 9.54 billion euros, compared to 10.53 billion euros a year ago.

Annual revenues declined 9.1 percent to 23.41 billion euros from 25.76 billion euros in the year 2012. Revenues fell 5.2 percent organically.

Telecom Italia SpA reported a loss of 1.03 billion euros, narrower than 1.82 billion euros last year. Excluding losses of a non-recurring nature, including, primarily, impairment loss on goodwill, net result for financial year 2013 would have been positive, at 1.26 billion euros. Revenues declined 9.7 percent to 15.30 billion euros.

Telecom Italia SpA will launch a buy back offer on Friday, for the sum of 500 million euros, for its own bonds in euros at fixed rate, expiring between May 2014 and March 2016.

Further, the board has decided to propose at the next shareholders' meeting, the non-distribution of dividends for ordinary shares.

However, savings shareholders will be paid the privileged dividend, set out in the Bylaws at 2.75 euro cents per share. The dividend will be payable starting from April 25, 2014, with record date April 24.

Despite greater pressure on average revenue per user or ARPU, and uncertainty regarding the stability of revenues, a gradual recovery of the operating performance is expected for the current year, the company said.

On the NYSE, Telecom Italia shares closed Thursday's trading at $11.63, down $0.12 or 1.02 percent. In Milan, the shares ended at 0.84 euros.