Swisscom said revenue was CHF 5.805 billion (+2 percent) in the first half of 2018, while its Swiss core business fell 1.9 percent to CHF 4.4 billion.
Telecommunications services revenue dropped by over CHF 100 million due to pricing pressure and substitution effects, Swisscom said.
Swisscom posted EBITDA of CHF 2.143 billion (–5.2 percent) and net income of CHF 787 million (–6.2 percent).
Swisscom said the headcount in Switzerland fell by 485 in the first half of the year.
“Our initiatives to reduce costs are taking hold. We are on track for full-year 2018. This gives us the opportunity to continue investing in our networks in preparation for the upcoming 5G mobile communication standard,” Swisscom CEO Urs Schaeppi said.
Swisscom’s Capex
Swisscom’s Capex was CHF 1.069 billion focusing on quality, coverage and performance of its networks. Swisscom invested CHF 721 million or 67 percent of Capex in Switzerland. The share of capital expenditure as a proportion of revenue continued to be around one fifth (18.4 percent).
Swisscom connected over 4 million households and businesses with broadband that offered speeds of more than 50 Mbps, around 2.7 million with speeds of more than 100 Mbps. Swisscom intends to make fibre-optic technology available to every Swiss municipality by the end of 2021.
Swisscom covered 80 percent of the Swiss population with speeds of up to 300 Mbps, with 40 percent achieving speeds of up to 500 Mbps. Swisscom connected 11 towns and cities and 15 Swisscom Shops to the gigabit network. The target of Swisscom is to connect 30 percent of the Swiss population to the gigabit network by the end of 2018.
5G update
Swisscom demonstrated 5G technology in March 2018 digitising the process chain of medical technology manufacturer Ypsomed. Swisscom is conducting 5G tests in the Bernese Oberland municipality of Guttannen.
Swisscom said that the deployment of 5G network will be delayed and will more expensive due to the strict limits in Switzerland. The Switzerland government is expected to auction 5G spectrum in early 2019.
Swisscom said customer base for inOne, its TV and broadband bundled offerings, reached 1.89 million in June 2018 with 550,000 customers opting in H1. inOne covers 43 percent of all mobile subscriptions and 48 percent of fixed-line broadband connections.
The number of fixed-line broadband connections grew by 39,000 to around 2.03 million. The number of TV connections rose by 54,000 or 3.7 percent to more than 1.5 million, Swisscom said.
Swisscom recorded 1.73 million fixed-line telephony subscriptions in home segment, dipping around 252,000 or 12.7 percent.
The number of Swisscom’s mobile customers remained stable at 6.6 million (+0.3 percent). The number of post-paid lines grew by 74,000, while the number of prepaid lines fell by 52,000.
