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Monday, November 16, 2009

Cellcom 3rd-quarter Net Up 19%, Revenue Up 1.5%

By Robert Daniel

MarketWatch Pulse

TEL AVIV -- Cellcom Israel Ltd., the Netanya, Israel, provider of cellular service, reported that third-quarter net income rose 19% on 1.5% higher revenue. Earnings reached 289 million shekels ($76.8 million), or 2.91 shekels a share, from 242 million in the year-earlier quarter. Total revenue rose to 1.68 billion shekels from 1.65 billion. Monthly average revenue per user fell 2.5% to 150.4 shekels from 154.3 shekels. Monthly average minutes of use edged up 0.5% to 338.1 from 336.3. In a Monday statement, Cellcom said that it added a net 31,000 subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total subscriber roll to 3.26 million at Sept. 30. Churn, the defection of customers to other providers, was 4.9% in the quarter compared with 4.4% a year earlier. Cellcom called the results "strong" given "airtime-price erosion, the competitive and regulatory environment, as well as the challenging macroeconomic environment." The company declared a third-quarter dividend of 2.9 shekels a share, payable Dec. 14 to holders of record Dec. 2. In early notes, Leader Capital Markets said Cellcom's results were "slightly above our estimates in all parameters," while Excellence Nessuah reiterated Cellcom outperform, saying most of the results exceeded its expectations.

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