Turk Telecom post 20% drop in net income

Turkey’s fixed line incumbent Turk Telecom has posted net income of TRY821 million (USD544 million) for the six months ended 30 June 2009, a 20% drop from the TRY1.03 billion reported in 1H 2008. Revenues for the period were up 3.5% year-on-year, to TRY5.15 billion at the end of June 2009. The company’s mobile subsidiary Avea performed particularly well, with sales rising 14% year-on-year, but as revenue has grown so has CAPEX; up from TRY518 million in the first half of 2008 to TRY1.16 billion a year later, a rise of 124%. Turk Telecom has largely attributed this rise to interconnection and sales acquisition costs. The company has also repaid USD670 million of Avea’s debt, in an effort to consolidate the cellco’s market position. Turk Telecom has said that it could now struggle to meet its target of 8%-10% revenue growth in 2009.