Turk Telekom posts 27% drop in net income

Turkey’s incumbent fixed line operator Turk Telekom has announced net income of TRY291 million (USD177.7 million) for the three months ended 31 March 2009, down 26.9% from the TRY398 million reported in the first quarter of 2008. The company posted revenues of TRY2.5 billion, a 3.5% rise on the same period a year earlier. EBITDA rose 0.6% to TRY1.08 billion in Q1 2009. However, net operating expenses rose 5.8% year-on-year to TRY1.4 billion. The increase in expenses was attributed by the company to mobile subsidiary Avea, which has faced higher interconnection and sales acquisition costs. As of 31 March 2009 Turk Telekom had net debt of TRY2.3 billion, with gross debt totalling TRY3.2 billion.