Group operating revenue was also down 1%, to EUR 542.2m, while operating profit stood at EUR 27.8m, with the group arguing it had been affected by "regulatory changes affecting roaming in mobile networks at the EU level, which has also increased operating cost".
On the other hand, Telekom increased the share of revenue from new services and fixed broadband and IT services. Compared to the end of 2017, Telekom increased the number of fixed broadband connections by 4% and the number of mobile and fixed telephone service connections by 2%.
Commenting on the results, the company noted that 2017 revenue "also included the one-off project of constructing the electronic toll collection system," a reference to the project it has undertaken with the Norwegian company Q-Free.
Investment in the first nine months amounted to EUR 79.4m.
In the third quarter alone, the group made EUR 178.1m in net operating revenue, up 2% from the same period last year. EBITDA totalled EUR 52m, an increase of 10% year-on-year, and net profit stood at EUR 9m, also an increase over the third quarter of 2017.
Group results reflect the results of the core company, which generated EUR 483.8m in operating revenue in the first nine months, down 2% year-on-year.
Core company EBITDA was down 5% to EUR 124m, while operating and net profit dropped by 18% to EUR 24.9m and by 32% to EUR 22.7m, respectively.
