Key results
- Sales increased by ISK 1.5 billion from the first quarter of 2007, or 20%. Sales amounted to ISK 8.9 billion as compared to ISK 7.4 billion in the preceding year.
- Cash from operations amounted to ISK 2.6 billion. After tax and interest, cash from operations came to ISK 1.9 billion.
- Loss over the period came to ISK 3.6 billion, mainly due to the devaluation of the Icelandic krona.
- Exhange loss came to ISK 4.4 billion of the total of ISK 5.5 billion finance cost for the period.
- Earnings before depreciation and financial items (EBITDA) amounted to ISK 2.0 billion as compared to ISK 2.1 billion for the corresponding quarter of 2007. EBITDA margin was 22.4%.
- 28% of Skipti’s sales derived from international operations.
- Skipti’s equity ratio is 30.4%.
Highlights of the Quarter
- The Group’s telecommunications companies in Denmark were merged under the name of Síminn Danmark.
- Skipti’s public offering was concluded during the quarter. A total of 179 investors offered to buy 552,220,641 shares in Skipti, which corresponds to 7.49% of the company’s total share capital. The Company's shares were admitted to trading on 19 March. This was followed by a voluntary take-over bid for all the Company’s shares by Exista, the Company’s largest shareholder.
- In the beginning of March, the executive committee on privatisation of the Slovenian Government announced that the telecommunications company Telekom Slovenije would not be sold for the time being. Skipti was one of two bidders for the company.
- Síminn, the Group’s largest subsidiary, began the development of a new long-range 3G system, which will offer users a strong high-speed connection throughout the country and off the coasts of Iceland.
Brynjólfur Bjarnason, CEO of Skipti hf.
“It has been an eventful quarter for Skipti and it is a matter of great satisfaction that the company’s regular operations are showing good results, both as regards telecommunications and information technology. The price trend of the Icelandic krona, however, has been extremely unfavourable, and in spite of the Company’s hedging measures the weakening of the krona is the reason for the loss over the period. Demanding times lie ahead for the company’s managers and employees, as falling demand may be anticipated as a result of economic trends. Nevertheless, times like these often provide opportunities for financially strong companies like Skipti, and we will closely monitor the situation in the market in the coming weeks and months.”
