Türk Telekom chief government Ümit Önal mentioned on Tuesday {that a} merger by the Türkiye Wealth Fund (TWF) of its stake in his telecommunication firm and that of Turkcell is just not on the agenda.
“I can clearly say that there is no project aiming to merge the shares of Türk Telekom and Turkcell owned by Türkiye Wealth Fund on a company and product basis,” Önal mentioned when requested concerning the prospect.
TWF at present holds almost 62% stake in Türk Telekom and 26.2% in Turkcell
Önal’s remarks got here on the sidelines of a news convention in Istanbul to announce the corporate’s second-quarter monetary and operational outcomes.
He additionally mentioned there are not any plans for a strategic partnership or a block stake sale of the Türk Telekom following Türkiye Wealth Fund’s acquisition.
“There’s no block sale or interested party on the table for us,” he mentioned. He added that whereas the long run plan of action would depend upon TWF’s selections, he doesn’t foresee a block sale within the close to future because of Türk Telekom’s strategic significance. “This is just my personal opinion,” he added.
He added that the wealth fund may contemplate a potential secondary public providing of its Türk Telekom stake after a concession settlement, relying on market circumstances.
Türk Telekom utilized to increase its concession settlement, which expires in February 2026, to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) late final 12 months.
Turnaround to revenue
Meanwhile, the corporate returned to the black within the second quarter of this 12 months and registered a internet revenue of TL 1.4 billion ($41 million).
It had posted a lack of TL 3.62 billion a 12 months in the past, primarily because of the influence of the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye’s southeastern area.
The internet revenue for the primary half of the 12 months jumped to TL 2.55 billion, swinging from a lack of TL 2.28 billion a 12 months in the past.
Its consolidated revenues rose by 4.4% yearly within the second quarter to TL 33 billion.
For the primary half of the 12 months, complete revenues grew by 5%, reaching TL 63.2 billion.
The firm’s earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 21.6% to TL 12.8 billion within the April-June interval. The EBITDA margin stood at 38.8%.
For the primary half of the 12 months, EBITDA elevated by 22.2% to TL 23.9 billion, with a margin of 37.8% – an enchancment of 530 foundation factors year-over-year.
Türk Telekom’s shares rose by 3.8% following the announcement, outperforming the benchmark BIST 100 index, which was up 1.7%.
On the 5G entrance, Önal emphasised Türk Telekom’s fiber community energy, which he believes makes it the best-prepared operator for 5G in Türkiye.
Regarding debates for a shared community infrastructure, Önal responded critically, declaring that Türk Telekom had invested $21 billion in its community since 2005 and laid down 449,000 kilometers of fiber community.
He famous that this funding would finally be handed again to the state below the concession settlement.
Önal additionally questioned the logic of establishing a typical infrastructure firm, arguing that it will solely profit competing corporations making an attempt to leverage Türk Telekom’s state-owned infrastructure.
“We are a telecom company that has brought fiber to 86% of named streets and, in terms of population density, 96% across Türkiye,” he famous.
“We cannot understand the rationale or logic behind discussing establishing a joint infrastructure company to address the distance between buildings and distribution boxes.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com