scoobystu2
23-01-2006, 09:38 AM
By Santosh Menon
LONDON (Reuters) - O2 added a better-than-expected 1.75 million customers in the Christmas quarter and underscored its value to acquirer Telefonica, which passed a milestone in the takeover on Monday.
Spain's Telefonica took control of the company on declaring its 17.7 billion pound bid, Europe's largest all-cash takeover, unconditional.
Meanwhile, 02 said its customer base rose 18 percent to 27.4 million in its fiscal third quarter to end-December, exceeding analysts' forecasts ranging between 1.28 million and 1.31 million.
The company said the quarterly performance in its main UK and German markets was its best ever since its demerger from BT Group (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) in November 2001 and was achieved without any increase in subscriber acquisition costs.
"The momentum continues, and we look forward to taking our strong performance into Telefonica," Chief Executive Peter Erskine told reporters. "This morning change of control was announced."
O2's (OOM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) solid numbers came at a time of mounting concern about prospects for the telecoms sector and a day before Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest mobile company by revenue, reports performance figures for the crucial Christmas quarter.
The sector, which has been hobbled by slowing growth, rising competition, technology changes and regulatory pressure on prices, has already seen a host of downgrades this year. It was the worst performing sector across Europe last year.
Ref:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/Investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=stocksNews&storyID=2006-01-23T095759Z_01_NOA326009_RTRUKOC_0_TELECOMS-O2.xml
LONDON (Reuters) - O2 added a better-than-expected 1.75 million customers in the Christmas quarter and underscored its value to acquirer Telefonica, which passed a milestone in the takeover on Monday.
Spain's Telefonica took control of the company on declaring its 17.7 billion pound bid, Europe's largest all-cash takeover, unconditional.
Meanwhile, 02 said its customer base rose 18 percent to 27.4 million in its fiscal third quarter to end-December, exceeding analysts' forecasts ranging between 1.28 million and 1.31 million.
The company said the quarterly performance in its main UK and German markets was its best ever since its demerger from BT Group (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) in November 2001 and was achieved without any increase in subscriber acquisition costs.
"The momentum continues, and we look forward to taking our strong performance into Telefonica," Chief Executive Peter Erskine told reporters. "This morning change of control was announced."
O2's (OOM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) solid numbers came at a time of mounting concern about prospects for the telecoms sector and a day before Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest mobile company by revenue, reports performance figures for the crucial Christmas quarter.
The sector, which has been hobbled by slowing growth, rising competition, technology changes and regulatory pressure on prices, has already seen a host of downgrades this year. It was the worst performing sector across Europe last year.
Ref:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/Investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=stocksNews&storyID=2006-01-23T095759Z_01_NOA326009_RTRUKOC_0_TELECOMS-O2.xml