OTE reports drop in revenues and profits last year

Leading telecom OTE announced on Thursday a 20.8 percent drop in group operating profits last year, with revenues shrinking 1.3 percent.

The telecom giant reported improving subscriber numbers in key focus areas, including cellphone, broadband and television subscriptions in Greece, while international operations have not yet recovered, in spite of "early encouraging indicators in Albania and Romania."

OTE chairman and chief executive Michalis Tsamaz said that in the fourth quarter in Greece "we achieved solid top-line performances in our fixed and mobile operations, offset by lower international wholesale."

Group revenues dropped 1.3 percent in the last quarter of 2017 to 998.1 million euros, down 2.8 percent year-on-year, taking the entire 2017 revenues to 3.857 billion for an annual decline of 1.3 percent. The drop is partly due to the completion of the Rural...