CANTV reports mixed set of Q1 results

CANTV has announced financial results for the first quarter of 2008 under IFRS. The state-owned Venezuelan incumbent reported that net income (excluding non-recurring items) in the three months to the end of March rose year-on-year by 44.3% to VEF363.8 million (USD169.6 million), although the figure shrunk by 31.1% compared to the previous quarter's profit of VEF527.8 million. Revenues rose by 19.2% year-on-year (but fell 4.4% quarter-on-quarter) to VEF2.203 billion, whilst operating income dropped by 7.2% y-o-y (but climbed 16.1% q-o-q) to VEF285.5 million, and EBITDA saw increases of 2.1% and 9.4% y-o-y and q-o-q respectively, to VEF547.5 million. CANTV's EBITDA margin of 24.9% in Q1 2008 was up from 21.7% in the last three months of 2007 but down from 29.0% in the year-ago quarter. The former monopoly fixed line operator also provides broadband internet and data services, as well as nationwide mobile services via wholly owned subsidiary Movilnet; the company was re-nationalised in May 2007, and the Venezuelan government now owns more than 90% of its shares. On 1 January 2008 the Venezuelan monetary unit, the bolivar (VEB), was replaced by the bolivar fuerte (VEF, or BsF), with VEF1 equivalent to VEB1,000.