The Turkcell Group reported revenue increased by 10.1% year-on-year to USD7 billion for the full year 2008 from USD6.3 billion in 2007. Net income rose to USD1.8 billion, a 36% increase on the previous year’s figure of USD1.4 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2008 stood at USD2.6 billion, down 1.8%.
However, the company suffered from the 25% devaluation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar in the fourth quarter of 2008 as net profit in the final quarter of the year dropped 20.7% to USD319.8 million. The company’s fourth-quarter sales were down 12.3% on the same period twelve months earlier to USD1.59 billion, while EBITDA fell 29.6% to USD524.5 million.
In the domestic market Turkcell’s subscriber base grew by 4.5% on an annual basis to 37 million as of 31 December 2008. Average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) declined 18.7% year-on-year to USD12.6 in the three months to 31 December 2008, although the average monthly minutes of use per subscriber (MOU) increased 54.8% on the same quarter of 2007 to 108.2. The operator’s churn rate remained flat in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter of 2008 at 6.2% despite the introduction of number portability in November.