Swisscom sees profit decline as Vodafone Italia integration drags on

Profits fell in the first half of the year for Swisscom. On the back of the costs of the Vodafone Italia integration, the telecoms provider posted a net profit of CHF625 million ($773 million), 25% lower than in the same period last year. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Thanks to the new acquisition, revenues jumped by 37% to CHF7.4 billion. “The Swisscom Group’s financial result and market performance are in line with our expectations,” CEO Christoph Aeschlimann was quoted as saying in a statement. “I am particularly pleased that the integration of Vodafone Italia is proceeding as planned.” For the financial year as a whole, the 51%-owned Swiss subsidiary expects revenues of between CHF15 billion and CHF15.2 billion, earnings at EBITDA (i.e. before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and net of leasing charges) of CHF5 billion, and capital expenditure of CHF3.1-3.2 billion, of which around CHF1.7 billion will be in Switzerland. If the targets ...