Eircoms Preliminary Financial Results 04

Furp

Eircoms, preliminary Financial results for this year are out a PDF is available at the investor relations website.

http://investorrelations.eircom.net/pdf/eircom_preliminary_results_2004.pdf

Operating Profit is up 39%

DSL customers exceed 38,000

Yet turnover is down 3%

Edit: I've just read all 48 pages of the report, it makes interesting reading although not being into finance its a bit hard to understand although to me it looks like they have a lot of debt, plus they are losing small percentages in their voice communications and data sectors, but the report does mention that the increase in fixed line rental has helped with the profits....although from my point of view to me it looks like they are trying to gloss over their failings.

BigEejit

turnover down 3%, hopefully that will ring alarm bells with the institutional investors.... the increase in operating profit shows that they are really letting the infrastructure fall to bits and that they are shafting the customer at every chance .... but as has been posted by Muck on another Eircom shares thread, the dumbass pension managers are still buying into this (for one reason or another, mostly "I'll scratch your back........" kind of stuff I think)

Cryos

also note that the operating costs of eircom went down 2% "due primarily to reduced pay costs" then note at the bottom of the page

Year-end headcount 7,943 at March 2004, down from 8,547 at March 2003.

That looks like reduced pay costs alright more like reduced working staff.

Here is where its starting to hurt them:

Turnover down 3% due primarily to loss of low margin transit traffic and discontinued businesses.

Business are starting to go to other voice and data providers and eircom are loosing out big time.

Key ratios
2004 2003
Gross margin 75% 70%
EBITDA margin 36% 32%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 37% 33%
Operating margin 7% 5%

Seems a bit strange seing as the turnover etc.. went down...

ive read the whole thing

Basicaly if you read threw it all (yes alll of the pages) you will soon realise that people are starting to use other companys and this is reflected in decreased net profits and turnover rates.

When are the Velencia Consortium selling off €ircon?

nahdoic

So despite 3 increases in phone line rental the total sales were still down 54,000,0000 from last year.

Here's my favourite.

Dividends paid 2004: 428,000,000
Dividends paid 2003: 22,000,000

Nice.

And a total debt of 2,264,000,000 (including a bank overdraft of 1,000,000 - nice).

Total spent servicing loans 2003: 134,000,000
Total spent servicing loans 2004: 208,000,000

Nice one. Let's just riddle this company with long term debt so we could get our juicy divident payments. Let's not worry about paying back any of the debt that was due this year. Instead let's just refinance it. And let others worry about it in a few years time.

dahamsta

It should be a criminal offense to take that much money - what am I saying, ANY money - out of a company when it's riddled with debt like that.

adam

Cryos

it should be, i think it is an offence of some sort isnt it?

from doing accounting it was not fisable for eircom to give their shareholders an increase as they according to all the p&l accoutns and ballance sheets will expirence increased bad liquidiity.

An divident increase of even x2 would be unexplainable given the companys debt, let alone an increase x16/17 (just an guess).

Someone will have to take them to some form of court for that sort of practice

mike65

The recent float cost about €100 million in fees.

Mike.

spongebob

Originally posted by dahamsta
It should be a criminal offense to take that much money - what am I saying, ANY money - out of a company when it's riddled with debt like that.

adam

Hmmm, thats an idea.

If one were to buy the one single Eircom share at c.€1.44 + c.€25 trading fee one could then complain about the antics of ones Board to the Office of the Director Of Corporate Enforcement .

M

dahamsta

Heh, my misspelling was rather appropriate there, n'est ce pas?

adam

mike65

You mean you spelt offence worng!

Mike.