FRANKFURT: German telecom service provider Freenet <FNTGn.DE> expects a rise in 2017 core earnings to more than 410 million euros ($434.72 million) on higher revenues, the company told investors at its capital markets day on Wednesday. The outlook is a rise from last year’s 402 million euros and excludes results from its holdings in Swiss telecoms operator Sunrise <SRCG.S>, in which Freenet holds a 24.6 percent stake. The company did not provide a concrete revenue expectation for 2017. Analysts expect 2017 revenues to rise to 3.47 billion euros from 3.36 billion in 2016, the data showed, with estimates of between 3.35 billion and 3.61 billion euros, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Freenet is a German mobile telecom services reseller and operates under a service provider model, rather than as a mobile virtual network operator (MNVO), like most of its competitors. This means that it offers mobile plans on all German mobile networks via its own retail network and its website. It has around 12 million mobile subscribers, corresponding with bout 12 percent of the German market. Freenet last year acquired Media Broadcast Group and a stake in digital television distribution company eXaring, which together form the base of Freenet’s digital media strategy. The company also said that it expected EBITDA and revenues to slightly rise further in 2018.
