OTE Greece profit beats forecast but still no growth in sight

OTE, the biggest telecoms company in southeastern Europe, on Thursday reported a bigger-than-expected profit for the second quarter, but said no sales growth was expected soon in its recession-hit Greek home market.
The former monopoly, now 40% owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom, had a net profit of 62.2 mln euros ($88.64 mln), above a 53.1 mln euro average forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The company, which is active in six countries in the Balkans, lost about a tenth of its fixed-line customers last year, as cash-strapped callers turned to cheaper rivals and regulators blocked attempts to match its competitors' offers.
Despite a slower sales drop in mobile telephony, its most profitable business, the company did not predict a recovery any time soon. "Growth is still not in sight," CEO Michael Tsamaz said in a statement.
Sales declined by an annual 7.6% to 1.25 bln euros, but still higher than analysts' 1.22 bln euros estimate.
Customer losses in OTE's Greek fixed-line business continued in the second quarter, with 107,000 defecting compared with 99,000 in the previous quarter.
Mobile phone operations also continued to suffer albeit at a slower pace. Airtime revenues, excluding monthly service fees, dropped 10% year-on-year to 193.3 mln euros, following a 22% decline in the previous quarter.