Portugal's ZON Nine-Month Net Profit Falls 20%, But 3Q Up 22%

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Portuguese telecommunications company ZON Multimedia SA (ZONMY, ZON.LB) said late Tuesday its nine-month net profit fell nearly 20% on the year, hurt by higher financial costs and a drop in the value of assets where the company has been investing.

Portugal's second-largest telecom firm behind its former parent company, Portugal Telecom (PT, PTC.LB), said its nine-month net profit dropped to EUR41 million from EUR50.9 million.

However, the company said its third-quarter net profit rose about 22% to EUR11.9 million, from EUR9.7 million in the year-earlier period.

ZON said its total capital expenditure grew 34% to EUR144 million in the first nine months of the year, and it rose 26% to EUR53.4 million in the third quarter.

The company's net financial debt rose close to 13% to EUR621.8 million at the end of September, compared with EUR552.5 million at the end of 2008, but the figure was lower compared with the EUR638.8 million debt reported at the end of June.

Meanwhile, ZON's nine-month operating revenue was up nearly 8% to EUR605.6 million, boosted mainly by a stronger triple-play client base, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, grew 9% to EUR201 million in the first nine months of 2009.

Company Web site: www.zon.pt

-Dow Jones Newswires; [e-mail]