Turkcell Net Profit Nearly Halves As Company Hit By Forex Losses

   By Yeliz Candemir 

ISTANBUL--Turkey's biggest mobile-phone operator by subscribers Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS's (TKC) fourth-quarter net profit nearly halved, missing expectations due to foreign-currency losses from operations in Ukraine and Belarus.

Net income fell to 257.9 million liras ($104.6 million) in the three months ended December, down 49% from TRY505 million in the year-earlier period, the Istanbul-based company said on its website late Thursday. Analysts had forecast a net profit of TRY390 million. The shortfall was mainly due to non-operational expenses from forex losses.

Turkcell said its revenue grew by 8% to TRY3.1 billion in the period, reflecting a higher contribution of mobile broadband and fiber broadband revenues. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, rose 8% to TRY917.1 million.

In the full-year of 2014, Turkcell's net profit fell 20% on the year to TRY1.8 billion, reflecting macroeconomic conditions in the company's international markets and several one-off items.

"Our Ukrainian business sustained its operational performance, and accordingly its [full-year] revenues rose by 13% in local-currency terms. Nonetheless, its revenues contracted 12% in lira terms due to 97% local currency devaluation in Ukraine," Turkcell said.

In early Friday trading, Turkcell shares were down 0.7% to TRY14.7, compared with a 0.1% rise in the benchmark BIST-100 Index.

Write to Yeliz Candemir at [e-mail]

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