Brazil's GVT Trims Revenue-Growth Forecasts for 2012

SAO PAULO--Brazilian phone company GVT saw revenues surge in the first half of the year, although it has reduced its overall forecast for revenue growth this year.

The firm said it expects revenue growth of 30% this year, slightly lower than the 35% it had originally expected, without providing reasons. GVT--a unit of France's Vivendi SA (VIV.FR)--expects to maintain its Ebitda margin slightly above 40%, compared with around 40% previously.

Economic growth in Brazil has slowed far more sharply than had been expected this year, and isn't expected to top 2%, and some telecoms firms have already said this will affect revenue growth. At the beginning of the year, many economists had expected growth of around 4%.

GVT said in a statement that revenues totaled 2.05 billion Brazilian reais ($1 billion) in the first half of the year, up 31.4% from a year earlier. Excluding a change in the ICMS tax the revenues would have been 42% higher, GVT said. Ebitda margin was 40.6%, down from 41.8%.

Broadband internet revenues rose 22.4%, while voice revenues rose 32.4%, it said. Lines in service reached 7.4 million, up 41% on the year, it said.

Customers are opting for faster Internet speeds, according to the report. Sales of connections with speeds of 15 megabytes or more represented 41% of sales, compared with 24% in the same period of 2011, it said.

GVT said it has signed up 203,000 pay-TV customers as of June 30, and accounted for 11% of all pay-TV sales in Brazil in the second quarter.

Write to Matthew Cowley at [e-mail]

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