Press Releases

Budapest, November 13, 2001

Matáv (NYSE: MTA.N and BSE: MTAV.BU), the leading Hungarian telecommunications service provider, today reported its financial results for the first nine months of 2001.

Highlights:

Revenues grew by 23.4% (23.6% in euro and 17.8% in dollar terms) to 403.8 billion forints (EUR 1,563.5 million or US$ 1,400.3 million) compared to 327.3 billion forints in the first nine months of 2000.  

- In the fixed line segment the main contributors to this growth were the 23.5% growth of subscription revenues and 19.7% growth of other charges due to increased sale of tariff packages and higher monthly fees, and 27.4% growth in revenues from leased line and data transmission services driven by strong increases in managed leased lines, ISDN channels, Internet and cable television customers.  

- Mobile segment revenues grew by 24.3% driven by the 60.8% increase in Westel’s subscriber base in the last twelve months. In the third quarter net additions amounted to 133,521 and ARPU slightly increased. EBITDA margin grew to 39.7% for the first nine months of the year.

- MakTel added 44.8 billion forints to Matáv’s revenues. The key components of revenue growth in the third quarter were mobile and domestic fixed line revenues.

EBITDA increased by 14.3% (14.5% in euro terms), amounting to 174.4 billion forints (EUR 675.3 million or US$ 604.8 million) versus 152.6 billion forints a year ago. EBITDA improvement was driven by EBITDA growth of the mobile segment and the contribution of MakTel. EBITDA margin was 43.2% for the nine month period compared to 46.6% a year ago.  

Net income was 54.5 billion forints (EUR 210.9 million or US$ 188.9 million), compared to 62.3 billion forints in the first nine months of 2000. The net income margin was 13.5% for the first nine months of 2001 compared to 19.0% a year ago.  

Elek Straub , Chairman and CEO commented: “ I am glad to report on the continuing healthy growth of our businesses which makes me confident that we will deliver on our promises and will reach our 22% plus revenue growth and 42% plus EBITDA margin target on group level for the full year. ”

Fixed Line: Higher revenues from subscription fees, tariff packages and data

As a result of Matáv’s fixed line marketing strategy to increase traffic through the selling of higher value services the number of ISDN channels grew significantly (by 69.4% in the last twelve months) reaching 13.9% of Matáv’s total fixed line connections.  

Revenues from subscription, connection and other charges increased by 17.7% driven by an increase in subscription charges effective from February 1, 2001, the 1.2% average line increase, the increased sale of tariff packages, partly offset by decrease in connection fee revenues.  

Domestic traffic measured in minutes increased by 6.1% year over year, as Internet usage and fixed-to-mobile traffic increased. The growth in volume was offset by lower traffic charges and higher proportion of Internet calls.  

Data revenue growth remained strong and amounted to 27.4% year over year driven by the growth of ISDN data, managed leased lines, Internet and cable TV revenues. Managed leased lines grew by 33.0% to 10,914, number of Internet customers has increased by 46.9% to 118,650, number of cable TV connections increased by over 25.3% to 291,844 year over year.  

As a result of reducing headcount by 1,700 in the first nine months of the year, lines per employee increased to 306.5 by the end of the reporting period.  


Mobile: Continuing strong growth and margin improvement

Mobile segment revenues increased by a powerful 24.3% and reached 143.4 billion forints. The key driver was the strong 60.8% year over year growth in subscriber base at Westel which growth has somewhat slowed down in the third quarter resulting in higher profitability as acquisition costs decreased. EBITDA margin of the mobile segment increased to 39.7% for the first nine months of the year.  

Westel retained its leading position in the market having 2,169,434 subscribers and 51.7% market share in the GSM market at the end of September. By the end of the quarter the proportion of prepaid customers grew to 63% of the total subscriber base compared to 45% a year ago.  

Despite strong volume growth mainly in prepaid, MOU and ARPU remained stable throughout the nine month period reflecting the increased usage of existing customers which offset the dilution effect of the new subscribers. Enhanced service revenues increased by 90% and contributed 6.6% of total service revenues in the first nine months.  

Monthly average minutes-of-use per subscriber was 149 and average revenue per unit was 7,031 forints in the first nine months of the year compared to 185 and 9,431 forints a year ago. Annualized churn rate was 14.1%.  

As reported earlier, Matáv, currently the 51% owner of Westel and Westel 0660, sent a notification to Deutsche Telekom in September announcing its intention to exercise its option to acquire the remaining 49% stakes in these companies currently held by Deutsche Telekom. It is planned that the closing of the transaction will take place by the end of 2001.  


International segment contribution increased, margin improvement continued

The most dynamically growing revenue lines in the international segment were MakTel’s mobile revenues as the subscriber base increased and its domestic fixed line revenues as a result of tariff rebalancing in the third quarter. EBITDA margin of the international segment was 53.3% for the first nine months. MakTel had 541,743 fixed line subscribers, 184,641 mobile customers and 18,527 Internet subscribers at the end of September.  

Matáv is the principal provider of telecom services in Hungary. Matáv provides a broad range of services including telephony, data transmission, value-added services, and through its subsidiaries is Hungary's largest mobile telecom provider. Matáv also holds a majority stake in Stonebridge Communications AD controlling MakTel, the sole fixed line and mobile operator in Macedonia. Key shareholders of Matáv as of September 30, 2001 include MagyarCom, owned by Deutsche Telekom AG (59.49%), while 40.51% is publicly traded.

This press-release contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any of them in light of new information or future events.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Such factors are described in, among other things, our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2000 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For detailed information on Matáv’s nine moths results please visit our website:  
(www.matav.hu/english/world/investors/financial/013negyed.html) or the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange
(www.bse.hu Listed Securities/ Issuer’s news).