Forthnet posts lower subs and revenues

Panos Papadopoulos

Greek pay TV operator Forthnet, which operates under the Nova brand, has reported first-half declines in subscriptions, revenue and EBITDA as Greece continues to struggle with the impact of its prolonged economic recession.

The operator’s total subscriptions sold declined by 8.5% to end June with just over one million subscriptions shared among 745,000 homes, down 7.9%. The company had 460,000 pay TV subscribers in the domestic Greek market, down 9.6%.

Forthnet’s triple-play base fell by 9.9% to 328,000, while its broadband base declined by 7.7% to 613,000.

The company turned in revenues of €165.5 million, down 9.5%, and adjusted EBITDA of €26.8 million, down 8.1%.

Forthnet said its priorities will remain focused on the value of services rather than aggressive discounting, with an emphasis on retaining higher-value customers. It said it would enhance its Nova triple-play service and launch new functionality.

The company said it would also continue to make cost savings through operational efficiencies.

“In a prolonged recessionary environment, that decreases disposable income, we continue to focus on optimising our cost base and on improving the quality of our services,” said CEO Panos Papadopoulos.

“By entering into new agreements we are enriching our content and available channels. We are also continuing to improve the experience of our subscribers, under the Nova brand for all services, by offering to all of our customers high definition image quality and new ways of experiencing on demand content. The refinancing agreement reached with the banks and the upcoming issuance of the convertible bond are important developments towards improving the company’s financial position.”