The telecom triumvirate

With mobile penetration in Poland reaching 77 percent, 2005 offered great opportunities for the three top operators, which was reflected in their financial results.

Market leader Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), the operator of Era, increased its profits by 20 percent in 2005, netting zł.1.154 billion in comparison to zł.960 million made the year before. Revenue grew by four percent, reaching zł.6.72 billion in 2005. The company also saw a rise in its number of subscribers. At the end of last year, more than 10.2 million people used PTC's services, giving it a 35.1-percent share of the market.

PTC is followed by Centertel, which at the end of 2005 had 9.9 million subscribers and last week announced that the number had passed 10 million. Its revenue in 2005 grew by 14 percent to reach zł.6.4 billion while its net profits amounted to zł.1.04 billion. Since the introduction of the Orange brand in September the operator's new clients have made up 43 percent of all new subscribers on the market.

"Orange is clearly going to attack the number-one spot on the market this year," independent telecom analyst Tomasz Kulisiewicz said. The company plans to exceed 11 million subscribers by the end of 2006. He added that its stable and clear ownership situation, rather than the rebranding, is responsible for the company's offensive.

PTC, on the other hand, is being handicapped by an ongoing ownership dispute between Elektrim and Vivendi. Polkomtel's ownership is also scattered between several major companies.

Polkomtel is the operator of Plus, and although behind its competitors in terms of the number of clients, with 9.1 million subscribers at the end of last year, it had a very good year in terms of financial results. Both its revenue of zł.6.5 billion, which was a 12-percent increase from 2004's figure, and net profit of zł.1.07 billion topped Centertel's results for this year.

Kulisiewicz says that the firm's strong results are thanks to several major clients and its strategy of concentrating on the business sector. However, Orange is becoming very active in the SME sector.

The ownership of Polkomtel is also about to change. Danish firm TDC, which holds 19.6 percent of the firm, said it would probably sell its stake in the operator to the other Polish shareholders, namely KGHM, PKN Orlen, Węglokoks and power grid PSE. This would give them a combined 75-percent stake in Polkomtel. Vodafone, which also holds a 19.6 stake in Polkomtel, said it would go to court to secure its claim for the TDC stake.