Belgacom Flat in Third Quarter

Belgacom said that its revenues in the third quarter were almost flat year-on-year at 1.48 billion euros. The operator said the number of SMS sent per customer increased 23% in the first nine months of 2009 to 71 per month, driven by the substitution of voice by SMS.

Belgacom reconfirmed that it still expects a revenue decline of about 1% in 2009 and capital spending to be between 10% and 11% of group revenue. In the first nine months, Belgacom's capex was 405 million euros - 101 million euros less than for the same period of 2008, which included the renewal of the football broadcasting rights for 105 million euros, covering three football seasons. source: Belgacom statement