O2 Ireland gained 5,200 new customers during its second quarter of 2010, according to new figures published today.
The telecoms provider now has a total of 1.71 million subscribers in Ireland, which includes over 146,000 broadband customers.
O2 said service revenue for the quarter was €193 million, down from €196 million from the preceding quarter and from €211 million a year earlier.
Tbe company said that data revenue as a percentage of overall service revenue continues to grow, driven by an increase in non-SMS revenues which accounted for 12.8 per cent of overall service revenues in the second quarter.
The monthly average revenue per user (Arpu) from mobile customers for the first six months of 2010 totalled €37.14, down from €39.55 for the same period last year.
Monthly average Arpu for prepay customers was €24.33, compared to €24.86 for the same period last year, while for postpay customers it was €55.46, down from €63.50.
During the first six months of 2010, 1.659 billion texts were sent, up 8.3 per cent on the same period last year. A total of 2.347 billion voice minutes were used during the first-half of the year.
Average monthly minutes of use in the second quarter meanwhile was 231, up from 228 for the same period last year.
O2 Ireland's chief financial officer Paul Whelan said the trading environment remined very challenging during the second quarter of 2010 and said the firm was continuing to see downward pressure on revenues as customers change their usage patterns and look for greater flexibility and control over their costs.
O2's parent company Telefonica today announced a better-than-expected 9.4 per cent rise in first-half profit, as strength at its foreign businesses offset a weak but improving performance in its home market Spain.
The group highlighted that its recession-hit Spanish unit, which makes one-third of group revenues and is a focus of investor concern, continued to show modest signs of improvement. Revenues were down 3.2 per cent in the second quarter, having fallen 5.7 per cent in the first.
The group's outlook also appeared brighter elsewhere in Europe, with first-half revenues at unit 02 Europe up 10.8 per cent in the first half and core earnings up 8.3 per cent.
In Latin America, revenues were up 10.2 per cent and core earnings were up 6.1 per cent. The unit accounts for 40 per cent of revenues.
Telefonica yesterday clinched a long-sought-after deal to buy control of Brazilian mobile unit Vivo from Portugal Telecom for €7.5 billion euros, a coup for chairman Cesar Alierta after a politically complicated battle.
The Vivo purchase is seen as key for Telefonica to offset waning revenues from mature markets like Spain with those which are still booming, such as Brazil.
Additional reporting: Reuters
