A1 Telekom Austria reported a 6.4% increase in core profit in the fourth quarter helped by strong revenue growth in its central and eastern European markets.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization came in at 355.5 million euros on revenue of 1.2 billion euros, it said on Tuesday.
The group, which is controlled by Mexico's America Movil and the Austrian state, expects revenue to increase 1-2% this year and plans to spend 770 million euros excluding investments in new spectrum for 5G applications and potential acquisitions.
"Besides Austria, 5G will also become an issue in our other markets: Slovenia already has a 5G base station, Bulgaria is testing streaming and gaming as well as robotics and there are 5G trials in Croatia and Northern Macedonia," said Chief Operating Officer Alejandro Plater.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
