Bezeq Israel Telecom Q3 Profit Falls More Than Forecast

Bezeq Israel Telecom reported a more-than-expected 27 percent drop in quarterly profit, weighed down by steep declines in net profit at its mobile phone and Internet services units amid intensifying competition.

Israel’s largest telecom group said on Tuesday it earned 234 million shekels ($63 million) in the third quarter, compared with 322 million a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 4.7 percent to 2.3 billion shekels.

Bezeq, which is being investigated for securities offences and is the midst of a corporate shake-up, was forecast to earn 255 million shekels on revenue of 2.34 billion, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

The company reiterated its 2018 forecast for net income of 1.0 billion shekels.

Net profit at Pelephone, Israel’s third-largest mobile phone operator, fell 75 percent to 6 million shekels, while its subscriber base slid to 2.185 million from 2.475 million a year earlier. ($1 = 3.7032 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen). – reuters