Turkcell revenues top $3.4B in first 9 months of 2018

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish mobile network giant Turkcell's revenues totaled 15.7 billion Turkish liras ($3.4 billion) as of September 2018, the company announced Thursday.

The revenues rose by 20.8 percent year-on-year in the first 9 months of 2018, Turkcell said in a report.

Meanwhile, net profits of the gsm operator dropped by 34.4 percent to stand at 1.16 billion Turkish liras ($252.1 million) in the period, according to the company.

Turkcell said that the decrease in net profits stemmed from higher net foreign exchange loss, and increased interest expenses on loans, despite the robust operational performance.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) reached 6.55 billion liras ($1.4 billion), corresponding to a 45.9 percent rise, it added.

The report showed, as of the end of September, the number of Turkcell Group's -- including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Ukraine, Belarus, and Europe -- subscribers reached 50.3 million persons, up 1.9 percent compared to the same period in 2017.

The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 4.59 in the first 9 months of 2018 and 3.6 as of September 2017.

Turkcell spearheaded GSM-based mobile communication in Turkey when it started operations in 1994.

Since then, it has continuously expanded its services based on mobile audio and data communication in Turkey and abroad.