(Repeats item published on July 22)
* Telefonica O2 CR <> second-quarter earnings
* July 24, after market close at 1400 GMT
* Net profit estimated at 3.02 billion crowns ($209 mln), up
17 percent year-on-year
By Jan Korselt
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Telefonica O2 Czech Republic <>
is seen posting a 17 percent increase in net profit driven by a
sale of real estate, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
The average estimate of 11 analysts for the net profit was
at 3.02 billion crowns ($209 million), up from 2.58 billion in
the April-June period last year.
The biggest Czech telecom firm, owned 69 percent by Spain's
Telefonica <TEF.MC>, sold a mix of administrative and technology
buildings in May for 4 billion crowns, which should boost its
bottom line by around 400 million crowns in the second quarter.
Czech Telefonica also benefited from a drop in corporate tax
to 21 percent from 24 percent at the beginning of this year, and
lower depreciation, analysts said.
Revenues were estimated up 1 percent at 16.02 billion, while
operating income before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation (OIBDA) at 7.40 billion crowns, 4 percent higher.
Without the asset sale, the core OIBDA profit would have
fallen by about 2 percent year-on-year, casting doubts on the
firm's full year forecast of 0-2 percent increase.
"The results adjusted for the sale of unused real estate
will raise questions if the company will be able to fulfil its
2008 guidance," said Milan Vanicek, an analyst at Atlantik FT.
Czech Telefonica plans revenues up 2-4 percent year-on-year,
as continuing growth in mobile sector should further compensate
for drop in the fixed-line business of the former monopoly.
The stock has lost 10.3 percent from the start of 2008,
outperforming Prague bourse's PX index <>, which lost 20.9
percent over the period.
But the firm still trades with a dividend of 50 crowns per
share until Sep. 12, giving a dividend yield of 10 percent.
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Analysts' estimates for 2Q/2008 (in bln CZK):
Average Median 2Q-07 Range
REVENUE 16.02 16.02 15.89 15.79-16.29
CORE PROFIT (OIBDA) 7.40 7.40 7.14 7.07- 7.71
OPER.PROFIT 4.06 4.12 3.52 3.80- 4.20
NET PROFIT 3.02 3.08 2.58 2.77- 3.25
----------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE - The following equity houses took part in the poll:
Atlantik FT, BH Securities, Cyrrus, Erste Bank/Ceska Sporitelna,
Komercni Banka, Morgan Stanley, KBC Securities/Patria Finance,
Raiffeisenbank, UBS, Unicredit Global Research, Wood & Company.
