Cellcom reported its first quarterly profit after nine consecutive loss-making quarters: NIS 43 million

Cellcom reported its first quarterly profit after nine consecutive loss-making quarters. This is against the background of calls from right-wing elements for a boycott against society, following the strike time it announced, in parallel with the protest strike of the Arab public.
The company, managed by Avi Gabay, who took office in January last year, ended the quarter with a net profit of NIS 7 million, compared with a loss of NIS 43 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Cellcom's revenues in the first quarter amounted to NIS 1.033 billion, a growth of 16% compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The increase is explained, among other things, by the full consolidation of the results of Golan Telecom, which Cellcom completed its acquisition in August last year. The company's operating profit jumped 2.8 times to NIS 50 million, despite damage to the company as a result of declining revenues from roaming services - a result of the corona crisis that significantly reduced the number of Israelis going abroad and using these services.
The number of Cellcom's cellular subscribers stood at 3.23 million at the end of the first quarter, compared with 2.74 million at the end of the corresponding quarter in 2020, an increase resulting from the acquisition of Golan Telecom. The average monthly income per subscriber (ARPU) eroded by about 2% to NIS 47.4.
The number of Cellcom's cellular subscribers stood at 3.23 million at the end of the first quarter, compared with 2.74 million at the end of the corresponding quarter in 2020, an increase resulting from the acquisition of Golan Telecom. The average monthly income per subscriber (ARPU) eroded by about 2% to NIS 47.4.
The company's fixed line segment, which includes landline communications and Cellcom TV services, the company recorded a growth of 6.5% in the number of Internet subscribers to about 297,000 and the number of Cellcom TV subscribers at the end of the period was 254,000, a growth of 3.3%. Despite the increase in the number of customers, the company's revenues from landline communications services fell in the first quarter by 8% to NIS 267 million.
The reports for this quarter included a one-time profit of NIS 14 million following the completion of the transaction to include HOT in a partnership in IBC's fiber-optic deployment project.
In addition, Cellcom reported additional revenues of NIS 13 million on fiber deployment for IBC. The company clarifies that these revenues are expected to decrease significantly in the second half of the year in light of the completion of the transaction.
In the segment of the business dispute with Expon of Hezi Bezalel, with which Cellcom has a network sharing agreement, the company noted that currently Expon continues not to pay the amounts to which it is committed from the sharing agreement and pays only partially.
 The balance of Expon's debt to the company, according to Cellcom, is NIS 55 million. Expon, on the other hand, claims that the merger of Cellcom and Golan led to a change in the terms of the network sharing agreement signed between the three networks and therefore the amounts required by Cellcom do not correspond to reality.