|
 Address
by CYTA Chairman Stavros Kremmos
on the occasion of the presentation of the
Organisation’s 2008
Results
The environment
In 2008, Cyta was operating not only in a
constantly changing telecommunications
environment but in the midst of the global
financial crisis as well. Both of these
significant parameters were taken into
consideration in the formulation of the
Organisation’s business strategy.
The extremely positive
financial results for 2008 are an indication of
the Organisation’s ability to adapt to rapid
changes in the business environment. Today we
market services that provide customers with
better functionality and quality than ever
before and at a lower cost.
Financial results
In 2008, operating revenue amounted to €484
million compared to €454 million in 2007,
representing an increase of 7%, while operating
expenses were €372 million compared to €359
million in 2007, an increase of 4%.
The operating surplus rose
from €94 million in 2007 to €112 million,
representing an increase of 19%. The surplus
after tax rose by 8.7% from €81 million in 2007
to €103 million in 2008.
Earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortization amounted to
€190 million compared to €175 million in 2007,
representing an increase of 8.6%.
The robust finances of the
Organisation are evident from the balance sheet:
Reserves grew from €859 million in 2007 to €884
million in 2008, while liquid funds in the form
of bank deposits and government bonds increased
from €374 million in 2007 to €392 million in
2008.
We continued our development
policy with capital expenditure of €76m.
Financed entirely by our own funds, it
constituted 16% of operating revenue.
Significant achievements
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We
carried out
- and we are continuously
planning
- upgrades to existing services and
products and the introduction of new ones.
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In
2008 we completed our new brand strategy
project and the renewal of our corporate
image. |
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We
realised our strategic aim of expanding
abroad through our activities in the Greek
market via our subsidiary Cyta Hellas. |
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We
signed a cooperation agreement with Syrian
Telecom (STE) for the provision of
international cable capacity in Europe and
for the planning and construction of a new
submarine cable system linking Cyprus and
Syria. |
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During the first half of 2009 we announced
an agreement with Ôelecom Egypt North (TEN)
to obtain a private submarine cable system
for destinations in Asia and Europe.
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We
contributed to the fact that Cyprus was able
to register the highest increase in
broadband take-up in one year in the
European Union, from 13.8% to 18.2%. Work
continues successfully towards our aim of
bringing broadband access to all rural areas
in Cyprus. It is worth noting that with no
assistance whatsoever (by contrast with what
happens with other providers in Europe), we
have so far brought broadband access to 202
villages while in 2009 we shall link another
95 and in 2010 the remaining 63 will all
have broadband. |
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Aware of our responsibility to society, we
continue to fund the sectors of education,
heath and welfare, the environment, culture,
sport, technology and research. |
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We
received two important European awards in
2008: from the European Foundation for
Quality Management (EFQM) we obtained the
highest five-star
"Recognised
for Excellence"
ranking while from the European Commission’s
EQUAL initiative, we won the Social
Excellence Award for ensuring the work/life
balance of our personnel. |
Our new services and the future
For us, development is part of our culture. This
is why our short-term plans include the
establishment of the necessary infrastructure to
create a totally connected environment with the
aim of improving the people’s lives regarding
their communications, work or recreation. The
technology required to achieve this is complex
but the time has come for its implementation.
We wish to provide
cutting-edge services, which is why we operate
like other pioneering telecommunications
organisations throughout the world. We believe
that these services will not only benefit the
Cyprus economy but will improve the quality of
everything that we offer to customers.
Thanks
Our success rests on two pillars: relations with
our customers and relations with our personnel.
The relationship with our customers is based
first and foremost on our reliability. Our
customers are the benchmark for our
Organisation’s broad strategy while, for us, our
personnel constitutes our most important
resource.
I should like to take this
opportunity to thank our customers for their
confidence in us, and all members of our
personnel for their conscientious and
professional dedication to the Organisation.
I also wish to thank:
the Government and the House
of Representatives for their close cooperation,
the Minister under whose authority the
Organisation falls - Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis
- for his support, all our
associates, Legal Advisers and Auditors,
the Auditor General of the
Republic for her observations and comments which
are always useful tools for further improvement,
the Commissioner of
Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation
and the Commissioner for the Protection of
Competition for their excellent collaboration,
the trade unions with whom
we are united by common goals and
of course, the Members of the
Board and the Organisation’s Senior Management
for their productive and fruitful cooperation.
Finally, I express warm
thanks to the Media for their contribution to
the promotion of our achievements and their
constructive interventions.
With you we shall continue to
move forward, true to our commitment to society
to keep opening up the most reliable
communications highways linking us with the rest
of the world.
Stavros Kremmos
Chairman
7 July
2009
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