General Success of Starman continued in the first half-year 2007. Telephone services rendered a considerable additional impact on the strong market position in the spheres of cable-TV and the internet. Starman is currently offering the best bundled triple play service in the home user sector. The triple play service is now available to the majority of the company's customers. Through its cable network, Starman is currently represented in most of Estonia's major cities, predominantly in densely populated areas. In December last year, the product portfolio of Starman was supplemented with a DTT (digital terrestrial television) service. ZUUMtv, which was positioned separately, is transmitted through air and Starman's cable network is not used for delivering this product. ZUUMtv is expected to attract a considerable number of new customers already in the near future, especially in those regions of Estonia where Starman was not present thus far. Starman Group's total revenue for the first half-year 2007 amounted to 8.75 million euros, representing a 17% increase compared to the same period a year ago. EBITDA for the first half-year 2007 amounted to 3.16 million euros and net profit attributable to shareholders to 1.33 million euros - respectively an 1% and 14% decrease compared to the first half of the previous year. The good performance is built on the company's successful long-term activities relating to traditional services. As expected, the starting ZUUMtv had a negative impact on Starman's profit figures. A drop of 0.63 million euros in EBITDA - Starman's main performance indicator - is directly attributable to ZUUMtv, plus certain indirect costs whose amount cannot be determined precisely as they were allocated to a number of different products. The negative impact of ZUUMtv on the financial results of the Group is anticipated to continue also in the near future. However, in the long run the new product is expected to strengthen the company's market position and profitability. Financial ratios A selection of ratios for evaluating the economic activities in the first half-year 2007: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 H1 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Sales increase | 26% | 25% | 17% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | EBITDA margin | 33% | 40% | 36% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Gross margin | 15% | 21% | 16% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Net margin | 12% | 19% | 15% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Revenue/average assets | 0.67 | 0.72 | 0.72 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Equity ratio | 54% | 58% | 54% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Debt to equity | 0.69 | 0.56 | 0.61 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Debt/EBITDA | 1.76 | 1.19 | 1.35 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Investments/EBITDA | 1.16 | 0.83 | 1.17 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Current ratio | 0.67 | 1.09 | 1.28* | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Invoice turnover rate (annual) | 20.2 | 20.0 | 26.7 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Definitions: Sales increase = increase compared to the same period last year EBITDA = operating profit + depreciation and amortisation EBITDA margin = EBITDA / total revenue Gross margin = operating profit / total revenue Net margin = net profit attributable to shareholders / total revenue Revenue / average assets - for comparison purposes, the revenue for the first half-year 2007 has been multiplied by 2 Equity ratio = equity / total assets Debt = borrowings + long-term borrowings Debt to equity - for comparison purposes, EBITDA for the first half-year 2007 has been multiplied by 2 Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities Invoice turnover rate = revenue for the period / accounts receivable at the end of the period; for comparison purposes, revenue for the first half-year 2007 has been multiplied by 2 * As to this ratio, it should be borne in mind that because of the special nature of the accounting principles applied in preparing this report, only loans repayable within the current financial year are recognised as short-term borrowings under current liabilities (i.e. in the case of the first half-year, loan payments due within the following six months) unlike the year-end figures where all loans repayable within the following year are recognised as short-term borrowings. Consequently, the current ratio for the first half-year is somewhat overestimated vis-à-vis the year-end figures. Upon eliminating this difference from the figures of the first half-year 2007, the current ratio amounts to 1.07. Group structure Starman Group consists of AS Starman being the parent company and, starting from October 2006, Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS being a subsidiary company. 66% of shares in Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS are held by Starman and 34% of the shares by AS Levira. The financial results of Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS have been consolidated into the Group report line-by-line separately indicating the minority share. Revenue and expenses Traditionally, cable television and internet services contributed the majority of Starman's total revenue for the first half-year 2007, accounting for 46% and 33% of total revenue, respectively. Telephone services, growing faster than the latter two, accounted for 17% of the total revenue for the half-year. The digital terrestrial television (DTT) service had practically no effect on the revenue yet. Revenue from cable television services increased by 14% compared to the first half-year 2006. Organic growth in the market has mostly been achieved at the expense of price increase in recent years. In the first quarter of 2007 the prices of Starman's cable television services further approached those of countries with a similar living standard but still remain rather low. In addition to the regular price increase, the ARPU (average revenue per user) is also supported by structural changes. As regards structural changes, the triple packages that do not contain smaller programme ranges and the new possibilities such as digital television should be mentioned. As to the digital television service launched in autumn 2005, a major improvement was introduced in the first quarter of 2007 when the company piloted a video on demand service. The service is currently going through a test phase with nearly 500 customers - it was taken to market cautiously, being still under constant development. At the end of June 2007, the company had a total of 132 thousand cable television customers, 4.7% of which were digital television users. The number of cable television customers at the end of June exceeded the last year's relevant figure by 1.9%, which is quite a good result given the saturated market and tightened competition. Revenue from internet services increased by 10%, compared to the first half of the previous year. At the end of June 2007, the company had 43 thousand internet customers - a 27% increase compared to the same period a year ago. Starman maintained its position as the market leader of broadband internet for private customers in its footprint. In line with the general impacts of the market, the ARPU continued to show a downward trend, with the average figure of the first half-year 2007 dropping by 13% compared to the last year's relevant figure. Starman's popular triple packages in which the internet services are cheaper have a growing impact on the internet ARPU. However, the supporting influence of the triple packages on other services and, hence, also on the average aggregate revenue per user cannot be disregarded. Of the three primary services, the telephone service continues to show the best growth figures, although the growth rate has somewhat decelerated, with the revenue for the first half-year 2007 having increased 33% in comparison with the same period a year ago. As of the end of June 2007 the company had 36 thousand telephone clients, i.e. 56% more than at the same time last year. There has been a decline in the ARPU of the telephone services lately, partly due to the fact that the services are being offered on increasingly favourable terms in the post-subscription phase. The average ARPU for the first half-year 2007 decreased by 18% when compared to the corresponding figure of the previous year. Starman views its cable television, internet and telephone services as a single integrated service. Since the provision of the integrated service has remained a part of the corporate strategy for a long period of time, and the services are designed to support each other, separate analysis of the respective segments might not give the most accurate picture. In the first half-year 2007, the average aggregate revenue from the given services per client was 13% higher in comparison with the same period a year ago. ZUUMtv was launched with content slightly weaker than planned. Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS is trying to make up for the initial setback by expanding the coverage area and improving the selection of programmes. The coverage area changed notably in the second quarter; by the end of the quarter ZUUMtv covered as much as 93% of Estonian households. Although the relevant figure was 60% at the launch of the product, it encompassed mainly densely populated areas such as Tallinn and Tartu where the traditional cable television is more economically feasible and where the potential of ZUUMtv is thus relatively modest. While until now the three main local channels were available to ZUUMtv clients in analogue format, then from the end of April the first of them - Eesti Televisioon - is available digitally. At the end of June, Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS had 4.3 thousand customers. Starman's operating expenses amounted to 5.59 million euros in the first half-year 2007, having grown by 30% compared to the same period in the previous year. The fact that the operating expenses grew faster than the revenue is primarily attributable to ZUUMtv - when eliminating the direct costs relating to this newly launched product, the increase in operating expenses would amount to 12%. The impact of ZUUMtv is most notable among expenses reported under “Services purchased” which include the transmission charge payable to Levira as a new major expense item. The amount of the transmission charge depends primarily on coverage, and therefore its impact on profit figures after the product has just been introduced and customer figures are far from the company's long-term targets is quite substantial. In addition to the impact of ZUUMtv, the increase of marketing expenses by 68% when compared to the first half of the previous year resulted from the continuing aggressive competition in promoting of telecommunications services. Of major expense items, expenses on the rental of communication ducts (a growth of 50%) and personnel expenses have also shown fast growth compared to the same period a year ago. All in all, despite the pressure on several input prices due to fast-growing salaries, the company has been quite successful in managing the growth in operating expenses. In the first half-year 2007, personnel expenses increased 25% year on year. As regards personnel expenses, it should be noted that this indicator includes 81% of the total wage fund, since the remainder is capitalised in accordance with the corporate accounting rules. The average number of employees was 223 in the first half-year 2007 (206 in the first half-year 2006). As of 30 June 2007, the company employed 223 people. Part-time employees accounted for 16% of the staff. The average number of employees translated to the full employment equivalent was 199 in the first half-year 2007, up 4% compared to the same figure a year ago. As to expenses related to asset valuation, the provision for bad debts amounted to 32 thousand euros, i.e. to merely 0.4% of the period turnover just like in the corresponding period a year ago. Losses and write-downs of inventories totalled 26 thousand euros in the first half-year 2007 (64 thousand euros in the first half-year 2006). EBITDA for the first half-year 2007 amounted to 3.16 million euros. When eliminating the direct influence of ZUUMtv, the EBITDA margin would amount to 44%. Hence, the first half-year 2007 was record-breaking in terms of profitability of traditional services. Depreciation costs increased by 28% compared to the first half-year 2006. Owing to the extensive investing activities carried out in recent years, the depreciation costs continued to have a considerable impact on the profit figures. The net profit attributable to shareholders for the first half-year 2007 amounted to 1.34 million euros. The result for minority shareholders - their share in the loss of Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS - was 0.25 million euros negative. When assessing profit figures one should note that expenses for the second quarter include the income tax expenditure of 0.17 million euros resulting from the disbursement of dividends. Balance sheet, investments and financing In the first half-year 2007, Starman's investments in fixed assets amounted to 3.69 million euros. The company made the following investments: 1.58 million euros in cable network construction and renovation; 0.62 million euros in internet equipment (incl. 0.47 million euros in Head-Ends); 0.44 million euros in STBs (incl. 0.35 million euros for provision of ZUUMtv); 0.36million euros in analogue cable television Head-Ends; 0.29 million euros in telephone modems; and 0.40 million euros in other spheres. When compared to earlier years, projects aiming at network expansion are notable among investments in the cable network. There are still some locations in Estonia where cable network expansion should be profitable, given the company's current success in providing telecommunications services. In addition to the usual trend of moving along with real estate developments in Tallinn and its surroundings the company made investments in, e.g., Tapa, Kadrina, Võru and Pärnu in the first half-year 2007. While work aimed at the modernisation and enhancement of the data communication capability of the existing network is continued, the relative share of that particular type of network investments is diminishing, given the level already achieved. As of 30 June 2007, Starman's network covered 258 thousand households with 237 thousand - i.e. 92% - of the households being served by a network with the data communication facility (as of 31 December 2006 the comparable figures were 251 thousand, 225 thousand and 90%, respectively). Investments in telephone modems and STBs are directly related to the growth in the number of customers. Investments in the internet and cable television equipment primarily enhanced quality in the environment of ever growing data communication volumes. Starman's balance sheet structure continues to be characterised by high capitalisation, a relatively low debt level and a sufficient liquidity. Due to dividend payments made at the beginning of July, a higher than average level of both “Payables” and “Cash” can be observed on the Balance Sheet prepared as of 30 June 2007. While most of the investments made in the first half-year 2007 were financed out of the company's own resources, the volumes of borrowed funds were increased to a certain extent, as well. The high level of inventories as of 30 June 2007 is mainly due to the value of STBs designated for the ZUUMtv offer amounting to 1.11 million euros in the balance sheet of Eesti Digitaaltelevisiooni AS. Considering the anticipated market capacities for the new product and the delivery schedule of the STBs the level of these inventories will probably remain high also in the future. Rändy Hütsi Member of the Management Board +372 677 9977 Additional information: AS Starman interim report for the first half-year 2007
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO THE INTERIM REPORT OF AS STARMAN'S GROUP FOR THE FIRST HALF-YEAR 2007
| Source: Starman