ISTANBUL - Turkcell, Turkey’s biggest mobile phone operator, sees enhancing profitability and launching new technology investments as a way out against the current crisis. The company plans to invest a total of $1.6 billion in the region

Turkcell focuses on technology investments Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile phone company, is planning to invest $1.6 billion this year. Allocating $1.3 billion for technological projects in Turkey, the company plans to make international investment, particularly in Ukraine and Belarus, worth $300 million in 2009.

"We are looking forward to helping Turkey emerge from the crisis faster and stronger," Turkcell Chief Executive Sürreyya Ciliv told members of the press in Istanbul yesterday.

"In order to achieve this goal, investments in technology should be our main focus. As Turkcell, we are aware of our responsibilities and despite the effects of the crisis we still plan to grow this year," Ciliv said.

Second biggest in Europe

Speaking on Turkcell’s 2008 financial results, Ciliv said the company gained 1.6 million new users and 651,000 of them subscribed to Turkcell in the fourth quarter of last year. Turkcell, which operates in eight countries, reached a total 62 million subscribers last year, an 11 percent increase on the year before. The company’s subscribers in Turkey increased 5 percent compared to a year earlier and reached 37 million. The figure stood at 34.5 million in 2007.

"That five percent rise in the number of subscribers in Turkey has helped Turkcell to rank second in a list of Europe’s top mobile operators," said Ciliv. Turkcell also has 11.2 million subscribers in Ukraine, 7.1 million in Kazakhstan, 3.5 million in Azerbaijan and 1.6 million in Georgia. Turkcell’s total income reached $7 billion in 2008. That was an increase of rose 10.1 percent compared to a year earlier. The firm posted a net profit of $1.8 billion last year, which was a rise of 36 percent compared to a year earlier. Turkcell’s market share was 56 percent last year.

"We will be focusing on profitability rather than increasing customer numbers this year," said Ciliv. "Our revenue may grow 8 percent, the same as last year in lira terms, or at a lower rate. We do not expect an increase in Turkcell’s 37 million domestic customers this year because of the global crisis and competition."

Turkcell is planning to expand its fiber-optic cable network in Turkey to compete with Türk Telekom in fixed-line broadband Internet services. The company is also seeking to increase its market share in Ukraine and Belarus. Currently Turkcell has a 20 percent share in Ukraine’s mobile phone market, Ciliv said.

The company also plans to add more than 1,000 workers this year, Ciliv said. It will employ another 600 people at its call center in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, he said. Responding to a question on the changes in the number of Turkcell subscribers following the launch of the number portability implementation, Ciliv said, between Nov. 9 and Dec. 31, 90,000 new subscribers joined Turkcell.

Source: HurriyetDailyNews.com