Magyar Telekom Távközlési Nyilvánosan Müködö Részvénytársaság (in English, Magyar Telekom Telecommunications Public Limited Company) is a limited liability stock corporation incorporated and operating under the laws of Hungary. We operate under a commercial name, Magyar Telekom Nyrt. or Magyar Telekom Plc. Our shares are listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, and our ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Our headquarters are located at 55 Krisztina krt., 1013 Budapest, Hungary. Our telephone numbers are +36-1-458-0000 and +36-1-458-7000. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation, 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, USA.
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
Prior to 1990, the Hungarian national postal, telephone and telegraph authority, Magyar Posta, provided all public telephone services in Hungary. On January 1, 1990, the Hungarian government split Magyar Posta into three distinct entities based on the nature of their operations: postal services, telecommunications and broadcasting. The Hungarian government made Magyar Távközlési Vállalat, the predecessor to Matáv, responsible for telecommunications operations. This entity was transformed on December 31, 1991 into a stock corporation, Magyar Távközlési Rt., or Matáv, then wholly owned by the predecessor of Állami Privatizációs és Vagyonkezelö Rt. ("State Privatization and Holding Company" or " ÁPV").
MagyarCom GmbH ("MagyarCom"), a holding company in which Deutsche Telekom and Ameritech Corporation ("Ameritech") each held a 50 percent interest, was selected by the Minister in an international tender and subsequently purchased a 30.1 percent stake in Matáv for approximately U.S.$875 million on December 22, 1993. ÁPV contributed U.S.$400 million of the purchase price paid by MagyarCom to Matáv to provide it with capital to expand the telephone network.
MagyarCom entered into a concession agreement with the Hungarian government on December 19, 1993. MagyarCom then assigned certain of its rights under the concession agreement to Matáv. On December 22, 1993, Matáv entered into a concession contract (the "Concession Contract") with the Hungarian government, which gave us the exclusive right to provide domestic long distance and international public telephone services throughout Hungary and local public fixed line voice telephone services in 31 of 54 Local Primary Areas for a term of eight years ending on December 22, 2001. On May 24, 1994, we obtained the right to provide telephone services in an additional five Local Primary Areas for a term of eight years ending in May 2002.
On December 22, 1995, MagyarCom acquired from ÁPV an additional 37.2 percent interest for approximately U.S.$852 million, raising its stake to 67.3 percent.
In connection with the Company's initial public offering in November 1997, both MagyarCom and ÁPV collectively sold 272,861,367 shares or 26.31 percent of then outstanding shares. In June 1999, ÁPV sold its remaining 5.75 percent stake in Matáv in a secondary offering.
On October 8, 1999, SBC Communications Inc. ("SBC") completed its acquisition of Ameritech and thus gained control over Ameritech's 50 percent interest in MagyarCom.
On July 3, 2000, SBC sold its 50 percent ownership in MagyarCom to Deutsche Telekom, making Deutsche Telekom a 100 percent owner of MagyarCom.
On December 20, 2005, Magyar Telekom's Extraordinary General Meeting approved the decision on the merger of Magyar Telekom Plc. and T-Mobile Magyarország Távközlési Rt., our fully owned subsidiary. The court registration of the merger took place on February 28, 2006. From March 1, 2006, Magyar Telekom is the legal successor of TMH. TMH continues its operations within Magyar Telekom under an independent brand.
In 2007, Magyar Telekom changed its management structure to comprise four business segments instead of two (formerly, the Fixed Line and Mobile segments). The Fixed Line segment comprised three segments (T-Home, T-Systems and Group Headquarters and Shared Services ("GHS")). The Mobile segment included the T-Mobile business segment. The results for our business segments in 2007 and 2008 are presented on this basis and the segment results for 2006 have been restated for comparative purposes.
The T-Home (formerly, T-Com) segment is the primary fixed line telecommunications service provider in Hungary, Macedonia and Montenegro. To a lesser extent, T-Home is also present in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, providing alternative telecommunications services in these countries.
The T-Mobile segment provides digital services in various frequency bandwidths in Hungary, Macedonia and Montenegro and also includes the professional mobile services provided by Pro-M in Hungary.
The T-Systems segment provides fixed line telecommunications services in Hungary to the largest 3,200 customers of Magyar Telekom Plc. Further, T-Systems also provides system integration and information technology-related services and products to business clients in Hungary.
The GHS segment includes the activities of the Magyar Telekom headquarters, including Procurement, Treasury, Real Estate, Accounting, Tax, Legal, Internal Audit and similar shared services and other central functions of the Group's management. GHS is disclosed voluntarily as a segment regardless of its size and activities.
On June 29, 2007, Magyar Telekom's Extraordinary General Meeting approved the merger of Magyar Telekom Plc., Emitel (a former fully owned subsidiary) and the access business area of T-Online Hungary Internet Service Provider Co. Ltd. ("T-Online"). The access business area includes Internet access products such as ADSL, dial-up, cable Internet, as well as Internet Protocol-based TV ("IPTV") and VoIP services.
Following the expansion of the T-Systems segment's service portfolio, particularly through the acquisitions of KFKI Group and T-Systems Hungary Kft., the Company has reviewed the organizational structure of the segment. Since January 1, 2007, the T-Systems segment has consisted of three divisions—Infocom, IT Infrastructure and IT Applications. The latter two divisions encompassed the activities of six subsidiaries, divided according to their profiles and competencies. In order to increase the segment's transparency and improve sales efficiency, the number of subsidiaries was reduced via legal integration into the two respective divisions, thus forming two individual legal entities (KFKI System Integration Co. Ltd. and IQSYS IT and Consulting Co. Ltd). The legal procedures were completed by January 1, 2008.
On September 25, 2007, our Board of Directors decided to re-shape the Company's management and organizational structure in order to enhance service quality and improve cost efficiency, as well as exploit new, innovative service and business opportunities. The decision reflects the significant structural changes that are underway in the telecommunications industry, driven by long-term industry trends. Ongoing technological developments and innovation, changes in customer demand, as well as the changing market dynamics and convergence experienced throughout the industry, have resulted in a shift of focus away from a technology-based customer orientation towards the demands of individual customer segments. As a consequence, Magyar Telekom's operational structure in telecommunications services has been re-aligned with this development, to allow the Company to continue to cope successfully with intensifying market competition.
Accordingly, Magyar Telekom's executive management has devised a new management structure, based on a Group operational model structured around customer segments. The new structure, which supports the Group's strategic goals to focus increasingly on customer demand, was introduced in 2008, as approved by the Board of Directors. Both the organizational framework and scope of activity of individual business units, and the responsibility spheres of senior management were affected. The new structure is as follows:
• The Consumer Services Business Unit ("CBU") comprises comprehensive marketing, sales and customer relations activities of both mobile and fixed consumer products and brands (T-Mobile and T-Home).
• The Business Services Business Unit ("BBU") provides mobile and fixed telecommunications, infocommunications and system integration services (including marketing, sales and customer relations activities) under the T-Systems and T-Mobile brands to key business partners (large corporate customers) as well as small and medium enterprises.
• An Alternative Businesses and Corporate Development Business Unit ("ABCD") has been established comprising content, media and other non-access services; it is also responsible for new business development and the coordination of innovative activities. Accordingly, media and content service activities, which have been separated from T-Online Hungary from October 2007, are now incorporated into this business unit.
• The mobile and fixed network management and development activities were transferred to the current IT Management area, which took responsibility for Technology and IT Management.
Strategic and cross-divisional management functions, as well as the management of our international subsidiaries in Macedonia and Montenegro, are performed by GHS.
On June 26, 2008, we announced that our Management Committee decided to introduce the T-Home brand as a replacement for the T-Com, T-Online and T-Kábel brands in the autumn of 2008.
The objective of this decision was to introduce for Magyar Telekom a simpler brand structure that helps customers clearly identify the company and its services, thereby strengthening its market leading position. With the transformation of the brand structure, implemented at Deutsche Telekom in May 2007, a renewed Magyar Telekom is better able to leverage its competitive advantage of having a uniquely broad range of services in Hungary's telecommunications market.
As a result of rebranding, our customers are able to use, under a single T-Home brand, all home-based fixed-line communication and entertainment services, which were earlier branded T-Com, T-Online and T-Kábel. As part of the repositioning, simultaneously with the introduction of T-Home, the corporate "T" brand and the T-Mobile brand covering residential and business mobile services have also been refreshed, while the full scope of business communications solutions are continued to be offered to corporate customers under the T-Systems brand.
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ITS SEGMENTS
We are the principal provider of fixed line telecommunications services in Hungary, with approximately 2.3 million fixed access lines as of December 31, 2008. We are also Hungary's largest mobile telecommunications services provider, with nearly 5.4 million mobile subscribers (including users of prepaid cards) as of December 31, 2008. We hold a 100 percent interest in Stonebridge Communications AD, which controls Makedonski Telekom, the leading fixed line telecommunications services provider and, through its subsidiary T-Mobile Macedonia, the leading mobile telecommunications operator in Macedonia. We also hold a 76.53 percent ownership in Crnogorski Telekom, the principal fixed line telecommunications services provider and, through its subsidiary T-Mobile Crna Gora, the second largest mobile telecommunications operator in Montenegro.
In 2008, our consolidated revenues were HUF 673,056 million and our consolidated net income was HUF 93,008 million.
We are a full-service telecommunications provider operating in four business segments:
T-Home and T-Systems. Our T-Home and T-Systems segments are both engaged in providing fixed line telecommunications services, including local, long distance and international telephone as well as other telecommunications services, including leased line, data transmission, cable television and Internet services. We also provide corporate network services, SI and IT services, sell telecommunications equipment and offer network construction and maintenance services. Our T-Home segment provides these services for residential and small business customers. The T-Systems segment provides fixed line telecommunications services in Hungary to the largest 3,200 customers of Magyar Telekom Plc. Since most of our services are provided by both the T-Home and T-Systems segments, we present the description of services below combined for these two segments.
The T-Home segment also includes three Macedonian companies. Stonebridge is a holding company through which Magyar Telekom controls Makedonski Telekom. Telemacedonia is a management company through which Magyar Telekom provides management and consulting services to Makedonski Telekom, T-Mobile Macedonia and Stonebridge. Makedonski Telekom is Macedonia's leading fixed line telecommunications company. In addition, the T-Home segment also includes our Montenegrin subsidiary, Crnogorski Telekom. Crnogorski Telekom is the principal fixed line telecommunications service provider in Montenegro based on number of subscribers.
T-Home is also present in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, providing alternative telecommunications services in these countries.
T-Mobile. We are the leading provider of digital mobile services providers in Hungary. Since December 7, 2004, we also have the rights to operate 3G, or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ("UMTS"), mobile telecommunications services. Mobile telecommunications services have contributed significantly to our revenues.
The mobile telecommunications services segment also includes T-Mobile Macedonia, the leading mobile telecommunications services provider in Macedonia. T-Mobile Macedonia is a fully owned subsidiary of Makedonski Telekom. The segment also includes T-Mobile Crna Gora, the second largest mobile telecommunications services provider in Montenegro, a fully owned subsidiary of Crnogorski Telekom. On May 1, T-Mobile Crna Gora merged into Crnogorski Telekom and ceased to exist as a separate legal entity. In addition, the T-Mobile segment also includes the professional mobile services provided by Pro-M in Hungary.
Group Headquarters and Shared Services. The GHS segment performs strategic and cross-divisional management functions for Magyar Telekom Group, as well as real estate, marketing, security, procurement, human resources and accounting services, mainly internally within the Group. The external revenues of the GHS segment represent below five percent of the group revenues; therefore we do not describe this segment separately in the sections below.
MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW: General
In 2008, we created a new management structure and, in parallel, redesigned our brands. These were significant steps towards becoming a truly integrated company, with a leaner organization, simplified branding and more powerful and competitive product offerings from T-Home, T-Mobile and T-Systems. The new branding structure enables us to position Magyar Telekom as an integrated 3Play service company and leverage our competitive advantage of having a uniquely broad range of services in Hungary's telecommunications market.
Magyar Telekom's fixed line and mobile integration process enabled us to set up a new management structure in 2008, supporting an even greater focus on customer needs. As a result, we now have new, leaner and more efficient business units serving our residential and corporate clients. Within these business units we offer our full range of telecommunications services, wireline and wireless voice, data and broadcasting. In addition, leveraging our market leading position and unique competence we offer IT and SI services for corporate customers.
Building upon the organizational transformation, we decided to rebrand our fixed line services and introduced the T-Home brand, bringing all of our residential fixed line services under one brand name. With the rebranding, we introduced very attractive double and 3Play bundled products to position Magyar Telekom as a real 3Play telecommunications company in Hungary. The introduction of our satellite TV services expanded the geographical availability of our bundled products, making us currently the only telecommunications company in Hungary capable of offering voice, data and TV service throughout the whole country. We believe that all these steps were necessary to offset the erosion of traditional fixed line traffic. In terms of financials, in 2008, T-Home Hungary's revenues decreased by five percent, however EBITDA margin increased to 42 percent showing the results of our efficiency enhancing efforts.
T-Mobile Hungary again closed a very successful year, preserving its market leading position in 2008. Mobile broadband services were undoubtedly the growth driver of the Hungarian mobile market in 2008. Thanks to our high-quality 3G network, we achieved significant growth in the mobile broadband customer base. As a result, SIM card-based penetration increased further, and reached 122 percent at the end of 2008. The integration of our operations has enabled us to exploit our unique position in the Hungarian market and launch fixed-mobile broadband bundles. We launched the 3G-enabled Apple iPhone with great success in August 2008. T-Mobile Hungary also introduced new mobile broadband packages and special mobile voice tariffs for the members of our iWiW social Internet network. Revenues at T-Mobile Hungary were broadly stable in 2008 compared to 2007 and EBITDA margin exceeded 42 percent.
In our corporate segment, we reduced the number of subsidiaries at the beginning of 2008 with the aim of increasing the segment's transparency and improving efficiency. The transformation to the new company structure has been successful allowing us to benefit from extending unified customer relationship management to small and medium-sized businesses. T-Systems is now Hungary's market leader in SI/IT services in a very fragmented market. Financially the segment closed a strong 2008 year with revenue growth of eight percent. Falling traditional voice revenues were offset by increasing SI/IT revenues and the segment reached a healthy EBITDA margin of 28 percent in 2008. These results justify our strategy to build strong market positions in SI/IT in order to strengthen our up-selling and cross-selling capabilities.
Besides our extensive marketing efforts in 2008, we did not lose sight of the fact that telecommunication is an innovation and technology-driven industry. Keeping that in mind, we have also set up separate units for new business development (ABCD) and for technology. Regarding our new business developments, we further strengthened our market leading position in the Hungarian online content and advertising market as well as in the server hosting market. We operate iWiW, the largest social Internet network, and [origo], the most-visited web site in Hungary, as well as Dataplex, a large capacity data storage center.
At our international subsidiaries, 2008 was mainly characterized by increasing market competition. In Macedonia, strict regulatory environment, alternative operators and one of the mobile operators' fixed line offers were the drivers behind increased competition in the fixed line market, while in Montenegro wholesale revenues came under pressure due to the market leading mobile operator rerouting its traffic. These factors were counterbalanced by our successful efficiency-enhancing efforts and strong focus on broadband services. The number of DSL connections more than doubled in both countries, helped also by continuous network upgrades and introduction of favorable new packages. In addition, our IPTV service was also launched in Macedonia, where we introduced the T-Home brand during the first half of 2008.
International mobile markets showed a further increase in subscriber numbers. In Macedonia, penetration exceeded 110 percent and in Montenegro increased close to 190 percent. In both countries market environment somewhat normalized after the entrance of the third mobile operator which took place in 2007. Although, on a year-on-year comparison margins and revenues came under significant pressure in Montenegro, in Macedonia T-Mobile was able to counterbalance the negative effects of the third entrant and even increased its revenues and reached EBITDA margin well above 50 percent. In Montenegro, T-Mobile launched its 3G service by offering mobile broadband Internet, while in Macedonia our mobile operator won the 3G license at the end of 2008 and will start services before June 2009.
Looking forward, we will focus on continued successful execution of our strategy, which focuses on operational efficiency, service excellence and regional expansion. We think that the transformation of 2008 strengthened the positions of the new Magyar Telekom in both the Hungarian and international telecommunications markets. Due to the very unfavorable external financial and macroeconomic situation, coupled with intense market competition, we expect a very demanding year for the telecommunications industry.
On the other hand, the current economic environment also offers us new opportunities. We believe that we may benefit from increasing our role in the SI/IT outsourcing market and leading further consolidation in markets such as cable TV, SI/IT, media and content. The global economic crisis has lowered asset prices considerably in recent quarters opening even better chances for long-term strategic investors like Magyar Telekom. Therefore, we are still committed to executing value-accretive acquisitions both in Hungary and in our region. We think that our company is well positioned to face the challenges ahead and even exploit potential opportunities resulting from the current demanding market environment.
Employees
We had 10,439 employees as of December 31, 2008.
Documents on Display
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. In addition, we are required to file annual reports and other information we make public in Hungary or with the Budapest Stock Exchange with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Exchange Act. We file our annual reports on or before June 30 each year. We file other information at the time we make it public in Hungary or file it with the Budapest Stock Exchange.
You may read and copy the registration statement, including the attached exhibits, the reports, statements or other information that we file at the Commission's public reference room in Washington D.C., which is located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., 20549. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference rooms. In addition, you may also obtain the reports and other information we file at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., 20 Broad Street, New York, New York, 10005.