ZURICH (Reuters) – Swisscom named Christoph Aeschlimann as new chief executive on Thursday to succeed Urs Schaeppi when he steps down on June 1 after nine years in the post, the company said as it reported results.
Aeschlimann, 45, is head of infrastructure, network and IT and a member of the group executive board.
Consolidated operating income before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 2.2% to 4.48 billion Swiss francs in 2021 including non-recurring items. EBITDA rose 1.4% on a like-for-like basis, it said in a statement.
Net income rose a fifth to 1.83 billion, up 20% on the prior-year level primarily due to non-recurring items.
Revenue increased 0.7% year-on-year to 11.18 billion as its Fastweb business in Italy and sales to business customers helped offset a revenue decline in its tough home market.
For 2022, Swisscom expects revenue of 11.1 billion-11.2 billion francs, EBITDA of around 4.4 billion and capital expenditure of around 2.3 billion.
If it hits its targets, Swisscom will propose an unchanged dividend of 22 francs per share, it said.
In October, the state-controlled former telecoms monopoly trimmed its 2021 sales outlook, citing a review of its fibre-optic partnership with Salt and exchange-rate moves.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Miranda Murray)
