ATHENS — OTE Group on Wednesday reported strong performance in Greece which led to an increase in adjusted EBITDA by 1.6 pct in the first quarter of 2021. In an announcement, OTE Group said that revenue in Greece totaled 717 million euros, up 1.4 pct from the same period last year, while consolidated group turnover eased 1.2 pct to 787.9 million euros in the January-March period.

Adjusted EBITDA grew 1.6 pct to 301.2 million euros, with adjusted EBITDA at 38.2 pct, up 100 basis points from the same period in 2020. In Greece, adjusted EBITDA grew 3.5 pct to 298.3 million euros and adjusted EBITDA margin was 41.6 pct. Group operating earnings rose 3.9 pct to 158.8 million euros, with free cash flows totaled 162.8 million euros, up 55.1 million from the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted net borrowing was 925.3 million euros, unchanged from March 2020. OTE reported a record in net new fibre-optic services connections totaling 1.005 million euros.

The board will seek shareholders' approval for a plan to pay a 0.68 euro dividend per share to shareholders.

Commenting on the results, Chairman & CEO Michael Tsamaz said: “We are pleased to deliver a very solid start to the year. While we were running against a strong first quarter 2020 that was still largely unscathed by the pandemic, we managed to increase revenues in Greece, and actually improved our EBITDA and margin. OTE is back on the growth track, supported by continuing demand for our services, our technological lead, and our cost efficiencies…The year 2021 will be pivotal for the Greek economy, as the country emerges from the crisis by investing strategically in the modernisation of its public and private infrastructure, and in the digitisation of its processes across the board. OTE is more than ever ready to contribute to this transformation, having made significant headway in its own mutation and reinforced its organisation. We are confident that we will continue to build on this strong early performance and achieve a solid 2021 for the benefit of our customers, employees, shareholders and the Greek economy and society.”