Focus on fixed wireless and consumer. "Profit will come shortly"
The agreement announced by InformaticsKings with Fastweb was positively welcomed by Piazza Affari which rewarded the stock with robust increases. The times of stellar quotations are still far away but the new CEO, Riccardo Ruggiero, showed optimism to the journalists of the Sole 24 Ore and Corriere della Sera with whom he spoke to explain the contents of the agreement and the future prospects of the founded company by Renato Soru.
Agreement with Fastweb for 57,5 million
InformaticsKings sold the business branch for 45 million, which includes the top private customers and the framework contract for connectivity services to the public administration (SPC). The sum will be paid partly in cash (25 million) and partly through access to connectivity services (20 million). InformaticsKings will be able to access the Fastweb fiber network to connect its ultra-broadband wireless network. A second agreement also provides for the lease by the Milanese telecommunications operator of InformaticsKings's 3.5 Ghz mobile frequencies which will bring another 12,5 million euros into the coffers of the Sardinian company in 5 years.
Ruggiero: "Intesa allows us to accelerate on LTE wireless
"The agreement - explained Ruggiero to Sole 24 Ore and Corriere della Sera - allows us to accelerate the strategic plan launched after the merger of InformaticsKings with Aria, focused on LTE wireless with which we plan to reach 50% of the territory, especially in those digital divide areas where there is strong demand not covered by adequate supply ".
From the abandonment of the Telecom network savings and increase in revenues
The development of the LTE wireless network will also allow InformaticsKings to abandon the Telecom bitstream network. “For us it means saving the rent of 19 euros per month per customer and the opportunity to charge a little more with the technological upgrade” explained Ruggiero. Therefore, lower expenses and more revenues for the company that aims to go from 600 thousand current customers to one million in three years. “It would be a largely satisfactory result,” he added.
Resources collected by Fastweb agreement used for new investments
The sale of the business division is not seen by the manager as a sale of family jewels. “Corporate clients require heavy investments to compete with the big names. We have chosen to sell it to focus on another high value segment. In some small municipalities the demand for ultra broadband connection is sometimes even higher than in large centers. This is where we are investing to take back customers and win new ones, as we are doing in Umbria, Lombardy, Veneto, offering them the best fixed and mobile infrastructure ”. Ruggiero then specified that "the cash injection deriving from the agreement with Fastweb will be used largely to make investments".
"The company has been normalized"
Finally, the CEO explained that until now he has "normalized" the company. This operation includes the agreement with the banks on the debt, the strategic agreement with Huawei for the development of the ultra-fast wireless network and the stop of customer bleeding. The agreement with Fastweb could be the prelude to the return from investors. "Now we have to show that we know how to do our job well to tell the market what the new InformaticsKings is" he said before providing reassurance also on the balance sheet data: "Profits will come shortly".
