Oi secures USD2.6bn BNDES loan for LTE

Brazilian owned telecoms group Oi SA, formed through the restructuring of Telemar Participacoes’ former operating divisions Brasil Telecom, Tele Norte Leste Participacoes, Coari Participacoes and Telemar Norte Leste, has secured a loan of BRL5.4 billion (USD2.65 billion) from the country’s development bank BNDES. The funding will be used to help Oi fulfil its investment plans until 2014, including the rollout of 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The expansion will also include improvements to its fixed networks, along with its broadband and cable infrastructure
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According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Oi booked net income of BRL315 million for the three months ended 30 September 2012, up from BRL64 million in Q2 2012, adding that it is currently unable to provide a year-on-year comparison due to the extensive restructuring undertaken by the company – and completed earlier this year.

Consolidated expenses reached BRL4.8 billion for Q3 2012, up 1.8% quarter-on-quarter, on net revenue that increased from BRL6.9billion to BRL7.0 billion. Further, Oi said that its debt servicing costs dipped to BRL554 million from BRL692 million and net debt stood at BRL24.48 billion at 30 September, up from BRL23.50 billion previously. EBITDA rose to BRL2.18 billion from BRL2.14 billion.