Telekom Austria said it expects fierce competition, regulatory cuts, macro-economic conditions and foreign exchange fluctuations to present challenges in 2013.

The Austrian number-one operator’s 2013 outlook cited the same issues it faced in 2012, and the company is now not providing guidance on its anticipated profit – it has limited its forecast to revenue and capital expenditure.

For 2013, Telekom Austria is forecasting revenue of EUR4.1 billion and capex of EUR0.7 billion, excluding licence and spectrum investment and acquisitions. The intended dividend for 2012 and 2013 is EUR0.05.

In order to tackle the challenges, the company said it will focus on its high-value customer segment in its mature mobile markets. This approach will have a short-term impact on margins but management is confident it “will provide the optimal basis for future stabilisation”.

The other major push will be to “intensify cost efficiency efforts” in all business segments in order to reduce pressure on margins. The operator group will continue with its convergence strategy and expects strong demand for smartphones and mobile broadband.

Telekom Austria recently completed the EUR390 million acquisition of the YESSS budget brand from Orange Austria, along with frequencies, base stations and “certain intellectual property rights”.

The deal was related to the 3 Austria’s EUR1.3 billion acquisition of Orange Austria from France Telekom and Mid Europa Partners, which reduced the number of mobile operators in Austria from four to three. T-Mobile also operates in the country.

Since Telekom Austria agreed to buy YESSS it has issued profit warnings and cuts its dividend twice to conserve cash.