A new report from research firm Strategy Analytics claims that EBITDA at European mobile operators fell by 3 percent in the second quarter of the year. The decline in Europe was an improvement on the previous quarter (1Q09), when EBITDA fell by 5 percent, suggesting that operators in the region were beginning to recover from the effects of the global recession. “[Europe] is starting to reap the benefit of cost-cutting measures introduced to cope with lower customer spend during the recession,” said Phil Kendall, Strategy Analytics’ director of Wireless Network Strategies. However, the report notes that Europe underperformed the global operator market, which registered a 2 percent annual increase in EBITDA globally. EBITDA grew in all regions outside Europe.

The study, which tracked over 180 global mobile operators and around 76 percent of global subscribers, also found that service revenues registered 2 percent annual growth, but were down significantly from the 6 percent growth seen in 2Q08. Gross subscriber additions were up 11 percent, which was attributed more to rising churn than rising subscriber growth. “Cost-cutting measures also hit Capex in Q2,” added Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, senior analyst, Wireless Network Strategies. “With a number of operators reluctant to over-extend themselves in the current economic climate, Capex fell from 15 percent of service revenues in Q2 2008 to 13 percent in 2009, resulting in a short-term boost to free cash flow.”