In the coming weeks, TIM will pass on the ICMS reduction granted to the telecommunications sector at postpaid prices, while in prepaid, customers will be offered an increase in the offer of gigabytes per plan, said the operator’s president today (02).
The strategy comes after a federal law, which entered effective in June, to establish a ceiling on the rates of the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Provision of Services (ICMS) in some sectors, including telecommunications.
The CEO of TIM, Alberto Griselli, said in an earnings conference with analysts that the company chose to increase the offer in gigabytes in prepaid plans, instead of cutting the price, to make the operation financially viable.
He stated that the measure should lead to an impact on prepaid recharges in the coming quarters.
TIM announced at noi eve’s second quarter profit fell by 54.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, with higher expenses overshadowing solid revenue growth.
Around 12:59 pm, the shares of TIM fell 0.88%, having partially recovered losses that reached up to 1.8% earlier. The Ibovespa reversed its initial fall and rose 1%.
TIM executives said that a counter-proposal was sent on Friday to the sector’s regulatory agency, Anatel, with a new price for roaming offer.
The regulator’s president, Carlos Baigorri, told Reuters in mid-July that Anatel could seek to undo the sale of Oi’s mobile phone assets, a deal in which TIM is one of the buyers, in case an impasse with operators over the roaming offer is not resolved.
Griselli, from TIM, stated that he had a meeting with the president of Anatel last week when it was clarified to the company that the “Oi business is not under discussion”, in the words of the executive during the conference call.
The offer of roaming, telephone service for users who are in areas where their original operator does not have operations, by the buyers of Oi Móvel – TIM, Telefônica Brasil and Claro – it was defined as a counterpart by the regulatory agencies to the business, with the objective of fueling competition in the sector.
However, the three companies stopped the process of offering roaming in parallel in court due to disagreements about prices with the Anatel.
Integration with Oi and dividends
TIM said in the presentation that the migration of network acquired from Oi should take place by December and, according to its executives, the company’s costs should show more positive dynamics in the second half of the year.
The financial and investor relations director of TIM , Camille Faria, stated that the main impact to second-quarter earnings came from finance leases arising from the acquisition of Oi towers, of which the company intends to sell more than 60%.
“As the integration progresses and synergies start to be captured, we should see that line (profit) return to the usual trend,” Faria said. The executive also cited a better trend in operating expenses in the coming quarters.
She stated, however, that because of regulatory obligations in the sale of antennas, divestments in towers should only gain traction in 2023. TIM expects to complete them by the end of 2024.
When questioned, Faria maintained the projection released earlier this year by TIM of dividend distribution of around 2 billion reais in 2022.
Regarding potential acquisition and merger operations, especially in fiber optics, Griselli stated that TIM is not “actively” looking at this point, as the focus at the moment it is 5G and integration of the assets acquired from Oi.
