Lucic: We will insist on what is stated in the Brussels Agreement, which Kurti persistently ignores

Vladimir Lucic, the General Director of Telekom Srbija, stated that after the elections in Kosovo on February 9, the company will initiate an additional effort to obtain a third license in order to resolve the issue of operating throughout the territory of Kosovo, as reported by Euronews.

Regarding business operations in Kosovo in 2025, Lucic expects that Telekom will receive a license to operate across the entire territory.

"I am confident that in the end, we will be the only one. After these elections, we will additionally initiate an effort to obtain a third license and finally resolve the problem of our company's non-operation across the entire territory of Kosovo and Metohija. But, it is very important that we have remained in the Serbian enclaves, providing service to 30,000 households, despite Kurti's administration trying to attack us multiple times, and once even attempting to shut us down," Lucic said in an interview with Tanjug.

He emphasizes how crucial it is for Telekom Srbija to provide internet, television, and all Serbian channels, as well as our mobile telephony, to Serbian families in the enclaves.

"We will definitely insist on that and finally achieve what is clearly defined in the Brussels Agreement, which Kurti and his administration pretend to ignore and try to circumvent," Lucic stated.

He emphasized that it would be better for the authorities in Pristina to allow Telekom to build a 5G network, rather than subsidizing an already failed operator.

Lucic mentioned that their main competitor, which originated from seizing equipment from Telekom Srbija, is in such a poor financial situation, with accounts blocked that it needs subsidies, while Telekom Srbija is the main player in the region.

"We would build fiber optics and 5G across the entire territory of Kosovo and Metohija. And what we talk about is very well understood in Western embassies. So I am completely confident that we will win there too," Lucic emphasized.

Lucic stated that 2024 was a record year for Telekom, as the company's revenue grew by more than 20% and expressed expectations that in 2025, the group's revenue would be significantly higher, exceeding two billion euros. He highlighted that the company is entering the new year with high liquidity, with 140 million euros in the account and 600 million euros in approved but undrawn funds, allowing for strong investments in 2025.

Telekom Srbija also plans to open a branch in the USA this year, and following the success of issuing corporate eurobonds in 2024, it may come out with a new issuance on the international stock exchange in October.

"As for revenues, data for 2024 are still being collected. What I can say is that 2024 was a record year on many levels. Primarily, revenue from sales, I am speaking now for Telekom Srbija, although it is symptomatic for the entire group, will be more than 20% higher compared to last year, which was also record-breaking. Although there is a trend in Europe for this revenue to decline, we have completely reversed it and now have a growth of over 20%, which will continue into 2025," Lucic said.

He noted that this level of growth is even greater than the revenue growth in the "golden age" of telecommunications, when there were no social and other networks. Lucic points out that the significant revenue growth is also due to the large number of users, as there were more than 12.5 million at the group level.

"The other is the exceptional liquidity of the company, which can boast that it has never been as liquid as it is now, because Telekom now has, although we paid dividends on December 24, over 140 million euros in the account, and what is best, we have approved but undrawn over 600 million euros. This indicates an exceptionally high liquidity and ability of the company to strongly invest in development in 2025," Lucic emphasized.

He notes that the past year was specific for a new "chess move" by Telekom, as it started to strongly develop, besides operations in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, connections with countries where it does not have its network, which is not typical for traditional telecommunication operators.

"And that revenue in 2024 will account for eight percent of total revenue with a tendency for exceptional growth. So, our strategy, which we defined a few years ago, that we will have growth both as a traditional telecommunication operator and we have taken parts of the strategy from Amazon and other digital platforms, yields results, so that in 2024, eight percent of total revenue will come from countries where we actually do not have our network built, but we have services that mainly target our people, from this region, who live and work there, primarily for television, but also mobile phones," Lucic stated.

He said that in 2025, revenues as a group will be significantly higher than two billion euros. He added that the operating profit is already higher than one billion euros.

"The most important thing is that the potential for new revenue, especially in the diaspora, is growing significantly. So, Telekom Srbija's revenue will exceed three billion euros in five years," emphasized Lucic, adding that in 2018, for example, Telekom barely had revenue of one billion euros. He added that in 2025, the focus for Telekom will be on the customer, as it holds almost 60 percent of the market in internet and television.

He expects the 5G network in Serbia to be introduced in the second half of 2025 and states that all three operators are ready for this.

He emphasized that the quality of the 4G network in Serbia is at a high European average because all three operators have a significant number of base station repeaters, so 5G will be quickly introduced as it will be installed on existing stations.

Asked whether Telekom will be ready to develop and offer 5G services, he said:

"We will be ready, we will cover large cities with Vodafone, we are working on these services so that customers can immediately see the benefits. The development of these services is still at the beginning globally, for residential, ordinary users. Companies can already see great benefits because by using 5G, AI, and robotization they can automate and robotize their operations much more."

In 2024, Telekom made its first appearance on the international stock exchange, issued eurobonds, and became the first company in the region to have a successful placement of corporate international bonds, raising $900 million under favorable conditions, with demand reaching $5.5 billion. Lucic highlights that this was a significant step for Telekom Srbija.

"I am really pleased that we were the first company to do this. Generally, it's an excellent step for large companies. Mainly because it requires discipline from them, as we now have, in addition to the auditor's report, an annual report from at least two major credit agencies that monitor our credit rating and how we operate and do business. The great interest in Telekom's bonds shows that these foreign investors believe in Telekom Srbija. We used all these funds because there was a favorable interest rate trend and we got a good rate for refinancing existing loans," Lucic stated.

He mentioned that with the favorable interest rate, Telekom managed to relax its credit obligations significantly for the next two years, which is why it has exceptionally large funds for investments.

"If the trend of falling interest rates continues and if we manage to achieve all these business predictions, which I am completely sure we will, it might lead to an even better credit rating and additional interest rate reductions. Then again, probably in October, we will go to the stock exchange, issue a new corporate bond issuance and repay the rest of some loans we had under unfavorable conditions with an even better interest rate," he emphasized.

Lucic said that the next stock market appearance would be easier because Telekom now has what's called a book of investors.

"We have investors who then offered us $5.5 billion, we now have a direct relationship. When you go to such an exchange, the minimum amount should be $500 million because that makes you attractive to everyone, including the biggest investors like BlackRock and those who have $10 billion, which they place through those exchanges," Lucic mentioned.

Speaking about other company plans, Lucic said that Telekom Srbija will continue to invest in the development of digital services and AI and will soon finance 15 startups through its Venture fund and make agreements with two more. Most of them, he adds, deal with the application of artificial intelligence. He announced that Telekom will employ six new workers this year but also another 50 in its subsidiary MTS systems, who will exclusively deal with artificial intelligence.

"Because we see artificial intelligence as a great opportunity and want to approach it very seriously. If there are foreign companies that already employ several hundred young engineers who deal with artificial intelligence, why shouldn't we enter that race and perhaps attract some of the best engineers currently on the market?" Lucic said.

Regarding multimedia content, he emphasizes that Telekom allocates between 25 to 30 million euros each year for the production of film and series content.

"Now it's normal to see our series on HBO and how much the quality and standard of production have developed. We will continue to invest in production because, besides strengthening our position here in Serbia, we create content that is interesting to all our people around the world and thus add value."

Asked whether Telekom will open a branch in the US in 2025, he says:

"Yes, we have opened a company, we now have about 5,000 users, we are currently selling television and somewhere by June we will do that, however, through AT&T. I think we will do it earlier, but by June we will launch mobile. America is a slightly different market compared to Germany, where we will have 30 branches."

He added that America is a large market, mostly online, and that Telekom will mainly focus on online sales for our people in the diaspora.

"We will have a smaller number of branches there than in Europe, but surely in these three, four major cities where most of our people are, we will have our branches," Lucic said.

He wished all customers a Happy New Year and Christmas holidays, thanked them for their trust, and announced that Telekom in 2025 will be even better with many new services.