TIM will pass on in the coming weeks 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 this Tuesday. (two).
The strategy follows a federal law, which took effect in June, to set a ceiling on ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) for 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 the 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 posted a 54.1% drop in second-quarter profit the night before, compared to the same period of the previous year, with higher expenses overshadowing solid revenue growth.
TIM executives said that a counter-proposal was sent on Friday to the sector’s regulatory agency, Anatel, with a new price for the 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 the event of an impasse with operators over the offer. roaming was 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, a telephony 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— was defined as a counterpart by Organs regulatory bodies to the business, with the objective of feeding competition in the sector.
However, the three companies simultaneously blocked the process of offering roaming in court due to disagreements about prices with Anatel.
INTEGRATION WITH OI AND DIVIDENDS
TIM said in the presentation that the migration of the 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.
TIM’s CFO and investor relations director, Camille Faria, said the main impact to second-quarter earnings came from finance leases arising from the acquisition of Oi’s towers, 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 R$2 billion 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 is 5G and integration of the assets acquired from Oi.
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