• Total revenues reach €2,819 million, up 5.7% over first half 2008
• EBITDA grows to €997 million, up from €974 million recorded in H1 08, margin at 35.4%
• EBIT reaches €487 million, growing 6.2% over €458 million recorded in H1 2008
• Group net profit in first semester of 2009 of €170 million, vs a net profit of €147 million recorded in the first six months of the previous year
• Net Debt/EBITDA ratio declines to 2.9x
• Increasing market share, both in fixed and mobile businesses
• 1.88 million direct voice fixed-line subscribers, up 17.9% over previous year
• Over 17.5 million mobile subscribers, up 9.0% over June 30, 2008; Q2 09 mobile service revenues up 2.0% YoY
• Finalised acquisition of 122 shops mainly in shopping malls

The Board of Directors of Wind met today to review and approve the financial results for the period ended June 30, 2009. The results, which reflect the solid commercial and operational performance, are as follows.

Results as of June 30, 2009
In the first half of 2009 Wind generated total revenues of €2,819 million, up 5.7% over the corresponding period of the previous year. The performance was driven by a strong result in the fixed-line and Internet business, with revenues growing 12.4%, and by a good achievement in the mobile business with a 2.6% growth over the first half of 2008. The performance of the fixed-line business, characterised by a solid operational result during the period, also includes the impact of the acquisition of M-Link and its integration into Wind International Services, the international traffic subsidiary of Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A..
Wind’s EBITDA in the first half of 2009 reached €997 million, a 2.4% increase over H1 2008, with a 35.4% margin. The growth in EBITDA, driven by the solid top-line performance coupled with cost control, was however negatively impacted by the increase of the ULL fee approved in March 2009 and retroactively applied by Telecom Italia from January 1, 2009.
EBIT in six months ended June 30, 2009 grew 6.2% over the same period of 2008 reaching €487 million; EBT in the semester grew 25.1% over the previous year to €285 million.
The consolidated group net profit for the first half of 2009 reached €170 million, up 15.6% over the net profit of €147 million recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Wind’s net financial indebtedness as of June 30, 2009 declined to €5,994 million notwithstanding the payment of a €181 million dividend to the parent company Wind Acquisition Holdings Finance, the acquisition of M-Link for €55 million and the mark to market of derivatives. The net debt to EBITDA ratio as of June 30, 2009 was 2.9x, a decline over 3.1x recorded as of March 31, 2009.
In July 2009 Wind, through its subsidiary Wind Acquisition Finance S.A., issued €2.7 billion equivalent of senior notes due 2017. The proceeds of this offering were used to prepay all of the outstanding pay-in-kind loans of Wind Acquisition Holdings Finance S.A. maturing in December 2011 and to allow a cash distribution of €500 million to Wind’s ultimate parent company, Weather Investments S.p.A.. The highly successful transaction has enabled Wind Telecomunicazioni to remove the negative overhang posed by the refinancing risk of the PIK loan and ensures a more efficient debt maturity profile for the company.

Commercial performance

Mobile
In the first six months of 2009 Wind continued to grow its subscriber base to over 17.5 million, a 9.0% increase over the same period of 2008. With 281 thousand net adds in the second quarter alone, Wind delivered the strongest performance among the Italian mobile operators.
Wind’s mobile ARPU in the first half of the year was €17.3, decreasing over the same period of 2008, mainly as a result of the decline of incoming revenues resulting from the interconnection rate cut in July 2008, but improving over the first quarter of the year.
Total voice traffic continued on its solid growth path, up 9.3% YoY, driven by increases in both outgoing and incoming off-net traffic.
The strong performance of the mobile business in the first half of the year was further enhanced by the HSDPA Mobile Internet offerings, which enabled Wind to achieve a 68.0% growth in revenues over the corresponding period of the previous year. Wind has continued to improve its offering to the various Italian consumers segments which further enhanced its product mix.
The annualized churn rate in the first half of the year was 24.5%, the lowest level in the Italian mobile market, and was driven by the strong performance in overall customer satisfaction.
In July 2009, Wind completed the acquisition of 122 shops located in shopping malls and in strategic locations throughout the country, in order to strengthen its distribution presence.

Fixed-line and Internet
In the first six months of 2009, Infostrada recorded a strong performance in fixed-line and Internet segment. Total voice customers grew 8.7% over the same period of 2008, exceeding 2.74 million, of which 1.88 million direct voice customers (up 17.9% over first half of 2008) and 383 thousand WLR subscribers (+82.4% over the same period of 2008). In the second quarter of the year, Infostrada added 74 thousand direct voice customers and 43 thousand WLR subscribers. The success was further enhanced through an efficient communication strategy and Infostrada’s offer portfolio available throughout the country, also in the areas not directly covered by the Infostrada network, which, as of June 30, 2009, counted 1,126 ULL sites.
As a result of the ULL and WLR monthly fee increases by Telecom Italia, effective from January and February 2009, respectively, Infostrada decided to pursue its value for money approach. The commercial and advertising strategies applied by Infostrada in this period were centred around this concept, further differentiating it from Telecom Italia.
During the six months ended June 30, 2009, broadband subscribers grew 26.5% YoY to 1.52 million, with 65 thousand net adds in the second quarter of the year. Broadband revenues recorded a strong performance in the first half of the year, with a 29.1% increase over same period of previous year. ARPU from broadband services was stable over the previous year at €18.8. Infostrada continues to focus on its Broadband offers especially through its attractive flat packages.
In the first six months of the year, Infostrada continued to experience the growing success of its dual-play offerings, with its customer base growing by 30.9% to 1.2 million subscribers, having achieved 67 thousand net adds in the second quarter alone.
H1 2009 fixed-line ARPU remained substantially stable over first half of previous year at €36.6, with a slight decline in voice ARPU, due to interconnection rate cut, offset by increase in data ARPU.
During the first six months of 2009, total voice traffic reached 9.7 billion minutes, up 7.8% over the same period of previous year.

2009 Outlook
The positive results recorded in the first half of 2009 lead Wind to believe that the positive trend recorded so far will continue for the full year.