On an underlying basis, as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, the Guardian and Observer lost £22m, but the cash loss, a more accurate measure of financial performance, was larger at £33m.
Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation) fell to £306m from £333m, but remained higher than the 2009 total of £298m.
EBITDA – or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – are forecast to be £11.5bn-£12bn in 2015.
And prospective buyers will note that the business did register increased earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £9m, despite a fall of almost 10% in revenues.
In the first half of 2014 the only recent period for which results are available it lost $50m before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, on revenues of $60m.Again like other Rocket companies, its critics say it is just a copycat, in this case a mere clone of Amazon.
Since comparing debt-equity ratios between telecoms firms in different countries is tricky (equity is accounted for in different ways), Schroder Salomon Smith Barney SSSBB) compares debt with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which is less subject to distortion.
Altice aims to keep its debt to four times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA); and Numericable-SFR's to between 3.5 and 4 times EBITDA.
But hard choices are looming.As the economic news worsens and profits dive, more firms will be at risk of breaching covenants on standard measures such as the ratio of debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
Most carry debt on the balance sheet of about two times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
And, increasingly, little or no documentation of a borrower's assets, employment and income is required for a loan.Interest-only mortgages are all the rage, along with so-called "negative amortisation loans" (the buyer pays less than the interest due and the unpaid principal and interest is added on to the loan).
In the first quarter of 2008 Telmex had a profit margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 48.7%; for Telcel the figure was 52.1%.This is well above the global average for telecoms firms of 35%, says Martin Lara, an analyst at Vector Casa de Bolsa, a research firm.
