Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.

Turkcell reported Q2 group revenue of 71.8 billion Turkish liras, up 2.5% year over year. EBITDA was 30 billion Turkish liras with a 41.8% margin, and net income was 5.2 billion Turkish liras. On the operating side, the company added 284 thousand postpaid mobile subscribers, 31 thousand net fiber subscribers, and 64 thousand Superbox subscribers. Digital business services revenue grew 33% to 8.7 billion Turkish liras, Techfin revenue rose 7% to 4.1 billion Turkish liras, and data center and cloud revenue increased 10% to 1.6 billion Turkish liras. Management said inflation is now expected to end the year around 28%, up from the prior 23% assumption, but reiterated that financial guidance is unchanged. CapEx guidance was also reaffirmed, with management saying it remains confident it can reach its target despite FX and inflation pressure.

Ali Taha Koc framed the quarter as evidence of “real growth” in a difficult macro backdrop, pointing to disciplined pricing, postpaid growth, lower churn, and expanding contributions from digital business services, FWA, data centers, TV, and Techfin. He emphasized that Turkcell is building a more diversified and resilient business model, with 5G and new digital platforms as longer-term growth engines. His tone was confident and strategic, but he repeatedly acknowledged inflation, FX, and the lag between price actions and reported growth.

Kamil Kalyon said the business delivered positive real growth despite persistent inflation and geopolitical pressure, with 71.8 billion Turkish liras of revenue, a 41.8% EBITDA margin, and 5.2 billion Turkish liras of net income. He attributed bottom-line pressure partly to depreciation tied to 5G license assets, while noting benefits from treasury income, lower finance expenses excluding FX, and improved tax effects from revaluation incentives and data center-related tax support. He also highlighted a strong balance sheet with 89 billion Turkish liras of cash and equivalents, 44 billion Turkish liras of net debt, and a leverage ratio of 0.4x, plus a clear liquidity position covering remaining 5G obligations and debt maturities over the next 4 years. CapEx remained disciplined at 25% of sales in Q2 and 23.2% in the first half.

Analysts pressed management on when revenue growth would reaccelerate, whether higher prices were fully flowing through, the volatility in Paycell and Financell margins, CapEx discipline, FWA pricing and device compatibility, data center economics, and 5G tender payment timing. Management said the effects of price increases should become clearer from the end of Q4, with the real impact more visible in 2027 due to contract lags; it also said the second-half growth should benefit from more normalized competition and the earlier pricing actions. On FWA, management said Superbox is a plug-and-play product, customers using older 4G devices need 5G equipment to use the new capacity, pricing is broadly comparable to fiber with usage-based tiers, and Turkcell’s 74% market share reflects strong demand. On the 5G tender, management said payments are in three installments: January this year, December this year, and May 2027, with the latter two around 400 million US dollars each.