Speaking to analysts at Abamec in São Paulo on Tuesday, August 20, Leonardo Pereira, CFO of Net Serviços (ex-Globo Cabo), said the MSO?s subscriber base will continue to contract for the next two quarters, albeit less sharply. This reflects standard-package churn, economic stagnation, and the policy of not investing in customer acquisition, he says, noting that investment of some 160 million Brazilian Reals in 2003 will be geared to retention.
Strategy
Strategic plans for the coming months consist mainly of operating changes, besides financial issues relating to capitalization and debt rescheduling. When installing broadband, for example, network and systems teams will visit subscribers together in order to avoid the buck-passing of which customers complain. Leonardo Pereira also mentioned digital services, set to be implemented as soon as supplier financing has been worked out, selling additional sockets, offering cable and broadband to employees of corporate customers, and reformulating the programming guide, which will be made self-financing through the sale of advertising space.
New Market
Net is preparing to be listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange?s New Market, an initiative designed to encourage maximum transparency and best practices in corporate governance. Its current listing is Tier 2. The move will require a number of internal changes from more rigorous auditing to the inclusion of outside directors and minority shareholders on the board.
Crisis
