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EBITDA (SLR Million)+ > 100%+ 19.3%- 0.4%7,887 7,8533921,1361,7782,2522,6864Q 081Q 09 2Q 09 3Q 094Q 09 FY08 FY09FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEDialog recorded revenue of SLR32.5billion for 2009, a decrease of 2%YoY, amidst continued aggressiveprice competition. Despite the YoYdrop in revenue, improvement inmacro economic trends, fuelled bythe return of peace during thesecond half of the year, helped thecompany to register positive revenuegains during the third and fourthq u a r t e r s . I n t e r n a t i o n a l v o i c etermination grew by 57% YoYprimarily driven by the increasedinternational communication needsof Sri Lankan’s in the Northern andEastern Provinces. Dialog alsobenefited from increased touristarrivals in the fourth quarter whichpositively impacted inbound roamingrevenues.DBN’s total revenue dropped by 7%YoY mainly due to reduction inconnection fee revenue on acquisitionof new CDMA subscribers. However,total revenues, excluding connectionfees, increased by a robust 23%YoY. DTV recorded revenue ofSLR1.6 billion, up 28% YoY. Revenuegrowth was fuelled by aggressivemarket performance characterisedby strong subscriber growth of 22%YoY.The Group recorded consolidatedrevenue of SLR35.8 billion in 2009, amarginal decrease of 1.4% YoYcompared to 2008. Group directcosts and operating costs grew by12% and 41% YoY respectively.Group EBITDA was at SLR7.9 billion.Total non-operating costs was atSLR20.8 billion resulting in a GroupNPAT of negative SLR12.2 billion in2009.NPAT was significantly impacted bynon-recurring charges of SLR11.1billion arising from one-off adjustmentsfor international best practice alignedFixed Asset treatment, forwardlooking network modernisation and aportfolio of strategic cost re-scalinginitiatives.Negative contributions from DBN(SLR2.6 billion) and DTV (SLR769million) resulted in the dilution of theGroup earnings by a total of SLR3.0billion, (inclusive of consolidatedadjustments), resulting in a GroupLoss of SLR12.2 billion for 2009compared to SLR2.9 billion in 2008.REGULATORY OVERVIEWIn the aftermath of the cessation of30 years of internal conflict, thechallenges faced by the Sri Lankatelecommunications sector arenumerous. However, there have alsobeen positive developments. In amove to transform Sri Lankai n t o a d i g i t a l e c o n o m y , t h eTelecommunications RegulatoryCommission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)has called for Expressions of Interestfor Consulting Services on Policy andRegulatory Framework for NextGeneration Networks as well asinvited applications for a NationalBackbone Licence and ServiceAgreement aimed at building andoperating a national backbonenetwork in Sri Lanka in 2009.A few changes to the existingtaxation regime were also instituted,resulting in mixed results to Dialog.While Value Added Tax (VAT) wasreduced from 15% to 12%, the NationBuilding Tax (NBT) imposed duringthe year, initially at the rate of 1%,was subsequently increased to 3%.Axiata Group Berhad • 122