De­pre­ci­a­tion and amor­ti­sa­tion, non-operating results

Swisscom’s net income fell by CHF 141 million or 8.4% to CHF 1,528 million, largely due to the higher income tax expense. Earnings per share decreased accordingly from CHF 32.28 to CHF 29.54. Profit before income taxes rose by 4.4%. The de­pre­ci­a­tion and amor­ti­sa­tion of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets decreased by CHF 17 million or 0.8% year-on-year to CHF 2,149 million, mainly reflecting lower de­pre­ci­a­tion and amor­ti­sa­tion at Swisscom Switzer­land and Other Operating Segments. The higher de­pre­ci­a­tion at Fastweb in local currency was offset by the currency effect. Higher interest expense was offset by an improvement in the other financial result. The other financial result includes one-off income of CHF 31 million from valuation dif­fer­ences for financial assets that were exchanged. The significantly lower tax expense in the previous year was attributable to positive tax effects related to the Swiss tax reform. Income tax expense was CHF 271 million (prior year: CHF 55 million), cor­re­spond­ing to an effective income tax rate of 15.1%. This figure included positive tax effects of CHF 29 million resulting from the revaluation of deferred income tax items in connection with the Swiss tax reform (prior year: CHF 269 million). Swisscom anticipates a future effective con­sol­i­dated tax rate of 19.0%.