|
|
Page
|
|
|
|
|
PART
I
|
|
Item
1.
|
Identity
of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers
|
5
|
Item
2.
|
Offer
Statistics and Expected Timetable
|
5
|
Item
3.
|
Key
Information
|
5
|
Item
4.
|
Information
on the Company
|
29
|
Item
4A
|
Unresolved
Staff Comments
|
70
|
Item
5.
|
Operating
and Financial Review and Prospects
|
70
|
Item
6.
|
Directors,
Senior Management and Employees
|
93
|
Item
7.
|
Major
Shareholders and Related Party Transactions
|
110
|
Item
8.
|
Financial
Information
|
115
|
Item
9.
|
The
Offer and Listing
|
120
|
Item
10.
|
Additional
Information
|
123
|
Item
11.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
136
|
Item
12.
|
Description
of Securities Other than Equity Securities
|
137
|
PART
II
|
Item
13.
|
Defaults,
Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies
|
137
|
Item
14.
|
Material
Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of
Proceeds
|
138
|
Item
15.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
138
|
Item
16A.
|
Audit
Committee Financial Expert
|
139
|
Item
16B.
|
Code
of Ethics
|
139
|
Item
16C.
|
Principal
Accountant Fees and Services
|
139
|
Item
16D.
|
Exemptions
from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees
|
140
|
Item
16E.
|
Purchases
of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated
Purchasers
|
140
|
Item
16F.
|
Change
In Registrant’s Certifying Accountant
|
140
|
Item
16G.
|
Corporate
Governance
|
140
|
PART
III
|
Item
17.
|
Financial
Statements
|
142
|
Item
18.
|
Financial
Statements
|
142
|
Item
19.
|
Exhibits
|
142
|
Financial
Statements
|
F-1
|
INTRODUCTION
In this
annual report, “Cellcom,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and its subsidiaries. The terms “NIS” refers to new
Israeli shekel, and “dollar,” “USD” or “$” refers to U.S. dollars.
Presentation
of Financial and Share Information
We
prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board ("IASB"). Until and
including our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007, we
prepared our consolidated financial statements in accordance with Israeli GAAP.
Following the Company's adoption of IFRS, as issued by the IASB, the Company is
no longer required to reconcile its financial statements prepared in accordance
with IFRS to U.S. GAAP.
Unless we
indicate otherwise, U.S. dollar translations of the NIS amounts presented in
this annual report are translated for the convenience of the reader using the
rate of NIS 3.775 to $1.00, the representative rate of exchange as of December
31, 2009 as published by the Bank of Israel.
Trademarks
We have
proprietary rights to trademarks used in this annual report which are important
to our business. We have omitted the “®” and “™” designations for
certain trademarks, but nonetheless reserve all rights to them. Each
trademark, trade name or service mark of any other company appearing in this
annual report belongs to its respective holder.
Industry
and Market Data
This
annual report contains information about our market share, market position and
industry data. Unless otherwise indicated, this statistical and other
market information is based on statistics prepared by the Ministry of
Communications of Israel, the Ministry of Finance of Israel, the Central Bureau
of Statistics of Israel, the Bank of Israel, Merill Lynch, the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, Morgan Stanley and Yankee Group.
Industry publications generally state that the information they contain has been
obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness
of such information is not guaranteed. We have not independently
verified the accuracy of market data and industry forecasts contained in this
annual report that were taken or derived from these industry
publications.
Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
We have
made statements under the captions “Item 3.D - Risk Factors,” “Item 4 –
Information on the Company,” “Item 5 - Operating and Financial Review and
Prospects,” and in other sections of this annual report that are forward-looking
statements. In some cases, you can identify these statements by
forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,”
“plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or
“continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable
terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to
risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our
future financial performance, our anticipated growth strategies and anticipated
trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based
on our current
expectations
and projections about future events. There are important factors that
could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements
to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including
those factors discussed under the caption entitled “Item 3.D - Risk
Factors.” You should specifically consider the numerous risks
outlined under “Item 3.D - Risk Factors.”
Although
we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements
contained in this annual report are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future
results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover,
neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and
completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no
duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this
annual report to conform our prior statements to actual results or revised
expectations, except as otherwise required by law.
PART
I
ITEM
1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND
ADVISORS
Not
applicable.
ITEM
2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not
applicable.
ITEM
3. KEY INFORMATION
A. SELECTED
FINANCIAL DATA
You
should read the following selected consolidated financial data in conjunction
with the section of this annual report entitled “Item 5 - Operating and
Financial Review and Prospects” and our consolidated financial statements and
the notes thereto included elsewhere in this annual report.
The
selected data presented below under the captions “Income Statement Data,” and
“Balance Sheet Data” for, and as of the end of, each of the years in the
five-year period ended December 31, 2009, are derived from the consolidated
financial statements of Cellcom Israel Ltd. and subsidiaries, which financial
statements have been audited by Somekh Chaikin, an independent registered public
accounting firm and a member firm of KPMG International. The consolidated
financial statements as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, and for
each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2009, and the
report thereon, are included elsewhere in this annual report. The selected data
should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, the
related notes, and the independent registered public accounting firm’s report
and the convenience translation of the consolidated financial statements as of
and for the year ended December 31, 2009 into US dollars solely for the
convenience of the reader.
The
figures for the years 2005 and 2006 have been restated to give retroactive
effect to the initial implementation of the new Israeli Accounting Standard No.
27, “Property, plant and equipment”, which came into effect on January 1, 2007.
See note 2.U.2. to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2007 (included in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2007).
The
figures for the years 2007 and 2008 have been adjusted to give the retrospective
application effect of the change in our accounting policy with respect to
subscriber acquisition and retention costs, applied in June 2009,
retrospectively from January 1, 2007. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial
Review and Prospects – A. Operating Results – Overview – Change in
Accounting Policy Regarding Subscriber Acquisition and Retention Costs”. Also
see note 2.H to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2009 included elsewhere in this annual report.
The
information presented below under the caption “Other Data” contains information
that is not derived from the financial statements.
The
selected information also includes certain items for the years 2005 and 2006 in
accordance with U.S. GAAP. Israeli GAAP differs in certain
significant respects from U.S. GAAP. For a summary of certain
significant differences, see note 28 to our consolidated financial
statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 (included in our annual report
on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2007).
For your
convenience, the following tables also contain U.S. dollar translations of
the NIS amounts presented at December 31, 2009, translated using the rate of NIS
3.775 to $1.00, the representative rate of exchange on December 31, 2009 as
published by the Bank of Israel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions, except per share data)
|
|
Income
Statement Data:
In
accordance with Israeli GAAP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
5,114 |
|
|
|
5,622 |
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
*
3,081 |
|
|
|
*
3,273 |
|
Selling
and marketing expenses
|
|
|
623 |
|
|
|
656 |
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
656 |
|
|
|
659 |
|
Other
(income) expenses, net
|
|
|
*
13 |
|
|
|
*
6 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
741 |
|
|
|
1,028 |
|
Financing
income (expense), net
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
(155 |
) |
Income
tax
|
|
|
*
234 |
|
|
|
*
314 |
|
Net
income
|
|
|
531 |
|
|
|
559 |
|
Basic
earnings per share
|
|
|
*
5.44 |
|
|
|
*
5.73 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share
|
|
|
*
5.44 |
|
|
|
*
5.73 |
|
Weighted
average ordinary shares used in calculation of basic earnings per
share
|
|
|
97,500,000 |
|
|
|
97,500,000 |
|
Weighted
average ordinary shares used in calculation of diluted earnings per
share
|
|
|
97,500,000 |
|
|
|
97,500,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. GAAP Data(1):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
491 |
|
|
|
494 |
|
Basic
earnings per share
|
|
|
5.04 |
|
|
|
5.07 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share
|
|
|
5.04 |
|
|
|
5.07 |
|
Other
Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA(2)
|
|
|
1,643 |
|
|
|
1,864 |
|
Capital
expenditures
|
|
|
747 |
|
|
|
521 |
|
Dividends
declared per share
|
|
|
34.87 |
|
|
|
4.41 |
|
Net
cash provided (used) by operating activities
|
|
|
1,272 |
|
|
|
1,477 |
|
Net
cash provided (used) in investing activities
|
|
|
(619 |
) |
|
|
(633 |
) |
Net
cash provided (used) by financing activities
|
|
|
1,114 |
|
|
|
(2,560 |
) |
Subscribers
(in thousands) (3)
|
|
|
2,603 |
|
|
|
2,884 |
|
Period
churn rate(4)
|
|
|
15.0 |
% |
|
|
16.8 |
% |
ARPU
(in NIS)(5)
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
* Restated
due to initial implementation of a new Israeli Accounting Standard No. 27
commencing January 1, 2007.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007* |
|
|
|
2008* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions, except per share data)
|
|
|
(In
US$ millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
Statement Data:
In
accordance with IFRS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
1,717 |
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
|
|
883 |
|
Selling
and marketing expenses
|
|
|
685 |
|
|
|
701 |
|
|
|
716 |
|
|
|
189 |
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
653 |
|
|
|
659 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
|
|
175 |
|
Other
(income) expenses, net
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
1,394 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
|
|
1,768 |
|
|
|
468 |
|
Financing
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
|
|
(310 |
) |
|
|
(219 |
) |
|
|
(58 |
) |
Income
tax
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
97 |
|
Net
income
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
313 |
|
Basic
earnings per share
|
|
|
9.42 |
|
|
|
10.12 |
|
|
|
12.01 |
|
|
|
3.18 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share
|
|
|
9.34 |
|
|
|
9.96 |
|
|
|
11.90 |
|
|
|
3.15 |
|
Weighted
average ordinary shares used in calculation of basic earnings per
share
|
|
|
97,500,000 |
|
|
|
97,721,339 |
|
|
|
98,432,757 |
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average ordinary shares used in calculation of diluted earnings per
share
|
|
|
98,441,260 |
|
|
|
99,279,924 |
|
|
|
99,306,714 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA(2)
|
|
|
2,187 |
|
|
|
2,482 |
|
|
|
2,529 |
|
|
|
670 |
|
Capital
expenditures
|
|
|
651 |
|
|
|
633 |
|
|
|
663 |
|
|
|
176 |
|
Dividends
declared per share
|
|
|
13.90 |
|
|
|
11.23 |
|
|
|
11.91 |
|
|
|
3.15 |
|
Net
cash provided (used) by operating activities
|
|
|
1,820 |
|
|
|
1,763 |
|
|
|
2,088 |
|
|
|
553 |
|
Net
cash provided (used) in investing activities
|
|
|
(560 |
) |
|
|
(546 |
) |
|
|
(782 |
) |
|
|
(207 |
) |
Net
cash provided (used) by financing activities
|
|
|
(405 |
) |
|
|
(1,853 |
) |
|
|
(678 |
) |
|
|
(180 |
) |
Subscribers
(in thousands) (3)
|
|
|
3,073 |
|
|
|
3,187 |
|
|
|
3,292 |
|
|
|
|
|
Period
churn rate(4)
|
|
|
16.3 |
% |
|
|
18.9 |
% |
|
|
19.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
ARPU
(in NIS)(5)
|
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
144 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
*
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change in 2009 regarding
Subscriber Acquisition and Retention Costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
Balance
Sheet Data:
In
accordance with Israeli GAAP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
|
|
|
1,772 |
|
|
|
56 |
|
Working
capital
|
|
|
1,909 |
|
|
|
237 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
*
7,361 |
|
|
|
*
5,323 |
|
Shareholders’
equity
|
|
|
*
3,897 |
|
|
|
*
597 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. GAAP Data(2):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
11,100 |
|
|
|
8,998 |
|
Shareholders’
equity
|
|
|
4,490 |
|
|
|
4,134 |
|
* Restated
due to initial implementation of a new Israeli Accounting Standard No. 27
commencing January 1, 2007.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007*
|
|
|
|
2008*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
(In
US$ millions)
|
|
Balance
Sheet Data:
In
accordance with IFRS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
903 |
|
|
|
239 |
|
Working
capital
|
|
|
716 |
|
|
|
461 |
|
|
|
1,254 |
|
|
|
332 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
6,294 |
|
|
|
5,488 |
|
|
|
6,379 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
Shareholders’
equity
|
|
|
881 |
|
|
|
390 |
|
|
|
374 |
|
|
|
99 |
|
*
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change in 2009
regarding Subscriber Acquisition and Retention
Costs.
|
(1)
|
Following
the Company's adoption of IFRS, as issued by the IASB, the Company is no
longer required to reconcile its financial statements prepared in
accordance with IFRS to U.S. GAAP. Therefore, certain items in accordance
with U.S. GAAP are presented only for the years 2005 and 2006. Under
U.S. GAAP, DIC’s acquisition of our shares in 2005 is treated as a
purchase that requires a revaluation of our assets and liabilities,
leading to increased amortization expense of intangible assets, offset by
decreased depreciation expense of tangible assets under U.S.
GAAP. In addition, we were required to push down certain DIC
debt and the interest expense relating to such debt incurred to finance
the acquisition until it was repaid in early 2006, leading to increased
financial expense under U.S. GAAP.
|
(2)
|
EBITDA
is a non-GAAP measure and is defined as income before financial income
(expenses), net; other income (expenses), net; income tax; depreciation
and amortization. We present EBITDA as a supplemental
performance measure because we believe that it facilitates operating
performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by
backing out potential differences caused by variations in capital
structure (most particularly affecting our interest expense given our
significant debt), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or
companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating losses) the
age of, and depreciation expenses associated with fixed
assets. EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a
substitute for operating income or other statement of operations or cash
flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our
profitability or liquidity. EBITDA does not take into account
our debt service requirements and other commitments, including capital
expenditures, and, accordingly, is not necessarily indicative of amounts
that may be available for discretionary uses. In addition,
EBITDA, as presented in this annual report, may not be comparable to
similarly titled measures reported by other companies due to differences
in the way that these measures are
calculated.
|
|
The
following is a reconciliation of net income to
EBITDA:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
In
accordance with Israeli GAAP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
531 |
|
|
|
559 |
|
Financing
expense (income), net
|
|
|
(24 |
) |
|
|
155 |
|
Other
expenses (income), net
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Income
taxes
|
|
|
234 |
|
|
|
314 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
889 |
|
|
|
830 |
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
1,643 |
|
|
|
1,864 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007*
|
|
|
|
2008*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
(In
US$ millions)
|
|
In
accordance with IFRS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
313 |
|
Financing
expense (income), net
|
|
|
147 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
|
|
219 |
|
|
|
58 |
|
Other
expenses (income), net
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Income
taxes
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
97 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
821 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
|
|
200 |
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
2,187 |
|
|
|
2,482 |
|
|
|
2,529 |
|
|
|
670 |
|
*
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change regarding Subscriber
Acquisition and Retention Costs.
(3)
|
Subscriber
data refer to active subscribers. Until June 30, 2006, we had a
three-month method of calculating our subscriber base, which means that we
deducted subscribers from our subscriber base after three months of no
revenue generation or activity on our network by or in relation to both
our post-paid and pre-paid subscribers. Commencing July 1, 2006, we
adopted a six-month method of calculating our subscriber base, since many
subscribers that were inactive for three months become active again before
the end of six months. We have not restated our prior
subscriber data presented in this table to reflect this change. The
six-month method is, to the best of our knowledge, consistent with the
methodology used by other cellular providers in Israel. This
change in methodology resulted in an increase of our number of reported
subscribers by approximately 80,000 compared to the prior methodology and
affected our other key performance indicators
accordingly.
|
(4)
|
Churn
rate is defined as the total number of voluntary and involuntary permanent
deactivations in a given period expressed as a percentage of the number of
subscribers at the beginning of the period. Involuntary
permanent deactivations relate to subscribers who have failed to pay their
arrears for the period of six consecutive months. Voluntary
permanent deactivations relate to subscribers who terminated their use of
our services.
|
(5)
|
Average
monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) is calculated by dividing revenues
from cellular services for the period by the average number of subscribers
during the period and by dividing the result by the number of months in
the period. Revenues from inbound roaming services are included
even though the number of subscribers in the equation does not include the
users of those roaming services. Inbound roaming services are
included because ARPU is meant to capture all service revenues generated
by a cellular network, including roaming services. Revenues
from sales of extended warranties are included because they represent
recurring revenues generated by cellular subscribers, but revenues from
sales of handsets, repair services and transmission and landline services
are not. We and industry analysts, treat ARPU as a key
performance indicator of a cellular operator, because it is the closest
meaningful measure of the contribution to service revenues made by an
average subscriber.
|
|
We
have set out below the calculation of ARPU for each of the periods
presented:
|
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions, except number of subscribers and months)
|
|
|
(In
US$ millions)
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
5,114 |
|
|
|
5,622 |
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
1,717 |
|
less revenues from equipment
sales
|
|
|
565 |
|
|
|
636 |
|
|
|
635 |
|
|
|
745 |
|
|
|
751 |
|
|
|
199 |
|
less other
revenues*
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
61 |
|
|
|
93 |
|
|
|
135 |
|
|
|
162 |
|
|
|
43 |
|
Revenues
used in ARPU calculation (in NIS millions)
|
|
|
4,511 |
|
|
|
4,925 |
|
|
|
5,322 |
|
|
|
5,537 |
|
|
|
5,570 |
|
|
|
1,475 |
|
Average
number of subscribers
|
|
|
2,489,453 |
|
|
|
2,757,133 |
|
|
|
2,955,855 |
|
|
|
3,105,022 |
|
|
|
3,215,492 |
|
|
|
3,215,492 |
|
Months
during period
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
ARPU
(in NIS, per month)**
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
144 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
* Other
revenues include revenues from repair services, transmission services and
landline services.
|
**
|
ARPU
for 2006 was restated to reflect the full impact of the change in the
methodology of calculating our subscriber base implemented in July 2006,
to allow comparison with 2007. If our methodology of calculating our
subscriber base had not changed in July 2006, ARPU for the year ended
December 31, 2006 and for the year ended December 31, 2007 would have been
NIS 153, for the year ended December 31, 2008 would have been NIS 152 and
for the year ended December 31, 2009 would have been NIS
148.
|
Exchange
Rate Information
The
following table shows, for each of the months indicated, the high and low
exchange rates between the NIS and the U.S. dollar, expressed as NIS per U.S.
dollar and based upon the daily representative rate of exchange as published by
the Bank of Israel:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
2009
|
|
|
3.807 |
|
|
|
3.729 |
|
October
2009
|
|
|
3.780 |
|
|
|
3.690 |
|
November
2009
|
|
|
3.826 |
|
|
|
3.741 |
|
December
2009
|
|
|
3.815 |
|
|
|
3.772 |
|
January
2010
|
|
|
3.765 |
|
|
|
3.667 |
|
February
2010
|
|
|
3.796 |
|
|
|
3.704 |
|
On
February 26, 2010 the daily representative rate of exchange between the NIS and
U.S. dollar as published by the Bank of Israel was NIS 3.796 to
$1.00.
The
following table shows, for periods indicated, the average exchange rate between
the NIS and the U.S. dollar, expressed as NIS per U.S. dollar, calculated based
on the average of the representative rate of exchange on the last day of each
month during the relevant period as published by the Bank of
Israel:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
4.503 |
|
2006
|
|
|
4.442 |
|
2007
|
|
|
4.085 |
|
2008
|
|
|
3.568 |
|
2009
|
|
|
3.927 |
|
The
effect of exchange rate fluctuations on our business and operations is discussed
in “Item 5 - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”
B. CAPITALIZATION
AND INDEBTEDNESS
Not
applicable.
C. REASONS
FOR THE OFFER AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not
applicable.
D. RISK
FACTORS
We
believe that the occurrence of any one or some combination of the following
factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition or results of operations.
Risks
Related to our Business
We
operate in a heavily regulated industry, which can harm our results of
operations.
A
substantial part of our operations is subject to the Israeli Communications Law,
1982, the Israeli Wireless Telegraph Ordinance (New Version), 1972, the
regulations promulgated thereunder and the license for the provision of cellular
services that we received from the Ministry of Communications in accordance with
the Communications Law. The interpretation and implementation of the
Communications Law, Wireless Telegraph Ordinance and regulations and the
provisions of our general license, as well as our other licenses, are not
certain and disagreements have arisen and may arise in the future between the
Ministry of Communications and us. The Communications Law and
regulations thereunder grant the Ministry of Communications extensive regulatory
and supervisory authority with regard to our activities, as well as the
authority to impose substantial sanctions in the event of a breach of our
licenses or the applicable laws and regulations. In the event that we
materially violate the terms of our licenses, the Ministry of Communications has
the authority to revoke them.
Our
general license is valid until February 2022. It may be extended for additional
six-year periods upon our request to the Ministry of Communications and
confirmation from
the
Ministry of Communications that we have complied with the provisions of our
license and the applicable law, have continuously invested in the improvement of
our service and network and have demonstrated the ability to do so in the
future. Our other licenses are also limited in
time. However, our licenses may not be extended when necessary, or,
if extended, the extensions may be granted on terms that are not favorable to
us. In addition, the Ministry of Communications has modified and may
modify our licenses without our consent and in a manner that could limit our
freedom to conduct our business.
Further,
our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected by new legislation and decisions by our regulators that:
|
·
|
further
reduce interconnect tariffs, as the gradual reduction of interconnect
tariffs from March 2005 to March 2008, which was imposed by the Ministry
of Communications, led to a decrease in our revenues and any additional
reduction, if decided upon, is expected to have an additional adverse
effect on our results of operations, the extent of which will depend on
the level of reduction and our ability to compensate for lost revenues.
The Ministry of Communications is examining interconnect fees and is
expected to conduct a hearing on the matter in the near future. Further,
following the recent Ministry of Communications decision to change the
pricing mechanism of cellular originated international calls, effective
July 30, 2010, whereby the cellular operator will be entitled only to
interconnect fees, any reduction of interconnect tariffs would effect our
revenues from cellular originated international calls as well. See "Item
4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview – Government
Regulations – Tariff Supervision" for additional details.
|
|
·
|
reduce
other tariffs, including roaming tariffs, or otherwise intervene in the
pricing policies for our products and services, including by requiring us
to offer a "limited credit" service to our post-paid customers. See "Item
4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview – Government
Regulations – Tariff Supervision" for additional
details;
|
|
·
|
increase
the number of competitors in the cellular market, including by awarding
cellular licenses to additional UMTS operators and Mirs with certain
benefits and leniencies not available to existing cellular operators,
providing mobile virtual network operators, or MVNO, licenses, WiMAX
licenses and/or licenses for the use of our network by competing
technologies, such as Voice Over Broadband over cellular, or VOBoC; limit
our ability to compete, including by limiting our ability to develop our
network, by preferring new and/or small competitors in the allocation of
new frequencies, including those designated to the 4th
generation of cellular services. See "Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview" under "Competition" and under "Government
Regulations – Mobile Virtual Network Operator" for additional details
;
|
|
·
|
impose
new safety or health-related
requirements;
|
|
·
|
impose
additional restrictions or requirements with respect to the construction
and operation of cell sites;
|
|
·
|
impose
restrictions on the provision of content and data services, including by
preventing differentiation among the services provided, based on
usage;
|
|
·
|
impose
restrictions on the provision of services or products we currently provide
or regulate or otherwise intervene with the terms under which we provide
them to our subscribers;
|
|
·
|
impose
restrictions on the provision of cellular internet services, including by
preventing cellular operators from providing ISP services and mobile
internet access as a bundle;
|
|
·
|
limit
or otherwise intervene with the services or products that we may
sell;
|
|
·
|
set
higher service standards; or
|
|
·
|
impose
additional restrictions or requirements on the usage, operation or
maintenance of databases or a stricter policy with respect to privacy
protection.
|
See “Item
4. Information on the Company – B – Business Overview – Government Regulations ― Our
Principal License”.
If we
fail to compensate for lost revenues, increased expenses or additional
investments resulting from past or future legislative or regulatory changes with
alternative sources of income or otherwise, our results of operations may be
materially adversely affected.
We
may not be able to obtain permits to construct and operate cell
sites.
We depend
on our network of cell sites to maintain and enhance network coverage for our
subscribers. In addition, where necessary, we provide certain subscribers with
bi-directional amplifiers, also known as “repeaters,” to remedy weak signal
reception in indoor locations. Some of these repeaters are located outdoors on
rooftops. We also deploy and operate microwave sites as part of our transmission
network. The construction and operation of these various facilities
are highly regulated and require us to obtain various consents and permits. See
“Item 4.B – Business Overview - Government Regulations - Permits for Cell Site
Construction” for additional details.
We have
experienced difficulties in obtaining some of these consents and permits,
particularly in obtaining building permits for cell sites from local planning
and building authorities. As of December 31, 2009, we operated a small portion
of our cell sites without building permits or applicable exemptions. Although we
are in the process of seeking to obtain building permits or to modify our cell
sites in order to satisfy applicable exemptions, we may not be able to obtain
all the necessary permits or make the necessary modifications.
Approximately
29% of our cell sites operate without building permits in reliance on an
exemption from the requirement to obtain a building permit, mainly for radio
access devices. Our reliance on the exemption for radio access devices had been
challenged by local planning and building authorities in the courts. and in May
2008 the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, in its capacity as court of appeals,
ruled that our and other cellular operators’ devices do not meet the exemption’s
requirements and therefore the exemption may not be
relied
upon by us and by other cellular operators. We and other cellular operators
appealed against this ruling to the Supreme Court. Additionally, in November
2008, the District Court of Central Region, in its capacity as court of appeals,
ruled that the exemption does not apply to radio access devices, if the rooftop
on which those devices are located is at the same level as a residence or other
building that is regularly frequented by people. The exemption is also the
subject of two petitions filed with the Supreme Court.
In
September 2009, the Attorney General concluded that the current application of
the exemption does not balance properly the different interests involved and
therefore cannot continue unchanged. The Attorney General further concluded
that, in accordance with its authority under applicable law, the Israeli
Ministry of Interior Affairs (in consultation with the Ministry of
Communications) should prepare regulations setting conditions for the
application of the exemption, such as limiting the exemption to extraordinary
circumstances, and bring such regulations for approval by the Economy Committee
of the Israeli Parliament by the end of October 2009. Conditions substantially
limiting our ability to use the exemption could adversely affect our existing
network and network build-out. In January 2010, the Attorney General advised the
Supreme Court that the regulations are expected to be brought before the Economy
Committee of the Israeli Parliament by the end of February 2010 and that in case
the government fails to do so by such date, the Attorney General will
not object to the grant of an interim order preventing the construction of
cellular radio access devices without a building permit. To the best of our
knowledge, to date, no such regulations were brought before the Economy
Committee of the Israeli Parliament.
Other
appeals relating to the exemption, including as to the requirement to obtain an
extraordinary usage permit, are still under consideration in the District Court
and other similar challenges, as well as other claims asserting that those cell
sites and other facilities do not meet other legal requirements continue.
Further, in July 2008 and again in July 2009, an amendment to the Communications
Law proposing to annul the exemption passed the preliminary phase of enactment
in the Israeli parliament. An annulment or substantial limitation of the
exemption could adversely affect our existing network and network build-out,
particularly given the objection of some local planning and building authorities
to grant due permits where required. See “Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview - Government Regulations— Permits for Cell Site
Construction" for additional details regarding the exemption.
In
addition, we may be operating a significant number of our cell sites in a manner
that is not fully compatible with the building permits issued for these cell
sites which may, in some cases, constitute grounds for termination of their
lease agreements or claims for breach of such agreements. Our rooftop microwave
sites and repeaters operate in reliance upon an exemption from the requirement
to obtain a building permit. Substantially all of our outdoor
microwave sites are rooftops. It is unclear whether other types of
repeaters require a building permit. Our reliance on an exemption from the
requirement to obtain building permits for repeaters has not, to date, been
considered by the courts.
Operation
of a cell site or other facility without a building permit or not in accordance
with the permit or other legal requirements may result in the issuance of a
demolition order for the cell site or other facility or the bringing of criminal
charges against us and our officers and directors. Certain of our cell sites
have been subject to demolition orders. In addition, criminal charges have been
brought against us and our officers and directors in connection with cell sites
that were alleged to have been constructed or used without the required permits
or not in accordance with the permits granted. As of December 31,
2009, 22 criminal and
administrative
proceedings are outstanding; a demolition order has been granted with respect to
two cell sites while the remaining 20 proceedings are pending further
litigation.
Pursuant
to the Israeli Non-Ionizing Radiation Law, 2006, the granting or renewal of an
operating permit by the Commissioner of Environmental Radiation at the Ministry
of Environmental Protection of Israel for a cell site or other facility is
subject to the receipt of a building permit or the facility being exempt from
the requirement to obtain a building permit. Should we fail to obtain building
permits for our cell sites or other facilities, including in the event that our
reliance upon an exemption from the requirement to obtain building permits for
these cell sites and other facilities is found invalid, the Commissioner of
Environmental Radiation at the Ministry of Environmental Protection will not
grant or renew our operating permits for those cell sites and other facilities.
Since October 2007, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection took the
position that he will not grant or renew operating permits to radio access
devices, where the local planning and building committee’s engineer objected to
our reliance upon the said exemption for radio access devices. For reasons not
related to radiation hazards, we have not received environmental permits for a
small portion of our cell sites, primarily due to building and planning issues,
such as objections by local planning and building committee's engineers to our
reliance on the exemption from obtaining building permits for radio access
devices. Operating a cell site or a facility without an operating permit could
subject us and our officers and directors to criminal, administrative and civil
liability.
Should
any of our officers or directors be found guilty of an offence, although this
has not occurred to date, they may face monetary penalties and a term of
imprisonment. Our cell sites may be the subject of demolition orders,
we may be required to relocate cell sites to less favorable locations or stop
operation of cell sites which could negatively affect the extent, quality and
capacity of our network coverage, all of which may have a material adverse
effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
An
amendment is being prepared to the Non-Ionizing Radiation Regulations published
in December 2008, which may include additional restrictions in
relation to the operation of cell sites and other facilities (including maximum
levels of exposure to non ionizing radiation). If restrictions similar to those
included in a previous draft are subsequently adopted, they will, among other
things, limit our ability to construct new cell sites(and if applied to existing
cell sites, it will also limit our ability to renew operating permits for a
number of our existing cell sites), especially in residential areas. See “Item
4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview - Government
Regulations— Permits for Cell Site Construction" for
additional details regarding a petition on the matter as well as a proposed
amendment to the Non-Ionizing Radiation Law, aiming to cancel the requirement to
obtain the Minister of Communications' approval to the Non-Ionizing Radiation
Regulations, where such regulations may have a substantial and direct effect on
the monetary burden imposed on the communication market.
The
Israeli National Zoning Plan 36, or the Plan, which regulates cell site
construction and operation is in the process of being changed. Current proposed
changes impose additional restrictions and requirements on the construction and
operation of cell sites and will, if approved by the Israeli National Council
for Planning and Building and thereafter by the Government of Israel, harm our
ability to construct new cell sites, make the process of obtaining building
permits for the construction and operation of cell sites more cumbersome and
costly, could adversely affect our existing network and may delay the future
deployment of our network. The National Council is expected to deliberate on the
subject in the first half of 2010.
Several
local planning and building authorities are claiming that Israeli cellular
operators may not receive building permits, in reliance on the current National
Zoning Plan 36, for cell sites operating in frequencies not specifically
detailed in the frequencies charts attached to the Plan. In a number of cases,
these authorities have refused to provide a building permit for such new cell
sites, arguing that the Plan does not apply to such cell sites and that building
permits for such cell sites should be sought through other processes (which are
longer and cumbersome), such as an application for extraordinary usage or under
existing local specific zoning plans. Since June 2002, following the approval of
the Plan, building permits for our cell sites (where required) have been issued
in reliance on the Plan. The current proposed draft amendment to the Plan covers
all new cell sites requiring a building permit, independently of the frequencies
in which they operate. Most of our cell sites and many cell sites operated by
other operators operate in frequencies not specifically detailed in the
Plan.
If we are
unable to obtain or renew building or other consents and permits for our
existing cell sites or other facilities, we will be required to demolish or
relocate these cell sites and facilities. Our inability to relocate
cell sites or other facilities in a timely manner or to construct and operate
new cell sites or other facilities (if we are unable to obtain the necessary
consents and permits or rely on the exemption from the requirement to obtain a
building permit), could adversely affect our existing network, resulting in the
loss of subscribers, prevent us from meeting the network coverage and quality
requirements contained in our license (which may lead to its revocation) and
adversely impact our network build-out, all of which may have a material adverse
effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We
may be required to indemnify certain local planning and building committees in
respect of claims against them.
Under the
Israeli Planning and Building Law, 1965, by approving a building plan, local
planning and building committees may be held liable to compensate for
depreciation of properties included in or neighboring the approved
plan.
In
January 2006, the law was amended to require an applicant, as a precondition to
obtaining a cell site construction permit from a planning and building
committee, to provide a letter to the committee indemnifying it for possible
depreciation claims. As of December 31, 2009, we have provided
approximately 289 indemnification letters to local planning and building
committees. Calls upon our indemnification letters may have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We may also decide
to demolish or relocate existing cell sites to less favorable alternatives and
to construct new cell sites in alternative, less suitable locations or not at
all, due to the obligation to provide indemnification. As a result,
our existing service may be impaired or the expansion of our network coverage
could be limited.
In
addition, local planning and building committees have sought to join cellular
operators, including us, as defendants in depreciation claims made against them
even though indemnification letters were not provided. We were joined
as defendants in a small number of cases.
In
February 2007, the Israeli Minister of Interior Affairs extended the limitation
period within which depreciation claims may be brought under the Israeli
Planning and Building Law from three years from approval of a building plan, to
the later of one year from
receiving
a building permit for a cell site under National Zoning Plan 36 and six months
from the construction of a cell site. The Minister retains the general authority
to extend such period further. This extension of the limitation period increases
our potential exposure to depreciation claims. In addition, should the Planning
and Building Law be construed or amended to allow a longer period of limitation
for depreciation claims than the current limitation period set in that law, our
potential exposure to depreciation claims would increase.
Alleged
health risks relating to non-ionizing radiation generated from cell sites and
cellular telecommunications devices may harm our prospects.
Handsets,
accessories and various types of cell sites are known to be sources of
non-ionizing radiation emissions and are the subject of a public debate in
Israel. While, to the best of our knowledge, the handsets that we market comply
with the applicable legislation that relate to acceptable “specific absorption
rate,” or SAR, levels, we rely on the SAR levels published by the manufacturers
of these handsets and do not perform independent inspections of the SAR levels
of these handsets. As the manufacturers’ approvals refer to a prototype handset,
we have no information as to the actual level of SAR of the handsets throughout
the lifecycle of the handsets, including in the case of handset repair. See also
“Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview - Government
Regulations - Handsets”. Recommendations by the Israeli Ministry of Health
published in July 2008, to take precautionary measures when using cellular
handsets, have increased the concerns of the Israeli public. The Ministry of
Health indicated that although the findings of the international study on
whether cellular phone usage increases the risk of developing certain tumors
were not yet finalized, partial results of several of the studies were
published, and while these studies did not demonstrate a connection between
cellular phone exposure and tumor growth, a relationship between prolonged
cellular phone usage and tumor development was observed in some of these
studies. This publication and other media reports have resulted in the
introduction of several bills, aimed at increasing awareness of the possible
risks of cellular phones usage and reducing usage thereof, mainly by young
people. These bills await deliberation by the Israeli Parliament.
Concerns
regarding cell sites have already caused us difficulties in obtaining permits
for cell site construction and obtaining or renewing leases for cell sites and
even resulted in unlawful sabotage of a small number of cell sites. In July
2009, the Ministries of Interior Affairs and Environmental Protection adopted a
position (as part of the recommendations made by an inter-ministry committee
established to examine the appropriateness of future application of the
exemption from obtaining building permits for radio access devices) that, with
respect to radiation safety, cell sites constructed pursuant to a building
permit are preferable to radio access devices and that the utilizing a cellular
network to provide advanced services which can be provided through a landline
network, is unjustified in light of the preventive care principle set
forth in the Israeli Non-Ionizing Radiation Law.
If health
concerns regarding non-ionizing radiation increase further, or if adverse
findings in studies of non-ionizing radiation are published or if non-ionizing
radiation levels are found to be higher than the standards set for handsets and
cell sites, consumers may be discouraged from using cellular handsets and
regulators may impose additional restrictions on the construction and operation
of cell sites or handset usage. As a result, we may experience increased
difficulty in constructing and operating cell sites and obtaining leases for new
cell site locations or renewing leases for existing locations (although so far,
in total we have experienced renewal problems with approximately 7% of our cell
site leases each year); we may be exposed to property depreciation claims; we
may lose revenues due to
decreasing
usage of our services; we may be subject to increased regulatory costs; and we
may be subject to health-related claims for substantial sums. See
“Item 8. Financial Information - A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial
Information – Legal Proceedings—Purported class actions” for additional details
on a purported class action filed against us in that respect. We have not
obtained insurance for these potential claims. An adverse outcome to,
or settlement of, any health - related litigation against us or any other
provider of cellular services could have a material adverse effect on our
results of operations, financial condition or prospects.
We
face intense competition in all aspects of our business.
The
Israeli cellular telephone market is highly competitive. We compete
for subscribers with three other cellular operators. While we enjoy
the largest market share, estimated to be 34.6% as of December 31, 2009, two of
our competitors, Partner and Pelephone, enjoy estimated market shares of 32% and
28.9% respectively, with MIRS Motorola Communications Ltd., or MIRS, estimated
to have a market share of 4.5%. The current competitive pressure in the Israeli
market results primarily from the highly penetrated state of the
market. See also “Item 4. Information on the Company - B. Business
Overview - The Telecommunications Industry in Israel”. This means that market
growth is limited and cellular operators compete intensely to retain their own
subscribers and attract those of their competitors. The competition in our
market has further increased following the launch of Pelephone's UMTS/HSPA
network in 2009. Further, competition changes as cellular operators enter into
additional communication markets, such as broadband and landline telephony . Any
of the following developments in our market or the implementation by the
Ministry of Communications of the recommendations of a public committee
appointed by it to review issues in the telecommunications market adopted by the
Ministry of Communications (certain such recommendations were also adopted in
the Israeli Government resolutions) in August 2008 (see "Item 4. Information on
the Company – B. Business Overview – Competition.”), are expected to increase
competition further and may result in an increased churn rate, increased
subscriber acquisition and retention costs and ultimately reduced profitability
for us:
|
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Pelephone’s
offering of certain services jointly with its parent company, Bezeq, the
incumbent landline operator; although Bezeq and Pelephone may not
currently offer integrated or combined packages of cellular and landline
telephone and other telecommunication services, the Ministry of
Communications has stated that once Bezeq’s share of the
Israeli landline telephone market falls below 85%, it would be permitted
to offer certain services jointly with its subsidiaries, provided that a
similar bundle is made available by a competitor of Bezeq (such as a
landline and cellular bundle) and subject to each of the services in
Bezeq's bundle being available for sale separately. In February 2010 the
Ministry of Communications determined that Bezeq's market share as of
December 2009 is 75.7% in the private sector and 83.9% in the business
sector.
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the
entry into the Israeli cellular market by additional operators or MVNOs,
could increase competition and thus may have material adverse affect on
our revenues. Regulations necessary for the issuance of an MVNO license,
came into effect in January 2010, and entities wishing to obtain an MVNO
license may now file an application for an MVNO license with the Ministry
of Communications. Further, in October 2009, general principles for an
additional UMTS spectrum tender, expected to be published during the first
half of 2010, were published by the Ministry of Communications and the
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Israeli
Treasury Ministry joint tender committee. These principles include a
regulatory change intended to alleviate entry barriers and shorten the
time frame for countrywide cellular service provision by a new entrant or
by an existing operator wishing to upgrade its network, by
allowing national roaming or regulating compulsory site sharing; the
Ministry of Communications is expected to conduct a hearing on those
regulatory changes during 2010;. See "Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview" under "Competition" and under "Government
Regulations – Mobile Virtual Network Operator" for additional
details;
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the
expansion of the "Open Garden" content provision offerings, as it will
transform the cellular operator, previously the provider of content to its
subscribers, into one of many content providers competing to provide
content to the operator's own subscribers; The Open Garden international
trend is facilitated by technological changes allowing high speed internet
surfing and supporting handsets and the entry of international media
providers and handsets manufacturers into the cellular content provision
market. Further, expansion of arrangements such as that
introduced by Apple, in which subscribers can purchase content only
through their handset manufacturer's store, could adversely effect our
content revenues.
See "Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview" under
"Competition".
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new
initiatives and combinations of services following the recent acquisitions
in the Israeli communication market, as it will allow some of the players
to offer quadruple and even quintuple service bundles to existing
customers in each of their previously separated platforms as well to new
customers, such as the Mirs – Hot combination, when the acquisition of
Mirs is completed. For details see "Item 4. Information on The Company
-Business Overview - The Telecommunications Industry in Israel - Cellular
Services".
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the
launch of a UMTS network by Mirs as it would strengthen Mirs's ability to
compete in the provision of inbound and outbound roaming services as well
as improve its competitive position in the market; under the general
principles for an additional UMTS spectrum tender, Mirs will be the only
existing cellular operator allowed to participate in the
tender;
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a
proposed amendment to the Israeli Restrictive Trade Practices Law, 1988,
including: (1) giving the Director General of the Israeli Antitrust
Authority the power to determine that certain entities in a specific
market act as oligopoly, based on the existence of conditions for
effective competition (or lack thereof) in the relevant market rather than
on the actual lack (or low level) of competition; (2) giving the Director
General of the Antitrust Authority the power to distinguish
between an oligopoly and a monopoly allowing the Director General to give
instructions to all or some of the participants of an oligopolic market,
in order, among others, to maintain or increase the competition level
among the participants, including the authority to issue orders to remove
or to ease entry or transfer barriers, to cease a participant's activity,
or otherwise regulate the activities of such oligopoly. If the Director
General decides that the Israeli cellular market is oligopolistic, the
Director General may take measures which could limit our freedom to manage
our
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business,
increase the competitive pressures that we face and adversely affect our
results of operations; |
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the
entry into the cellular market of mobile WiMAX technology (by a new
entrant) or landline WiMAX technology (as it will enlarge coverage by
cordless landline networks); the Ministry of Communications published a
WiMAX policy on March 1, 2009 and is expected to publish a landline WiMAX
frequencies tender in
2010;and
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the
entry into the communications market of operators of competing
technologies, which may be granted a license to use the cellular networks,
such as VOBoC; To date, the Ministry of Communications has granted three
trial licenses for VOBoC and demanded cellular operators to provide the
VOBoC customers with service equal to the operator's own data customers,
following which it is expected to conduct a hearing regarding VOBoC policy
and licenses.
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We
could be subject to legal claims due to the inability of our information systems
to fully support our calling plans.
In order
to attract and retain the maximum number of subscribers in our highly
competitive market, we design specific calling plans to suit the preferences of
various subscriber groups. We require sophisticated information systems to
record accurately subscriber usage pursuant to the particular terms of each
subscriber’s plan as well as accurate database management and operation of a
very large number of calling plans. From time to time, we have
detected some discrepancies between certain calling plans and the information
processed by our internal information systems, such as applying an incorrect
rebate or applying an incorrect tariff to a service resulting in a higher
charge. We have invested substantial resources to refine and improve our
information and control systems and ensure that our new calling plans are
appropriately processed by our information systems; we have also taken steps to
remedy the identified discrepancies and have established reserves where the
discrepancies are quantifiable. Despite our substantial investments,
we may experience discrepancies in the future due to the multiplicity of our
plans and the scope of the processing tasks. Further, while we invest
substantial efforts in monitoring our employees and third-party distributors and
dealers that market our services, it is possible that some of our employees,
distributors or dealers may offer terms and make (or fail to make)
representations to existing and prospective subscribers that do not fully
conform to applicable law, our license or the terms of our calling plans. As a
result of these discrepancies, we may be subject to subscribers’ claims,
including class action claims, and substantial sanctions for breach of our
license or the applicable laws and regulations that may materially adversely
affect our results of operations.
We
are exposed to, and currently are engaged in, a variety of legal proceedings,
including class action lawsuits.
We
provide services to millions of subscribers on a daily basis. As a
result of the scope and magnitude of our operations we are subject to the risk
of a large number of lawsuits, including class action suits by consumers and
consumer organizations, with respect to billing and other practices. These
actions may be costly to defend and could result in significant judgments
against us. The Israeli Class Actions Law, 2006 and the 2005 amendment to the
Israeli Consumer Protection Law, 1981 include provisions that expand the
causes of
action for which a class of litigants may bring suit, including with regard to
any damages allegedly incurred prior to the effective date of these laws,
reducing the minimal requirements for certification of a class action lawsuit
and reducing the qualifications required to be a lead plaintiff in a class
action lawsuit. Following these changes, an increased number of requests to
certify lawsuits as class actions were approved by Israeli courts. These laws
have increased and may continue to increase the number of requests for
certification of class actions against us, our legal exposure and our legal
costs in defending against such suits, which as a result may materially and
adversely affect our financial results. Other legislative amendments, such as
the amendment to the Communications Law, regulating "spam" and other amendments
to the Consumer Protection Law, also encourage the filing of lawsuits, including
purported class actions, against us. Currently, we are engaged in a
number of purported class action suits as a defendant, some of which are for
substantial amounts. In 2009, two requests to certify lawsuits as
class actions against us were approved and shall be tried as class actions. We
have settled one and appealed the other. Should our appeal be rejected and the
class action succeed or other requests to certify lawsuits against us as class
actions are approved and succeed, this may have a material adverse affect on our
financial results. For a summary of certain material legal proceedings against
us, see “Item 8 – Financial Information - A. Consolidated Statements and Other
Financial Information –Legal Proceedings”.
We are
subject to the risk of intellectual property rights claims against us, including
in relation to music, music-related or other content services we purchase from
third party content providers. These claims may require us to initiate or defend
protracted and costly litigation, regardless of the merits of these
claims. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay
damages or may be required to obtain licenses for the infringing product or
service. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on commercially
reasonable terms, we may be forced to stop using or selling the products and
services.
We
may face claims of having been in violation of the law and our license requiring
the implementation of number portability and the terms of our license governing
the method of charging for SMS messages.
As a
result of an amendment to the Communications Law in March 2005, cellular and
landline telephone operators were required to implement number portability by
September 1, 2006. Number portability permits subscribers to change
to another network operator without having to change their telephone numbers.
Despite efforts to introduce the requisite technology and coordinate the
transition to number portability by September 1, 2006, no cellular or landline
operator had implemented number portability by that date and. Number portability
was implemented on December 2, 2007. See "Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview – Competition” for additional details.
In 2005,
our license was amended to regulate charging for SMS messages sent outside our
network, which, under one interpretation of the amendment, may lead to claims of
our not being in compliance with our license. To date, we have fulfilled the
license requirements, even under this potential interpretation, with respect to
substantially all SMS messages sent to subscribers outside our network. However,
due to technological difficulties which we and our competitors face and have not
yet been resolved, we may face claims, if such interpretation of the amendment
prevails, of having been late in implementing this
amendment with respect to all such SMS messages. We had notified the
Ministry of Communications of our technological inability to fully implement the
amendment, if it is so interpreted. The Ministry of Communications had proposed
an amendment to our license to resolve this problem,
which we
believe is unsatisfactory because it does not change the charging criteria but
mainly proposes certain customer notification requirements. Until such time as
the cellular operators develop the necessary interfaces or our license is
amended, we may be exposed, if such an interpretation prevails, to substantial
sanctions and legal claims.
We
may be required to make substantial investments or cease offering certain
products or services or change their terms to meet growing demand for data
consumption
Experience
in other developed countries has indicated that the growing demand for Internet,
content and data through advanced third generation cellular phones, modems and
other devices using cellular data (such as net books) results in a rapid growth
of data traffic on cellular networks. Experts estimate that data traffic will
grow even faster in the future and some operators have already taken steps aimed
at reducing data usage by their subscribers, including by transferring traffic
to non-cost alternative networks. Our strategy to grow and develop our
Internet, content and data services has proven to be successful and contributed
positively to our results of operations. Any unexpected growth in data
consumption by our subscribers and/or regulatory changes (including with respect
to the 'fair usage' principle in respect of Internet usage loads
management to allow proper usage for all users, the construction and operation
of our network or the allocation of additional spectrum) may require us to cease
offering certain products and/or services we currently offer and/or change their
terms and conditions and/or make substantial unplanned investments, which may
have an adverse affect on our results of operations.
We
rely on interconnecting telecommunications providers and could be adversely
affected if these providers fail to provide these services without disruption
and on a consistent basis.
Our
ability to provide commercially viable cellular telephone services depends upon
our ability to interconnect with the telecommunications networks of landline,
cellular telephone and international operators in Israel in order to complete
calls between our subscribers and parties on a landline or other cellular
telephone network, as well as third parties abroad. All landline,
cellular telephone and international operators in Israel are required to provide
interconnection to, and not to discriminate against, any other licensed
telecommunications operator in Israel. We have no control over the
quality and timing of the investment and maintenance activities that are
necessary for these entities to provide us with interconnection to their
respective telecommunications networks. The implementation of number
portability requires us to rely further on other providers, since our ability to
implement number portability, provide our services and our basic ability to port
numbers between operators are dependent on the manner of number portability
implementation by interconnecting local operators. The failure of these or other
telecommunications providers to provide reliable interconnections to us on a
consistent basis could have an adverse effect on our business, financial
condition or results of operations.
There
are certain restrictions in our license relating to the ownership of our
shares.
Our
license restricts ownership of our ordinary shares and who can serve as our
directors as follows:
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our
founding shareholder, Discount Investment Corporation Ltd., or DIC (or its
transferee or transferees, if approved in advance by the Ministry of
Communications as “founding shareholders”), must own at least 26% of each
of our means of control;
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Israeli
citizens and residents among our founding shareholders (or their approved
transferees) must own at least 20% of our outstanding share capital and
each of our other means of control (DIC has agreed to comply with this
requirement);
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a
majority of our directors must be Israeli citizens and
residents;
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at
least 20% of our directors must be appointed by Israeli citizens and
residents among our founding shareholders;
and
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we
are required to have a committee of our Board of Directors that deals with
matters relating to state security, which must be comprised of at least
four directors (including an external director) having the requisite
security clearance by Israel’s General Security
Service.
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If these
requirements are not complied with, we could be found to be in breach of our
license and our license could be changed, suspended or revoked.
In
addition, our license provides that, without the approval of the Ministry of
Communications, no person may acquire or dispose of shares representing 10% or
more of our outstanding share capital. Further, our directors and
officers and any holder of ordinary shares representing 5% or more of our
outstanding share capital may not own 5% or more of Bezeq or any of our
competitors or serve as a director or officer of such a company, subject to
certain exceptions which require the prior approval of the Ministry of
Communications.
To ensure
that an unauthorized acquisition of our shares would not jeopardize our license,
our articles of association provide that any shares acquired without approval
required under our license will not be entitled to voting rights.
If our
service is to be determined by the Israeli Government to be an “essential
service”, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Communications could impose
additional limitations including a heightened requirement of Israeli ownership
of our ordinary shares.
Although
our articles of association contain certain provisions that are aimed at
reducing the risk that holdings or transfers of our ordinary shares will
contravene our license, we cannot entirely control these and other matters
required by our license, the violation of which could be a basis for suspending
or revoking our license. See also “Item 4. Information on the Company
– B. Business
Overview – Government Regulations ― Our Principal License”.
We
may be adversely affected by the significant technological and other changes in
the cellular communications industry.
The
cellular market is known for rapid and significant technological
changes. Our current technologies, including our 3.5G technologies,
may be overtaken rapidly, requiring us to invest in alternative technologies to
remain competitive. Further, technologies such as wireless broadband access
services such as WiMAX, Wi-Fi, VOB and other technologies that have the capacity
to handle cellular calls or data transfer (such as VoBoC),
may enter our market and compete with traditional cellular providers, thus
further intensifying the competition we face and requiring us to reduce prices,
thus adversely affecting our results of operations. The Ministry of
Communications has granted trial licenses to certain entities to use cellular
networks for the provision of VOBoC and is expected to publish a WiMAX
frequencies
tender in 2010, in which it is expected to allocate mobile WiMAX frequencies to
a new operator, since the present cellular operators, including us, are not
eligible to participate in that tender under the Ministry of Communications'
policy.
If
we cannot obtain or maintain favorable roaming arrangements, our services may be
less attractive or less profitable.
We rely
on agreements to provide roaming capability to our subscribers in many areas
outside Israel. As of December 31, 2009, we had roaming arrangements
with 552 cellular providers in 177 countries around the
world. However, we cannot control the quality of the service that
they provide and it may be inferior to the quality of service that we
provide. Equally, our subscribers may not be able to use some of the
advanced features that they enjoy when making calls on our
network. Some of our competitors may be able to obtain lower roaming
rates than we do because they may have larger call
volumes. Competition is expected to intensify further, if Mirs begins
providing roaming services as well. If our competitors’ providers can deliver a
higher quality or a more cost effective roaming service, then subscribers may
migrate to those competitors and our results of operation could be adversely
affected. Further, we may not be able to compel providers to
participate in our technology migration and enhancement
strategies. As a result, our ability to implement technological
innovations could be adversely affected if these overseas providers are unable
or unwilling to cooperate with the further development of our network or if they
cease to provide services comparable to those we offer on our
network.
Following
European Union regulation of roaming tariffs, which reduced tariffs for calls
made by members of the European Union among themselves, several European Union
member operators have raised roaming tariffs for calls to and from non-European
Union member operators, resulting in higher roaming tariffs for our subscribers.
In addition, in August 2008, the Israeli Government adopted a resolution to
negotiate a reduction of inbound and outbound roaming
tariffs with the European Union and/or members of the European Union or
countries frequently visited by Israelis. In November 2008 the Ministry of
Communications requested us to provide information in relation to our roaming
services. If roaming tariffs are reduced as a result of the proposed negotiation
or otherwise and/or if additional European Union member operators raise their
tariffs and/or if we are not able to raise our tariffs or otherwise compensate
for the higher roaming expenses, this could adversely affect our profitability
and results of operations.
Our
substantial debt increases our exposure to market risks, may limit our ability
to incur additional debt that may be necessary to fund our operations and could
adversely affect our financial stability; Regulatory change may affect our
possibilities to raise debt from institutional investors.
As of
December 31, 2009, our total indebtedness was approximately NIS
4,535 million ($1,201 million). The indentures governing our
debentures currently permit us to incur additional indebtedness. Our
substantial debt could adversely affect our financial condition by, among other
things:
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increasing
our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or business conditions,
including increases in the Israeli Consumer Prices Index, or
CPI;
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limiting
our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our industry
and the economy in general;
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requiring
us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to
service our debt, thus reducing the funds available for operations and
future business development; and
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limiting
our ability to obtain additional financing to operate, develop and expand
our business.
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In
February 2010, the Committee for
Establishing Parameters for Institutional Bodies' Investments in Nongovernmental
Bonds, nominated by the commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and
Savings in the Ministry of Finance, published its recommendations for regulatory
intervention of the commissioner as well as recommendations for Israeli
institutional investors to follow, before investing in non-governmental
debentures. If the committee's report recommendations are adopted, they
may adversely affect our possibilities of raising debt from Israeli
institutional investors as well as the terms and price of such debt raising. See
“Item 5.
Operating and Financial Review and Prospects. – B. Liquidity and Capital
Resources” for additional
details.
Our
business results may be affected by continued recession
Most of
our revenues are not guaranteed or prepaid and are usage dependant. In 2009 we
experienced a substantial decline in our roaming services revenues due to a
reduction in incoming and outgoing tourism due to the current global economic
recession and also an increase in allowance for doubtful accounts which have
been influenced by the global economic slowdown. For further details see "Item
5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – A. Operating Results – Results
of Operations Comparison of 2007, 2008 and 2009 - Selling and marketing expenses
and general and administrative expenses") If this recession continues or
reoccurs, usage of our services decreases and we cannot otherwise compensate for
lost revenues, it may have a material adverse effect on our results of
operations, financial condition or prospects. If
the number of customers that are unable to pay their bills increases or one or
more of our larger business customers fails to pay the amount owed to us, it may
materially increase our bad debts and have a material adverse effect on our
results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the
recession may adversely affect third parties we rely upon in the provision of
our services, including interconnecting telecommunication providers, roaming
partners and services and equipment providers. If those providers fail to
provide reliable and consistent services and/or equipment to us on the requisite
standards of quality and on a timely basis, our ability to provide services to
our subscribers may be reduced in scope and/or in quality, until and inasmuch as
an alternative provider can be found, and consequently our license may be at
risk of revocation for failure to satisfy the required service standards. An
alternative provider and/or solution, may involve additional expenses and/or
investments on our part and/or may involve terms that are less favorable to us,
including reduced revenues. In addition, if any damage is caused to us and/or we
are found liable for damages caused to third parties by such service or
equipment providers and such providers are unable to indemnify us for such
damages, we may have to bear the cost of such damages, which may be substantial,
and such outcome may adversely affect our financial condition.
Our
business results may be affected by currency fluctuations, by our currency
hedging positions and by changes in the Israeli Consumer Price
Index.
A portion
of our cash payments are incurred in, or linked to, foreign currencies, mainly
US Dollars. In particular, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, payments in
U.S. dollars or linked to the U.S. dollar represented approximately 33%, 33% and
36%, respectively, of total cash outflow (including payments of principal and
interest on our debentures). These payments included capital expenditures, some
of our operating lease payments, payments to equipment suppliers including
handset suppliers and, in 2007 and in 2008, payments of principal and interest
on our credit facility (voluntarily prepaid in full in March 2008). As almost
all of our cash receipts are in NIS, any devaluation of the NIS against those
foreign currencies in which we make payments, particularly the U.S. dollar, will
increase the NIS cost of our foreign currency denominated or linked expenses and
capital expenditures.
We
purchase derivative financial instruments in order to hedge the foreign currency
risks, CPI risks and interest risks deriving from our operations and
indebtedness. Derivatives are initially recognized at fair value. Changes in the
fair value are accounted for as follows: Changes in the fair value of derivative
hedging instruments designated as a cash flow hedge are recognized directly as a
component of our shareholders’ equity to the extent that the hedge is effective.
To the extent that the hedge is ineffective, changes in fair value are
recognized in our income statement as the hedged item affects earnings. The
amount recognized in shareholders’ equity is transferred to our income statement
in the same period that the hedged item affects our earnings. Notwithstanding
the above, hedge accounting is not applied to derivative instruments that
economically hedge monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign
currencies. Changes in the fair value of such derivatives are recognized through
our income statement upon occurrence. These differences in the derivative
instruments' designation could result in fluctuations in our reported net income
on a quarterly basis.
Furthermore,
since the principal amount of and interest that we pay on our Series A, B, C and
D debentures, are linked to the Israeli CPI, any increase in the Israeli CPI
will increase our financial expenses and could adversely affect our results of
operations. See "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – B.
Liquidity and Capital Resources – Debt Service – Public Debentures" for details.
We
may not be able to fulfill our dividend policy in the future; implementation of
our dividend policy will significantly reduce our future cash
reserves.
In
February 2006, we adopted a dividend policy targeting a payout ratio of at least
75% of our net income in each calendar year, subject to any applicable law, our
license and contractual obligations and provided that such distribution would
not be detrimental to our cash needs or to any plans approved by our Board of
Directors. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, our Board of Directors has
declared dividends constituting as much as 95% or more of our net income and may
declare dividends in similar rates in the future. See “Item 8. Financial
Information - A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information -
Dividend Policy”. Our license requires that we and our 10% or more shareholders
maintain at least $200 million of combined shareholders’ equity. Dividend
payments are not guaranteed and our Board of Directors may decide, in its
absolute discretion, at any time and for any reason, not to pay dividends or to
pay dividends at a ratio to net income that is less than that paid in the
past.
Our
dividend policy, to the extent implemented, will significantly reduce our future
cash reserves and may adversely affect our ability to fund unexpected capital
expenditures as well as our ability to make interest and principal repayments on
our debentures. As a result, we may be required to borrow additional
money or raise capital by issuing equity securities, which may not be possible
on attractive terms or at all.
If we are
unable to fulfill our dividend policy, or pay dividends at levels anticipated by
investors in our shares, the market price of our shares may be negatively
affected and the value of our investors’ investment may be reduced.
We
rely on a limited number of suppliers for key equipment and
services.
We depend
upon a small number of suppliers to provide us with key equipment and services.
For example, Nokia Siemens Israel provides our network system based on
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
technology, our UMTS/HSPA core system and related products and services and our
landline New Generation Network system, or NGN system; LM Ericsson Israel
supplies our radio access network and related products and services based on
UMTS/HSPA technology; Amdocs Israel provides us with services with respect to
the operating of, and the implementation of developments to, our billing system;
and Be’eri Printers provides our printing supplies and invoices as well as the
distribution, packaging and delivery of invoices and other mail to the postal
service distribution centers. In addition, we lease a portion of our
transmission capacity from Bezeq, the incumbent landline operator. Bezeq has
experienced labor disputes, including stoppages, during the privatization
process and liberalization of the landline market, and additional disruptions,
stoppages and slowdowns may be experienced in the future. If these suppliers
fail to provide equipment or services to us on the requisite standards of
quality and on a timely basis, we may be unable to provide services to our
subscribers in an optimal manner until an alternative source can be found and
our license may be at risk of revocation for failure to satisfy the required
service standards.
We
are a member of the IDB group of companies, one of Israel’s largest business
groups. This may limit our ability to expand our business, to acquire
other businesses or to borrow money from Israeli banks.
We are an
indirect subsidiary of IDB, one of Israel’s largest business groups. Other
indirect subsidiaries of IDB also operate in the Israeli communication market
providing high speed Internet, international telephone services and wireline and
landline communication services. As a result, conflicts of interest may arise
between us and other IDB group companies. Due to the limited size of the Israeli
market and due to the high level of regulation of the Israeli market, in
particular in the communications market, our being a member of the IDB group of
companies may limit our ability to expand our business in the future, to form
joint ventures and strategic alliances and conduct other strategic transactions
with other participants in the Israeli communications market.
In
addition, pursuant to the “Guidelines for Sound Bank Administration” issued by
the Israeli Supervisor of Banks, the amount that an Israeli bank may lend to one
group of borrowers and to each of the six largest borrowers of such banking
corporation is limited. Since we are a member of IDB’s group of
borrowers, these guidelines may limit the ability of Israeli banks to lend money
to us.
We
are controlled by a single shareholder who can significantly influence matters
requiring shareholders’ approval.
As of
December 31, 2009, DIC held, directly and indirectly, approximately
48.57% of our outstanding share capital. Pursuant to
shareholders agreements among DIC and certain of our minority shareholders, who
in the aggregate own approximately 3.45% of our ordinary shares, DIC has been
granted the voting rights in respect of those shares. In addition to DIC’s
shareholdings and such additional voting rights, it has the right to appoint the
20% of our directors that we are required by our license and articles of
association to have appointed by Israeli citizens and residents among our
founding shareholders. Accordingly, subject to legal limitations, DIC
has control over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the
election and removal of our directors and the approval of significant corporate
transactions. This concentration of ownership could delay or prevent
proxy contests, mergers, tender offers, open-market purchase programs or other
purchases of our ordinary shares that might
otherwise
give our shareholders the opportunity to realize a premium over the
then-prevailing market price for our ordinary shares.
Further,
as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the application of the NYSE
rules requiring the majority of the members of our Board of Directors to be
independent and requiring our Board of Directors to establish independent
nomination and compensation committees. Accordingly, our minority
shareholders and debenture holders are denied the protection intended to be
afforded by these corporate governance standards.
Risks
Relating to Operating in Israel
We
conduct our operations in Israel and therefore our results may be adversely
affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel.
Our
operations, our network and some of our suppliers are located in
Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in
Israel may directly affect our business. Since the establishment of
the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place
between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Any hostilities involving
Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade within Israel or between
Israel and its trading partners could adversely affect our operations and could
make it more difficult for us to raise capital. Since September 2000,
there has been a high level of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
Hamas, an Islamist movement responsible for many attacks, including missile
strikes, against Israelis, won the majority of the seats in the Parliament of
the Palestinian Authority in January 2006 and took control of the entire Gaza
Strip, by force, in June 2007. Hamas has launched hundreds of missiles from the
Gaza Strip against Israeli population centers, disrupting day-to-day civilian
life in southern Israel. This led to an armed conflict between Israel and the
Hamas during December 2008 and January 2009. A substantial part of our network
and information systems is located in the southern part of Israel, within range
of missile strikes from the Gaza Strip. Any damage to our network and/or
information systems would damage our ability to provide service, in whole or in
part, in the southern part of Israel and/or otherwise damage our operation and
could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of
operations.
More
generally, any armed conflicts, terrorist activities or political instability in
the region would likely negatively affect business conditions and could harm our
results of operations, including following termination of such conflicts, due to
a decrease in the number of tourists visiting Israel.
In
addition, in the event that the State of Israel relinquishes control over
certain territories currently held by it to the Palestinian Authority, we will
not be able to provide service from our cell sites located in Israeli populated
areas and on connecting roads in these territories. This may result
in the loss of subscribers and revenues and in a decrease in our market
share.
Our
freedom and ability to conduct our operations may be limited during periods of
national emergency.
The
Communications Law grants the Prime Minister of Israel the authority, for
reasons of state security or public welfare, to order a telecommunications
license holder to provide services to security forces, to perform
telecommunication activities or to establish a telecommunications facility as
may be required for the security forces to carry out their duties. Further, the
Israeli Equipment Registration and IDF Mobilization Law, 1987, also
permits
the registration of engineering equipment and facilities and the taking thereof
for the use of the Israel Defense Forces. This law further sets the payment for
use and compensation for damages caused to the operator as a result of such
taking. Our general license also permits the Israeli Government, during national
emergencies or for reasons of national security, to take all necessary actions
in order to ensure state security, including taking control of our network, and
requires us to cooperate with such actions. If national emergency
situations arise in the future and if we are to be subject during such time to
any of the foregoing actions, this could adversely affect our ability to operate
our business and provide services during such national emergencies and adversely
affect our business operations.
Provisions
of Israeli law and our license may delay, prevent or impede an acquisition of
us, which could prevent a change of control.
Israeli
corporate law regulates mergers, requires tender offers for acquisitions of
shares above specified thresholds, requires special approvals for transactions
involving directors, officers or significant shareholders and regulates other
matters that may be relevant to these types of transactions. For
example, a merger may not be completed unless at least 50 days have passed from
the date that a merger proposal was filed by each merging company with the
Israel Registrar of Companies and at least 30 days from the date that the
shareholders of both merging companies approved the merger. In
addition, a majority of each class of securities of the target company is
required to approve a merger. Further, the provisions of our license
require the prior approval of the Ministry of Communications for changes of
control in our Company.
Furthermore,
Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions unappealing to us or
to our shareholders whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with
Israel exempting such shareholders from Israeli tax. For example, Israeli tax
law does not recognize tax-free share exchanges to the same extent as U.S. tax
law. With respect to mergers, Israeli tax law allows for tax deferral in certain
circumstances but makes the deferral contingent on the fulfillment of numerous
conditions, including a holding period of two years from the date of the
transaction during which sales and dispositions of shares of the participating
companies are restricted. Moreover, with respect to certain share
swap transactions, the tax deferral is limited in time, and when the time
expires, tax then becomes payable even if no actual disposition of the shares
has occurred.
These
provisions could delay, prevent or impede an acquisition of us, even if such an
acquisition would be considered beneficial by some of our
shareholders.
Risks
Relating to Our Ordinary Shares
A
substantial number of our ordinary shares could be sold into the public market,
which could depress our share price.Our largest shareholder, DIC, holds
approximately 48.57% of our outstanding ordinary shares, as of December 31,
2009. The market price of our ordinary shares could decline as a result of
future sales into the market by DIC or other existing shareholders or the
perception that these sales could occur. DIC sold 11,425,000 ordinary shares, or
approximately 11.62% of our outstanding shares in a number of transactions
outside the United States in 2007 and 2008. Sales may be made pursuant to a
registration statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
or the SEC pursuant to the terms of a registration rights agreement or
otherwise, or in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of
the Securities Act, including the exemptions
provided
by Rule 144 or Regulation S. Any decline in our share price could also make it
difficult for us to raise additional capital by selling shares.
In
addition, as of December 31, 2009 we have 704,674 shares reserved for issuance
upon the exercise of options; the options are subject to vesting schedules but
vesting will be accelerated upon certain events including any sale by DIC that
leads to DIC ceasing to control (as such term is defined in the Israeli
Securities Law, 1968, namely the ability to direct our activities) us. See "Item
6. Directors, Senior Management and Employment – E. Share Ownership – 2006 Share
Incentive Plan".
ITEM
4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
A. HISTORY
AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY
Our
History
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. was incorporated in 1994 in Israel. Our principal executive offices
are located at 10 Hagavish Street, Netanya 41240, Israel and our telephone
number is (972)-52-999-0052. Our
authorized U.S. representative, Puglisi & Associates, is located at 850
Library Avenue, Suite 204 Newark, Delaware 19711 and our agent for service of
process in the United States, CT Corporation System, is located at 111 Eighth
Avenue, New York, NY 10011.
We hold
one of the four general licenses to provide cellular telephone services in
Israel. Our cellular license was granted by the Ministry of Communications in
1994 and is valid until 2022.
Our
principal founding shareholders were DIC, a subsidiary of IDB, which prior to
September 2005 indirectly held approximately 25% of our share capital, and
BellSouth Corporation and the Safra brothers of Brazil, which together
indirectly held approximately 69.5% of our share capital and voting rights in
respect of an additional 5.5% of our share capital. DIC acquired the
stakes of BellSouth and the Safra brothers in September 2005 and, following the
sale of minority stakes to four groups of investors in 2006, the sale of shares
as part of our initial public offering in February 2007, subsequent sales of
minority stakes in 2007 and 2008 and purchases of minority stakes from two of
the original 1997 shareholders (the voting rights of which were held by DIC
prior to the purchase) in 2009, DIC currently directly and indirectly
holds approximately 48.57% of our share capital and the voting rights in respect
of an additional approximately 3.45% of our share capital.
Following
the acquisition by DIC in 2005, DIC put in place a new management team,
including Ami Erel, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, who had previously
been President and CEO of Bezeq, Amos Shapira, our Chief Executive Officer, who
had been CEO of Kimberly-Clark’s Israeli subsidiary and El Al Airlines, Tal Raz,
our Chief Financial Officer until September 2009, who continues to serve as a
director, and formerly had been one of the founders and a director of Partner,
one of our principal competitors and Adi Cohen, our VP Marketing, who had been
marketing manager of Shufersal, Israel's largest retail chain, and previously,
Partner's marketing manager. While maintaining its focus on increasing
efficiency, our management team has successfully implemented a series of
initiatives to drive our growth, including the continued enhancement of our
distinctive brand, a greater focus on customer service and new sales campaigns.
These initiatives resulted in
continuous
growth in all operational and financial parameters and strengthening our
position as the largest cellular operator in Israel.
In
February 2007 we listed our shares on the NYSE and in July 2007 we dual listed
our shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, or TASE and began applying the
reporting leniencies afforded under the Israeli Securities Law to companies'
whose securities are listed both on the NYSE and the TASE.
As of the
date of this Annual Report on Form 20-F, there has been no indication of any
public takeover offer by any third party, respecting our ordinary shares, or by
us, respecting another company’s shares.
Principal Capital
Expenditures
Our
accrual capital expenditure in 2007, 2008 and 2009 amounted to NIS
651 million, NIS 633 million and NIS 663 million,
respectively. Accrual capital expenditure is defined as investment in
fixed assets and other assets, such as spectrum licenses, UMTS networks'
enhancement and expansion and development of new products and services during a
given period. The amounts of Capital expenditure have been adjusted to include
capitalized subscriber acquisition and retention costs. For the
periods under review, a key focus of our capital investment has been the
enhancement and expansion of our networks and transmission
infrastructure.
B. BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
General
We are
the leading provider of cellular communications services in Israel in terms of
number of subscribers, revenues from services, EBITDA and EBITDA margin for the
year ended December 31, 2009. Upon launch of our services in 1994, we offered
significantly lower prices for cellular communications services than the
incumbent provider and transformed the nature of cellular telephone usage in
Israel, turning it into a mass market consumption item. We surpassed
the incumbent cellular operator and became the market leader in terms of number
of subscribers in 1998 and, despite the entry of two additional competitors, we
have continued since then to have the highest number of
subscribers. As of December 31, 2009, we provided services to
approximately 3.292 million subscribers in Israel with an estimated market share
of 34.6%. Our closest competitors have estimated market shares of 32% and 28.9%,
respectively. In the year ended December 31, 2009, we generated revenues of NIS
6,483 million ($1,717 million), EBITDA of NIS 2,529 million ($670
million), and operating income of NIS 1,768 million ($468
million). See note 2 to the table in “Item 3. Key Information – A.
Selected Financial Data” for a definition of EBITDA.
We offer
a broad range of cellular services through our cellular networks covering
substantially all of the populated territory of Israel. These
services include basic and advanced cellular telephone services, text and
multimedia messaging services and advanced cellular content and data
services. We also offer international roaming services in 177
countries as of December 31, 2009. We offer our subscribers a wide selection of
handsets from various leading global manufacturers, as well as extended warranty
and repair and replacement services to most handsets we offer. We
also offer landline transmission and data services to business customers and
telecommunications operators and, since July 2006, we
offer
landline telephony services to selected businesses, using our advanced inland
fiber-optic infrastructure.
The
following table presents our number of subscribers and revenues for each of the
last five years:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribers
(end of period) (in thousands)(1)
|
|
|
2,603 |
|
|
|
2,884 |
|
|
|
3,073 |
|
|
|
3,187 |
|
|
|
3,292 |
|
Revenues
(in NIS millions)
|
|
|
5,114 |
|
|
|
5,622 |
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
(1)
|
Subscriber
data refer to active subscribers. Until June 30, 2006, we had a
three-month method of calculating our subscriber base, which means that we
deduct subscribers from our subscriber base after three months of no
revenue generation or activity on our network by or in relation to both
the post-paid and pre-paid subscribers. Commencing July 1,
2006, we adopted a six-month method of calculating our subscriber base
since many subscribers that were inactive for three months become active
again before the end of six months. We have not restated our prior
subscriber data presented in this table to reflect this change. The
six-month method is, to the best of our knowledge, consistent with the
methodology used by other cellular providers in Israel. This
change in methodology resulted in an increase of our number of reported
subscribers by approximately 80,000 compared to the prior methodology and
affected our other key performance indicators
accordingly.
|
The
Telecommunications Industry in Israel
The
following table sets forth selected macro statistics about Israel at and for the
year ended December 31, 2009:
Population
(millions, at end of year)
|
|
|
7.5 |
|
GDP
($ billions) (1)
|
|
|
192 |
|
GDP
per capita ($ 000) (1)
|
|
|
26 |
|
Exports
of goods & services ($ billions) (1)
|
|
|
67 |
|
CPI
change
|
|
|
3.
9 |
% |
Long-term
local currency sovereign credit rating by S&P
|
|
A(Stable)
|
|
Unemployment
rate (yearly average)
|
|
|
7.7 |
% |
(1)
for the 12 months ended September 30 2009, translated to USD based on
the average representative rate of exchange for the 12 months ended
September 30,2009.
Source: Central
Bureau of Statistics, and Ministry of Finance of Israel, , Bank of
Israel.
The size
of Israeli telecommunications services revenues in 2008 was approximately NIS 29
billion. Telecommunications services consist of several segments,
which are highly competitive. Of the total telecommunications services revenues
in 2008, approximately 55% was comprised of cellular services, approximately 24%
was local landline voice and Internet access services, approximately 6% was
international voice services, approximately 13% was multichannel television
services, and approximately 2% was Network Termination Point. Cellular spending
was approximately 2.1% of GDP, higher than in developed European economies and
the United States.
Israel
has high penetration rates across all telecommunications services that are in
line with or higher than developed economies such as the European Union and the
United States. These levels of penetration can be attributed to the
rapid adoption rate of new technologies, high expenditures on telecommunications
services by consumers and businesses and a relatively young
population.
In 2009,
the Israeli telecommunications market underwent several ownership changes. See
"Cellular Services" below for additional details.
Cellular
Services
Cellular
telephone services were first introduced in Israel in 1986. For the
first nine years of cellular operations there was only one operator, Pelephone,
a subsidiary of Bezeq, and growth of cellular telephone services, as well as
penetration rates, were limited. After the commercial launch of
Cellcom in December 1994, cellular penetration rates and cellular phone usage
increased significantly. This is mainly due to the fact that our
license was awarded to us based upon, among other things, our commitment to
offer our services at low prices during the first five years of our
operation.
The
Israeli cellular market is highly penetrated. The market reached an estimated
penetration rate (the ratio of cellular subscribers to the Israeli population)
at December 31, 2009, of approximately 127%, representing approximately 9.5
million cellular subscribers.
The
following table sets forth the growth in the total number of cellular
subscribers in Israel and the penetration rate over the last five
years:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
subscribers (millions)
|
|
|
7.8 |
|
|
|
8.4 |
|
|
|
9.0 |
|
|
|
9.2 |
|
|
|
9.5 |
|
Cellular
penetration (%)
|
|
|
112 |
|
|
|
118 |
|
|
|
124 |
|
|
|
124 |
|
|
|
127 |
|
Source:
Reported by Cellcom, Partner and Pelephone (Pelephone's most updated report
dates 3rd
quarter 2009). Cellcom estimates for MIRS as MIRS does not disclose
operating information.
There are
currently four cellular operators in Israel: Cellcom, Partner, Pelephone, and
MIRS. We estimate that the distribution of cellular subscribers among
these operators as of December 31, 2009 was: Cellcom 34.6%, Partner 32%,
Pelephone 28.9% and MIRS 4.5%. Subscriber data is based on public
information as of December 30, 2009, excluding Pelephone's data which is as of
September 30 2009 and except for MIRS, which is based on our
estimate. However, there is no uniform method of counting
subscribers.
We are
controlled by DIC, a subsidiary of IDB, and started operations at the end of
1994. Until recently, Partner was majority-owned by Hutchinson
Whampoa Ltd. and started operations in 1998. In October 2009, Scailex
Corporation Ltd., or Scailex, an Israeli company listed on the TASE and
indirectly controlled by Israeli businessman Mr. Ilan Ben-Dov, purchased the
controlling stake in Partner. Scailex is also the official importer of Samsung
cellular phones to Israel. Pelephone is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Bezeq and started operations in 1986. The major controlling
shareholder of Bezeq following its privatization in 2005 is F.Sab.Ar Holdings
Ltd. which is controlled by Saban Capital Group (controlled by the media
entrepreneur Haim Saban), Apax Partners (the international private equity firm)
and Arkin Communications (controlled by the Israeli businessman Mori Arkin). In
October 2009, Bezeq announced that F.Sab.Ar Holdings Ltd. entered into an
agreement for the sale of its holdings in Bezeq to 012 Smile
Communication Ltd., or Smile. Smile is an Israeli company traded on the NASDAQ
and the TASE and controlled by Internet Gold Golden Lines Ltd., or Internet
Gold. Both Smile and Internet Gold form part of the Eurocom Communication Group,
or Eurocom, which includes Eurocom Cellular Communication Ltd. - the official
representative of Nokia cellular phones in Israel. The transaction is scheduled
to be completed in April 2010. In January 2010, Ampal-American Israel
Corporation, an Israeli company traded on the NASDAQ completed the purchase of
Smile's on-going business,
through
its indirect wholly owned subsidiary – 012 Smile Telecom Ltd, or Smile Telecom.
MIRS, wholly owned by Motorola, had its license upgraded from push-to-talk to a
cellular license in February 2001. To the best of our knowledge, in December
2009, Motorola has entered into an agreement for the sale of its holding in MIRS
to the French businessman Mr. Patrick Derhy. Mr. Derhy has recently
also purchased the controlling stake in HOT Telecom, or HOT, which provides
multichannel pay-TV services and Internet, data and landline telephony
services.
The
following listing sets forth the key milestones in the history of the Israeli
cellular services:
1986
|
Bezeq
and Motorola create a joint venture called “Pelephone”, which becomes
Israel's first cellular operator. Pelephone launches N-AMPS
services
|
1994
|
Cellcom
awarded a license and launches TDMA services
|
1997
|
Cellcom
introduces first pre-paid plan to the market
|
1998
|
Partner
awarded a license and launches GSM services
|
1998
|
Pelephone
launches CDMA services
|
2001
|
Ministry
of Communications allocates additional 2G and 3G cellular frequencies for
existing cellular operators and for the licensing of a new
operator
|
2001
|
MIRS
becomes Israel's fourth cellular operator with iDEN
services
|
2002
|
Cellcom
launches GSM/GPRS services
|
2003
|
Cellcom
launches EDGE services
|
2004
|
Partner
launches UMTS services
Pelephone
launches EVDO services
|
2006
|
Cellcom
launches full scale UMTS/HSDPA services
|
2007
|
Partner
launches HSDPA services
|
2008
|
Cellcom
launches HSUPA services
|
2009
|
Pelephone
launches UMTS/HSPA services
|
Key
characteristics of the Israeli cellular services market
The
following paragraphs describe the key characteristics of the Israeli cellular
services market:
High cellular telephone
penetration. The estimated penetration rate in Israel as of
December 31, 2009 was 127%. Penetration rate is calculated by
dividing the total number of subscribers by the Israeli
population. The Israeli population does not include foreign workers
and Palestinian subscribers who are included in the number of
subscribers. The number of subscribers also includes subscribers with
more than one subscription to a cellular network may also include subscribers to
more than one network including those in the process of switching networks. As a
result, the effective penetration rate after adjustment for these factors is
likely to be lower than 127%.
Favorable
demographics. Population growth is generally high and the
population is relatively younger than in developed economies.
Favorable geography and high
population density around a few urban centers. Israel covers a
small area of territory of approximately 8,000 square miles (20,700 square
kilometers). In addition, Israel is relatively flat and
dry. Moreover, the population tends to be concentrated in a small
number of geographical locations. These characteristics facilitate
efficient network roll out and maintenance.
High cellular voice
usage. The average cellular voice usage per subscriber in
Israel is well over 300 minutes per month, which is higher than the average
cellular voice usage per subscriber in most developed economies using the
pricing model of "calling party pays".
Low average voice revenue per
minute. Cellular operators in Israel have lower average voice revenues
per minute than in most developed calling party pay economies. This
is a consequence, among other things, of the importance given to low prices in
the first five years of our operation, in the awarding criteria during the
original licensing process for a second cellular operator, strong competition
and a heavy regulated environment.
Different cellular
technologies. We use TDMA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA
networks. Partner uses GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA
networks. Pelephone uses CDMA, CDMA1x, EVDO and UMTS/HSPA
network. MIRS uses an iDEN network.
High potential for value-added
services. The contribution of non-voice revenues to total
revenues in the Israeli cellular market is below the level of developed markets
such as the European Union. This characteristic is attributable in part to the
low voice tariffs in Israel compared to the tariffs in other markets, which has
the effect of keeping text messaging usage low and in part, due to late launch
of advanced added value services in Israel. We believe that there is potential
for narrowing this gap by increasing marketing efforts of new content services
and the growth in our existing 3G subscriber base.
Calling party pays. In
Israel, as in most of the world, the party originating the call pays for the
airtime. Cellular telephone network operators do not charge
subscribers for calls received on their handsets, except while roaming
abroad.
Low annual churn
rates. The average annual churn rate in Israel in 2009 is
estimated to be approximately 17-19%, which is lower than the churn rates in
other developed economies. This churn rate reflects a slight increase in churn
rate attributed to the implementation of number portability in December 2007 and
the increased competition.
Landline
Services
Voice
Services
Bezeq
operates approximately 2.5 million lines and provides local services. The second
largest competitor in landline telephony services is HOT, a provider of cable TV
services, which started landline operations in late 2003. HOT’s network has been
upgraded to offer Internet, data and voice services.
In recent
years, Bezeq has experienced a significant drop in its traffic
volume. Bezeq is a monopoly and thus subject to enhanced regulatory
scrutiny, including supervision of tariffs.
Three
players entered this market in 2006, including us. Partner entered this market
in 2007 (and further intensified its efforts at the end of 2008) and Bezeq
International (VOB only) entered this market in 2009, bringing to a total of
seven players.
Broadband
and Internet services
Israeli
broadband services are characterized by high growth and high penetration levels.
The Ministry of Communications estimates that at the end of 2008, there were
approximately
1.7 million subscribers, and the household penetration rate was approximately
82%. The dominant landline broadband access technologies are ADSL and cable.
ADSL services were launched by Bezeq in 2000 and currently represent a 58% share
of broadband connections. Cable modems, which account for the rest of
the market, have been available since 2002. We offer similar services using
cellular modem and router as well as data communication services over
broadband.
Transmission
and landline data services are provided by Bezeq, HOT, Partner (who acquired
Med-1's operation in 2006) and us. These services are provided to business
customers and to telecommunications operators. Bezeq and Hot are in the process
of upgrading their network into high speed NGN. In February 2010, the Ministry
of Communications provided a trial license to the Israeli Electric Company,
allowing it to use its fiber optic infrastructure to provide transmission
services to other operators. Landline services are also provided by Internet
Gold and 013 NetVision Ltd., or Netvision, (an indirect subsidiary of
IDB).
Internet
access is currently provided by three major Internet service providers, or
ISPs: Netvision, Bezeq International, Smile Telecom, and some other
niche players. All those major providers are also suppliers of
international voice services. Partner entered this market in December
2008.
International
voice services
International
voice services in Israel have been open for competition since December
1996. Until then, Bezeq International, was the only supplier of such
services. There are currently four players in this market. The three
major players are: Bezeq International, Netvision and Smile Telecom. The fourth
player is Xfone Communications. Today there is no single dominant
player in this market, and competition is very intense.
Multichannel
television
The
multichannel pay-TV market is also highly penetrated with levels above those of
most developed economies. Multichannel pay-TV services are provided
by HOT and by YES, a subsidiary of Bezeq. Regulatory change allowing digital
terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting, with trial broadcasting implemented
in August 2009 and expected to be commercially launched in 2010, may affect the
level of competition in this market and attract additional players.
Competitive
Strengths
We
believe that the following competitive strengths will enable us to maintain and
enhance our position as the leading provider of cellular communications services
in Israel:
|
·
|
Combination of leading market
position and strong operational momentum. In 2009, we maintained
our market-leading position, as reflected in our subscriber base, revenues
from services, EBITDA and EBITDA margin growth, leveraging a series of
brand, customer service and content initiatives, as well as -cost
efficiencies initiatives regarding essential operational processes within
our company.
|
|
·
|
Strong and distinctive own
brand. Our established brand enjoys strong recognition in
Israel. We consider the enhancement of our image among
|
|
|
consumers
a top priority and continue to invest substantial resources to maintain
Cellcom as a local cellular company with a warm personal
touch. Our focus on music and music-related content services,
which was broadened in 2009, to encompass versatile mobile media formats,
such as music, games, video and data services under one marketing
umbrella - "Cellcom Media", is our leading marketing
theme, corresponding to our growing focus on content and data service
growth .
|
|
·
|
Transmission infrastructure
and landline services. We have an advanced fiber-optic
transmission infrastructure that consists of approximately 1,500
kilometers of inland fiber-optic cable, which, together with our
complementary microwave-based infrastructure, connects the majority of our
cell sites and provides for substantially all of our backhaul
services. Our transmission infrastructure significantly reduces
our operational reliance on Bezeq, the incumbent landline operator in
Israel, while also saving us substantial infrastructure-leasing cash
costs. As our transmission network has transmission and data capacity in
excess of our own backhaul needs, and covers the majority of Israel’s
business parks, we offer transmission and data services to business
customers and telecommunications providers. In addition, since July 2006,
following the receipt of a landline transmission, data and telephony
services license, we offer landline telephony services and as of February
2008, additional advanced landline services through our NGN system, to
selected landline business
customers.
|
|
·
|
Strategic relationship with
one of Israel’s leading business groups. Our ultimate
parent company, IDB, is one of the largest business groups in
Israel. We enjoy access, through our management services
agreement, to the senior management of the IDB group, who are some of the
most experienced managers in Israel. These managers, including
veterans of the Israeli telecommunications market, provide us with
financial, managerial and strategic
guidance.
|
|
·
|
Strong management
team. Since DIC acquired control of us in September
2005, we have put in place a team of seasoned managers with significant
experience and solid track records in previous managerial
positions. Our Chairman, Mr. Ami Erel, is a veteran of the
Israeli communications market and previously served as the chief executive
officer of Bezeq. Our chief executive officer, Mr. Amos
Shapira, has been chief executive officer of Kimberly-Clark’s Israeli
subsidiary and of El Al Airlines, where he was credited with its
successful restructuring and improvements in customer
service. Our newly appointed chief financial officer, Mr. Heen,
has held a variety of positions within our finance division, most recently
as head of our economic department, responsible for our budget, financial
analysis, cost accounting and control over our performance. Our
VP Marketing, Mr. Adi Cohen had been marketing manager of Shufersal,
Israel's largest retail chain, and previously, Partner's marketing
manager. Under the leadership of Messrs. Erel, Shapira, Heen and Cohen, we
have demonstrated significant improvements in our operating results and
believe that we are well positioned to continue this trend and to execute
our business strategy.
|
|
·
|
Strong cash flow
generation. We have a proven track record of strong financial
performance and profitability with cash operating margins. As a result, we
have been able to invest in our business and deploy advanced network
technology so that we can offer advanced services and applications, as
well as distribute dividends to our
shareholders.
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Business
Strategy
Our goal
is to strengthen our position as the leading cellular provider in
Israel. The principal elements of our business strategy
are:
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Focus on core business and
synergetic complementary business. We remain focused on our primary
source of business, mobile communications and value added services over
our advanced cellular network, while continuing to develop new
complementary business, which we identify to be both cost synergetic to
our core business and provide direct contribution to our business, such as
the landline services to the business community, provided over our
fiber-optic cables and microwave links. We believe that our steadfast
focus on our core competencies is one of the main factors for our market
leading position and intend to identify and track opportunities as they
arise, with a goal of continuing to generate long term
growth.
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Maximize customer
satisfaction, retention and growth. Our growth strategy is focused
on retaining our subscribers, expanding the selection of services and
products we offer to our subscribers and tailoring offers to our
customers' needs, in order to enhance customer satisfaction and increase
average revenues per user. We strive to be proactive at every service
interaction with our customers, to offer a service which is as clear,
simple and methodical as possible and to continually improve and enhance
the flexibility of our customer service. In addition to providing quality
customer service, we also strive to retain our subscribers and attract new
subscribers by offering them advanced handsets, handset upgrades,
attractive calling plans and value-added
services.
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Grow and develop our Internet,
content and data services. The usage of cellular content
and data services in Israel is currently relatively low compared to
western European countries, attributed to Israel launching 3G services two
years after its European peers. We launched our UMTS network in 2006, over
a year after our competitors. Since then we experienced a significant
growth in content and value added services. . As of December
31, 2009 approximately 997,000 of our subscribers are 3G subscribers,
mostly post paid. We believe that the "Open Garden" approach to content,
offers significant growth potential for content and data revenues and are
constantly looking out for new opportunities to maximize our advantages as
an operator, and to maintain and further develop our share in the “Open
Garden” content and data evolving market (for additional details regarding
the “Open Garden” see “Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business
Overview" under "Competition”) .We intend to continue
to invest in the improvement and upgrade of our high speed UMTS/HSPA
network, mainly to enhance its capacity and increase its speed, in order
to permit higher-quality and higher-speed multimedia content
transmission.
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We also
plan to utilize our momentum in the arena of Israeli content to
expand our content and data services, products and capabilities through in-house
expertise and strategic relationships with leading cellular content providers,
with special emphasis on original Israeli culture and usage enhancing content
and applications in the cellular and complementary media. In 2009 we have
launched our “Cellcom Media” initiative, following our “Cellcom Volume”
music-related initiative, featuring, among other things, our cellular music
store, original content including drama series and on-net-reality programs,
video games, social networks applications, location based and other
applications. The launch of "Cellcom Media" follows the success of our “Cellcom
Volume” music-related initiative that contributed positively to
our revenues, brand identity and popularity amongst users in general and youth
in particular. We also continued marketing our data-enhancing products,
including a cellular modem and a cellular router.
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Further develop and strengthen
the Cellcom brand. External market surveys that we have
commissioned indicate that brand recognition is an important factor in
subscriber selection of, and loyalty to, a cellular
operator. Due to our extensive efforts in the past few years,
we believe that we have established the Cellcom brand as one of the most
recognized and respected consumer brands in Israel. We plan to
continually enhance our brand through maintaining our high network
quality, the provision of innovative products and services, quality
customer service and investments in advertising and promotional campaigns.
We believe these enhancements are key to maintaining our competitive
advantage, differentiating our services from those of our competitors and
establishing and maintaining a successful relationship with our
subscribers.
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Optimize our cost
structure. We intend to continue our efforts to control
costs so that we can improve profitability while also improving the
quality of our services. In addition, having already built our
own fiber-optic and microwave infrastructure, reduces our operating costs,
as our network maintenance costs and microwave spectrum fees are lower
than the lease costs to rent backhaul capacity from Bezeq. In 2009 we
continued our focus on cost efficiencies and identifying further
opportunities to manage our costs without reducing the quality of our
service, such as introducing our new internet site, which provides a cost
efficient alternative channel to the traditional customer care and sales
channels, further reducing our reliance on Bezeq
and continuing the change of handsets repair
process.
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Capitalize on our existing
infrastructure to selectively provide landline telephony services.
Our approximately 1,500 kilometer inland fiber-optic network and our
microwave infrastructure provide us with the ability to offer
cost-efficient landline telecommunications solutions. We hold a license to
operate a landline service in Israel and, since July 2006, we offer our
landline telephony service to selected businesses. As of February 2008, we
offer additional value added landline services to selected businesses,
through our NGN system, such as toll free number dialing, call forward and
fax to mail, IP CENTREX services, ADSL and Transmission internet
connectivity services, which will enable us to penetrate the residential
sector as well, should we choose to do
so.
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Services
and Products
As of
December 31, 2009, we provide cellular communications services to approximately
3.292 million subscribers, including basic cellular telephony services and
value-added services as well as handset sales. We regularly evaluate, including
through discussions with potential partners, ways to add additional
communications and other services to our portfolio. Not all services are
supported by all handsets or by all of our networks. In addition, we offer
transmission and data services to business customers and telecommunications
operators. Since July 2006, we have offered our landline telephony service to
selected businesses.
We offer
our cellular subscribers a variety of calling plans, designed to adapt to their
particular characteristics and changing needs. We adapt our calling
plans for the different types of usage – personal or business – and the number
of users associated with the subscriber. For example, we offer
discounted rates on the weekend for soldiers, Israeli music services to youth
and discounted rates on calls among members of immediate families. We
offer two methods of payment: pre-paid and post-paid. Pre-paid
services are offered to subscribers who pay for our services prior to obtaining
them, usually by purchasing our “Talkman” pre-paid cards or “virtual” Talkman
cards. Post-paid services are offered to subscribers who are willing
to pay for our services through banking and credit arrangements, such as credit
cards and direct debits. Some of our post-paid subscribers are not
under a commitment to purchase our services for a predefined period and some do
not pay a monthly fee.
Basic
cellular telephony services
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Our
principal service is basic cellular telephony. In addition we offer many
other services with enhancements and additional features to our basic
cellular telephony service. These services include voice mail, cellular
fax, call waiting, call forwarding, caller identification, conference
calling, “Talk 2” (two handsets sharing the same number, thus allowing our
subscribers to own both a handset and a car phone), additional number
service (enables our subscribers to add a second phone number to their
handset) and collect call service (a self-developed service protected by
our U.S. patent).
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We
also offer both an outbound roaming service to our subscribers when
traveling outside of Israel and an inbound roaming to visitors to Israel
who can “roam” into our network. Roaming allows cellular subscribers,
while using their own cell phone number (and handset, in most cases) and
being billed by their provider, to place and receive calls and text
messages while in the coverage area of a network to which they do not
subscribe. Where available, subscribers can also benefit from other
cellular services such as advanced data and content
services. As of December 31, 2009, we had commercial roaming
relationships with 552 operators in 177 countries based on the standard
agreements of the GSM organization (an umbrella organization in which all
the cellular operators operating with GSM technology are
members). This enables our subscribers to enjoy our services in
almost the entire world. Most of our GSM subscribers who use
these roaming services abroad can use their own handset and others can
borrow or rent, depending upon the period of time, a suitable handset from
us. In addition, as of December 31, 2009, we had 3G roaming
arrangements with 171 of these operators, enabling our 3G
roamers
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to
participate in video calls and use high-speed data, video and audio
content services in
79 countries. |
Value-added
services
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In addition to basic cellular
telephony services, we offer many value-added services. Value-added
services are important to our business as they enable us to differentiate
ourselves from our competitors, strengthen our brand and increase
subscriber usage, ARPU and subscriber satisfaction. We offer those
services that we believe are likely to be popular with subscribers and
benefit our business. Some of the value-added services that we
offer are available only to subscribers who have supporting handset models
and some are offered only to business subscribers. The principal advanced
value-added services that we currently offer, some of which are exclusive
to us, are:
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Cellcom
Media. This mobile content initiative, which expands our
“Cellcom Volume” music-related marketing initiative onto additional content
formats, is focused on providing a rich downloadable content consisting of
music, games, on-net-reality programs, drama series, video games and other
content services through our popular cellular music portal and
Internet site, and also on promoting Israeli content and the use of the handset
as a mobile media center.
SMS and MMS
services. These messaging services enable subscribers to send
and receive text (SMS), photos, multimedia and animation (MMS)
messages. Additional applications enable our subscribers to send SMS
messages to a large number of handsets simultaneously.
Access to third party application
providers. We provide our subscribers with access to certain
services offered by third party application providers. These services
include, among others: a service that allows subscribers to receive notification
of roadway speed detectors in their vicinity; a service (using a cellular modem)
that provides a comprehensive system for the management of vehicle fleets and a
service that enables subscribers to remotely manage and operate time clocks and
various controllers for industrial, agricultural and commercial
purposes.
Video calls. This
service enables our 3G users, using 3G handsets, to communicate with each other
through video applications.
Zone
services. This service provides discounts on airtime for calls
initiated from a specific location, such as a university campus. Our
network identifies the location from which the call is initiated in order to
apply the discounted rate on the call.
Location-based
services. We offer a number of location-based services. For
example: “Cellcom Navigator” is a service provided through a third party that
enables our subscribers to receive real-time travel directions, that take
account of the traffic condition and visual data regarding their position using
global positioning system, or GPS, technology; “Cellcom Radar” is a service that
enables our subscribers to locate services such as restaurants, shops and
entertainment centers in the proximity of their location.
Other information and content
services. We also provide other information and content
services, some provided directly by us and some by third party content
providers. For example, we provide voice-based information services
through interactive voice response platforms, or IVR, including interactive
information services and radio and TV programs. We also provide
text-based information services and interactive information services including
news headlines, sports results, and traffic and weather reports. Some of these
services are provided through our MMS or video-based technologies, and are
offered to subscribers with supporting handsets.
Data services - We
offer our subscribers a variety of channels to facilitate their access to data
services, including handsets (in supporting models), cellular modems and
cellular routers. Usage of our cellular modem services increased substantially
in 2009, following our marketing initiatives including an "unlimited surfing
package". The cellular router enables the use of landline communication devices
such as phones, faxes and computers, over the cellular network, in addition to
our cellular communications services, thus providing a complete communication
solution for private and small businesses customers.
We have
established relationships with content providers to provide us content for our
value-added services, including Logia Development and Content Management Ltd.,
or Logia, to manage and develop cellular content in Israel exclusively for us.
Our agreement with Logia has a one-year term renewable annually and grants us an
option to acquire 51% of Logia’s
equity or 51% of Logia’s cellular content activity for us, at any time during
the term of the agreement. Exercise of the equity option will be at a
value to be set by an
independent appraiser whereas exercise of the content option would be at no cost
to us.
Handsets
We sell a
wide selection of handsets designed to meet individual
preferences. Prices of handsets vary based on handset features,
calling plans and special promotions. In most cases, handsets are to be paid in
36 monthly installments. We offer a variety of handsets from world-leading
brands such as Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson and RIM. The
handset models we sell offer Hebrew language displays in addition to English,
Arabic and Russian (in most of the models). We are also required to provide
cellular phone services to subscribers who did not purchase their handsets from
us, provided that the handset model has been approved for use by the Ministry of
Communications. We offer our subscribers an extended handset warranty as well as
repair and replacement services for most handsets, in approximately
31 walk-in centers. See also "Customer Care" below.
In 2009
we entered an agreement with Apple Sales International, for the purchase and
distribution of iPhone handsets in Israel. Under the terms of the agreement, we
committed to purchase a minimum quantity of handsets over a period of three
years, which is expected to represent a significant portion of our expected
handset purchase amount over that period. The total amount of the purchases will
depend on the handsets purchase price at the time of purchase.
Landline
services
In
addition to our cellular services, we provide landline telephony, transmission
and data services, using our approximately 1,500 kilometers of inland
fiber-optic infrastructure
and
complementary microwave links. We have offered transmission and data
services since 2001. We received a license to offer landline telephone service
in April 2006 and, since July 2006, have been offering this service to selected
businesses. Through our newly acquired NGN system, we were the first landline
operator in Israel to provide advanced, voice and data services, to selected
business customers, as of February 2008. Revenues from these services increased
significantly in 2009 and we consider landline telephone services to be a
substantial growth opportunity. In August 2008 the Ministry of Communications
adopted the recommendation of a public committee regarding unbundling of Bezeq's
network, which may facilitate our growth in this market but also the entry of
additional competitors. In February 2010, a public committee was appointed to
deliberate on Bezeq's tariffs for use of its network and interconnect tariffs to
land line operators, among other issues related to the recommendation,. See
“Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview –
Competition.”
Network
and Technology
General
Our
network has developed over the years since we commenced our operations in 1994
and we now have dual cellular and landline capabilities.
Our
“third generation” UMTS/HSPA, or high-speed downlink packet data access,
technology, offers full interactive multimedia capabilities with current data
rates of up to 7.2Mbps on the downlink path and up to 1.4 Mbps on the uplink
path. We were the first operator in Israel to offer data transfer in the uplink
path at such high speed. During 2010 we intend to further increase the downlink
path speed up to 21 Mbps in selected urban areas. This network, considered to be
a “3/3.5G” technology, is a network that uses the same core as our GSM/GPRS/EDGE
network. Our UMTS/HSPA network covers substantially all of the populated
territory in Israel. Moreover, our UMTS/HSPA network supports new types of
services that require higher throughput and lower delay, such as video
conferencing.
Our
“second generation” GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1800MHz network allows for voice calls, data
transmission and multimedia services, like video streaming and video live (using
the EDGE technology), although at slower speeds than our UMTS/HSPA
network. Our GSM/GPRS/EDGE technology is an advanced
second-generation technology and considered to be a “2.75G”
technology. It enables us to deliver multimedia and services at speed
rates that are higher than the rates offered through regular “second generation”
digital cellular technology. Packet data rates vary from 50 Kbps to
200 Kbps, depending mainly on handset capabilities. In addition, in
the case of coverage gaps and for services supported by our GSM/GPRS/EDGE
technology, the network provides an adequate fallback and capacity relief for
our UMTS/HSPA network by means of smart features and network load
sharing. Approximately 99% of our traffic uses our GSM/GPRS/EDGE and
UMTS/HSPA networks, with substantially all of that traffic using the
GSM/GPRS/EDGE network.
We also
have a separate network using our initial TDMA 850MHz wireless technology, which
is widely used as a “second generation” technology in North and South
America. Approximately 1% of our traffic uses this
network. This technology supports voice calls and low rate data
services known as CSD (circuit switch data) and CDPD (cellular digital packet
data). Our TDMA network, which is based on Nortel technology, is maintained and
operated by our engineers and technicians. Operating costs for this
network are low and we expect that it will not require additional capital
expenditures.
Our
transmission network is comprised of approximately 1,500 kilometers of inland
advanced fiber-optic cables that, together with our microwave infrastructure,
enable us to provide our customers with telephony and high speed and high
quality transmission and data services. Our transmission network is
strategically deployed in order to cover the major portion of Israel’s business
parks and permits us to provide our own backhaul services while reducing our
need to lease capacity from Bezeq, the incumbent landline operator in
Israel. Our NGN system by Nokia Siemens, allows the provision of
advanced voice and data services to our landline customers.
Infrastructure
We have
built an extensive, durable and advanced cellular network system, enabling us to
offer high-quality services to substantially the entire Israeli populated
territory. Since maintaining a high-quality network is a basic element in our
business strategy, we seek to satisfy quality standards that are important to
our subscribers, such as high voice quality, high data rate packet sessions, low
“blocked call” rate (calls that fail because access to the network is not
possible due to insufficient network resources), low “dropped call” rate (calls
that are involuntarily terminated) and deep indoor coverage. As a result, we
have made substantial capital expenditures and expect to continue to make
capital expenditures on our network system. As of December 31, 2009, we had
invested an aggregate of NIS 8.153 billion ($2.160 billion) on our
network infrastructure since our inception in 1994.
We cover
substantially all of the populated areas of Israel with both our UMTS/HSPA
network and our GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. Our UMTS/HSPA network is mostly
co-located with our GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. The suppliers of our UMTS/HSPA
network are Ericsson Israel (for the 3G radio access network) and Nokia (for our
core network). The supplier of our GSM/GPRS/EDGE network is Nokia. Ericsson and
Nokia, each with respect to the network supplied by it to us, provide us with
maintenance services.
We are
currently selectively enhancing and expanding both our UMTS/HSPA network and our
GSM/GPRS/EDGE network, primarily in urban areas, by adding infrastructure to
improve outdoor and indoor coverage.
Our TDMA
network, which is based on Nortel technology, is maintained and operated by our
engineers and technicians.
Pursuant
to the requirements of our license (as well as the licenses of the other
telephony service providers in Israel), our network is interconnected, either
directly or indirectly, to the networks of all other telephony service providers
in Israel. Our network monitoring system provides around-the-clock surveillance
of our entire network. The network operations center is equipped with
sophisticated systems that constantly monitor the status of all switches and
cell sites, identify failures and dispatch technicians to resolve problems.
Operations support systems are utilized to monitor system quality and identify
devices that fail to meet performance thresholds. These same
platforms generate statistics on system performance such as dropped calls,
blocked calls and handoff failures. Our network operations center is
located in our Netanya headquarters. In addition, we have a partial duplicate
backup center in Kiryat Gat, located approximately 80 kilometers south of
Netanya. During 2010 and 2011 we intend to complete implementation of a full
scale disaster recovery plan for all of our engineering systems.
Network
design
We have
designed our TDMA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA networks in order to provide high
quality and reliability well beyond the requirements set forth in our license
while using a cost-effective design, utilizing shared components for our
networks, where applicable.
Our
primary objective going forward is to improve and upgrade our high speed
UMTS/HSPA network, mainly by enhancing its capacity and increasing its speed, in
order to permit higher-quality and higher-speed multimedia content transmission.
At the same time we intend to continue to perform extensive optimization work to
provide our subscribers with maximum capability to support video and other
broad-bandwidth content.
Network
performance
We
continually optimize our entire network in order to meet the key performance
indicators for our services, including dropped calls, voice quality,
accessibility, availability and packet success rate. We use advanced
planning, monitoring and analyzing tools in order to achieve our performance
goals efficiently and with minimum faults.
The two
main indicators that we use to measure network performance for voice and packet
data are the “blocked call” rate and the “dropped call” rate. Our
levels of blocked and dropped calls are better than those required by our
license and since we commenced operations we have steadily improved our rate of
both blocked calls and dropped calls.
Spectrum
allocation
Spectrum
availability in Israel is limited and is allocated by the Ministry of
Communications through a licensing process. We have been allocated 2x10 MHz in
the 850 MHz frequency band used by our TDMA network and since 2008, 2x5 MHz of
which are used by our UMTS/HSPA 850 MHz base stations, deployed for coverage
improvement , and 2x17 MHz in the 1800 MHz frequency band used by our
GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. In addition, the Ministry of Communications
awarded us 2 x 10 MHz and 1 x 5 MHz in the 1900 - 2200 MHz frequency band for
our UMTS third generation FDD and TDD spectrums, respectively. In December 2008,
we returned the TDD spectrum to the Ministry of Communications,
after not being able to use that spectrum since it was awarded to us
in 2004, due to unavailability of supporting equipment. We believe
that our available spectrum is sufficient for our current needs. However, in
light of the growing demand for data consumption, we will likely be required to
purchase additional spectrum in the future.
Cell
site construction and licensing
We
construct cell sites based on our strategy to expand the geographical coverage
and improve the quality of our network and as necessary to replace cell sites
that need to be removed. Our acquisition teams survey the area in order to
identify the optimal location for the construction of a cell site. In
urban areas, this would normally be building rooftops. In rural
areas, masts are usually constructed. Our transmission teams also identify the
best means of connecting the base station to our network, based on our
independent transmission network, either by physical optical fiber, microwave
link or Bezeq landlines. Once a preferred site has been identified and the exact
equipment configuration for that site decided, we begin the process of obtaining
all necessary consents and permits. The construction of cell sites requires
building permits from local or regional authorities, or an applicable exemption,
as well
as a number of additional permits from governmental and regulatory authorities,
such as construction and operating permits from the Ministry of Environmental
Protection in all cases, permits from the Civil Aviation Authority in most cases
and permits from the Israeli Defense Forces in some cases. In special
circumstances, additional licenses are required. See “Item 4. Information on the
Company – B. Business Overview – Government Regulations—Permits for Cell Site
Construction.”
Suppliers
We
entered into an agreement with LM Ericsson Israel Ltd., or Ericsson Israel, in
September 2005 for the purchase of UMTS radio access network and ancillary
products and services. We committed to purchase maintenance services
for five years from the launch of the system (until 2011). We have an
option to purchase additional maintenance services on an annual basis for 20
years from the launch of the system (until 2026). We also agreed to
purchase from Ericsson at least 60% of the 3G cell sites that we purchase by
September 2010. Under the agreement, the parties generally have
limited liability for direct damages of up to 40% of the value of the
agreement.
We
entered into an agreement with Nokia Israel Communications Ltd., or Nokia
Israel, in July 2001 for the purchase of our GSM/GPRS system. We were also
granted an option to purchase GSM 800, EDGE, UMTS and ancillary systems. In
2002, we exercised our option to purchase an EDGE system, and in 2005, we
purchased a UMTS core system, under similar terms. Nokia Israel is
obligated to offer us maintenance services for 15 years from final acceptance
(until 2017). Under the agreement, the parties generally have limited
liability for direct damages of up to 10% of the value of the
agreement.
We
use Telcordia’s
intelligent platform, or “IN,” to provide
services to our TDMA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS networks, allowing us, at minimal
cost, to internally develop sophisticated services with a short time-to-market
that are customized to local market requirements. We have also
deployed Comverse’s Intelligent Peripheral, which enables us to develop services
with rich voice interaction, such as Caller Name Announcement, Call Back and Fun
Dial. Our IN platform supports all relevant IN protocols, which
allows us to provide (subject to applicable roaming agreements) advanced roaming
services, including Virtual Home Environment, abbreviated dialing, unified
access to voice mail, VPN, local number format from subscribers’ phone book and
call screening.
In
addition, we have agreements with several Israeli engineering companies for the
construction of our cell sites. We also purchase certain network components from
other suppliers.
Transmission
Network
Our
transmission network provides us with landline connectivity for our cellular and
landline network in substantially all of the populated territory of
Israel. It is based on our fiber-optic network and complementary
microwave infrastructure. Our transmission network includes links to
our internal network and to our landline and transmission
subscribers.
Our
optical transmission network is deployed from Nahariya in the north to Beer
Sheva in the south and Afula and Jerusalem in the east, consisting of
approximately 1,500 kilometers. The fiber-optic network reaches most
of the business parks in the country and is monitored by a fault-management
system that performs real-time monitoring in order to
enable us
to provide our subscribers with high quality service. In order to efficiently
complete our transmission network’s coverage to substantially the entire
country, we use a microwave network as a complementary solution in those areas
that are not served by our fiber-optic network. As of December 31,
2009, we had deployed approximately 2,700 microwave links to both our cell sites
and subscribers.
To
supplement our transmission network, we lease a limited amount of transmission
capacity from Bezeq, the incumbent landline operator.
Information
technology
We
maintain a variety of information systems that enable us to deliver superior
customer service while enhancing our internal processes.
We use
Amdocs’ customer care and billing system. We entered into our
agreement with Amdocs (UK) Limited, or Amdocs UK, in February 1999 for the
supply of a central computer system for customer care, billing and collection
capable of generating customer profiles based on various usage
patterns. This system is based on Amdocs UK’s generic pricing system
and is customized to our specific requirements. We own the
intellectual property rights for the customized developments. We currently
purchase maintenance services for the generic system from Amdocs UK and ongoing
support services from its affiliate, Amdocs (Israel) Limited. Amdocs (UK) is
obligated to offer us maintenance services until May 2011. Under the agreement,
the parties’ current liability for direct damages is generally limited to
$500,000.
We use
Nortel’s CTI system for the management of incoming calls to our telephonic call
centers.
Our
customer care system presents our customer care employees with a display of a
subscriber’s profile based on various usage patterns. This enables us to provide
a service based upon information for that particular subscriber.
We use
ERP solutions by SAP. We use a data warehouse based on an Oracle data base
system and various data mining tools, ETL by Informatica and reports generated
by Cognos. The data warehouse contains data on our subscribers’ usage and allows
for various analytical segmentation of the data.
Sales
and Marketing
Sales
As part
of our strategy to fully penetrate every part of the Israeli market, we are
committed to making the purchase of our services as easy and as accessible as
possible. We offer calling plans, value-added services, end user
equipment, accessories and related services through a broad network of direct
and indirect sales personnel. We pay our independent dealers commissions on
sales, while our direct, employee sales personnel, receive base salaries plus
performance-based incentives. We focus on subscriber needs and conduct extensive
market surveys in order to identify subscribers’ preferences and
trends. Based on these findings, we design special calling plans and
promotional campaigns aimed at attracting new subscribers and enhancing our
ability to provide new services to existing subscribers. From
time to time, we offer our subscribers rebates and other benefits for handset
purchases. All of our, and our dealers', sales and other customer-facing stuff,
go through extensive
training
prior to commencing their work. Our distribution and
sales efforts for subscribers are conducted primarily through five
channels:
Points of sale. We
distribute our products and services through a broad network of physical points
of sale providing us with nationwide coverage of our existing and potential
subscriber base.
We
operate directly, using our sales force and service personnel, in approximately
30 physical points of sale and service, mostly located in shopping centers and
other frequently visited locations to provide our subscribers with easy and
convenient access to our products and services. We record approximately 250,000
subscriber applications per month in our direct points of sale and
service.
We also
distribute our products and services indirectly through a chain of dozens of
dealers who operate in approximately 120points of sale throughout Israel. Our
dealers are compensated for each sale based on qualitative and quantitative
measures. We closely monitor the quality of service provided to our subscribers
by our dealers. In our efforts to penetrate certain sectors of our potential
subscriber base, we select dealers with proven expertise in marketing to such
sectors.
Telephonic
sales. Telephonic sales efforts target existing and potential
subscribers who are interested in buying or upgrading handsets and services. Our
sales representatives (both in-house and outsourced) offer our customers a
variety of products and services, both in proactive and reactive
interactions.
Door-to-door
sales. The door-to-door sales team target the door-to-door
subscribers based on market surveys that we regularly conduct and database
analysis. All information derived from our market surveys is uploaded into a
database. Once a potential customer is identified, we contact the potential
customer and schedule a meeting with a member of our door-to-door sales
team.
Account
managers. Our direct sales force for our business customers
maintains regular, personal contact with our large accounts, focusing on sales,
customer retention and tailor-made solutions for the specific needs of such
customers, including advanced data services.
Internet Shop – Launched in
2009, our new website includes four "zones": Shop - a virtual shop allowing easy
purchase of various products and services; Offers - special offers, discounts
and loyalty rewards; Content - our content services, including music, games,
video clips etc. and a Service zone. Our new website also includes three
additional designated websites: sites in Arabic and in Russian featuring the
content and service zones and a site for our business customers.
Marketing
Our
marketing activities are based on the principle of focusing on subscribers’
characteristics and needs and then adapting the service packages and prices that
we offer to subscribers based on these characteristics and needs.
From
surveys that we conduct from time to time, we learn that subscribers base their
choice of cellular provider primarily on the following parameters: general brand
perception; perceived price of services and handsets; level of customer service;
and selection of handsets and their compatibility with their needs. Our
marketing activities take into consideration
these
parameters and we invest efforts to preserve our subscriber base, enhance usage
and attract new subscribers. We utilize a system that allows the
management of complex one-to-one marketing campaigns, such as tailoring our
marketing activities to customers based on their unique profile of needs and
usage patterns, thus improving customer loyalty and increasing
ARPU.
Our
marketing strategy is focused on our role as facilitators of interpersonal
communication and our ability to foster relationships between people, as well as
a general spirit of youthful exuberance and the strong local roots of our
brand. We launched a highly successful branding campaign at the end
of 2004 and continue to follow this marketing strategy. Our marketing strategy
also emphasizes our leadership, dynamic nature and personal touch, the quality
of our network and services and our innovation.
In
recruiting new subscribers, we are focused on current and potential high value
customers, such as students, and subscribers who influence family and business
purchasing decisions, such as senior executives. We leverage our extensive
interactions with our customers, which we estimate to be approximately 650,000
unique customer applications per month, to provide the requested services and
also to cross- and up-sell products and services according to customer needs and
usage trends, mostly by using advanced CRM models, to increase customer
satisfaction, loyalty and revenues. In addition, we offer loyalty
rewards, such as video subscriptions and tickets to concerts, performances and
movies, from time to time.
We
regularly advertise in all forms of media, in promotional campaigns and in the
sponsorship of major entertainment events. Our marketing and branding campaign
has been very successful and highly acclaimed among the Israeli public, and our
“Cellcom Media” initiative in particular has provided us with a high visibility
association with mobile content services.
We
believe that our strong brand recognition gives us the high level of market
exposure required to help us achieve our business objectives.
Customer
Care
Our
customer service unit is our main channel for preserving the long-term
relationship with our subscribers. We focus on customer retention through the
provision of quality service and customer care. In order to achieve this goal,
we systematically monitor and analyze our subscribers’ preferences,
characteristics and trends by developing and analyzing sophisticated databases.
We then adopt services that are aimed to respond to subscribers’ needs and
preferences. In addition, subscribers are encouraged to subscribe to additional
value-added services, such as cellular Internet and content services, in order
to enhance customer satisfaction and increase ARPU. We continually strive to
improve our service to our customers. Our customer care representatives receive
extensive training before they begin providing service and thereafter regularly
undergo training and review of their performance. We continuously invest in
improving our training process. We provide our customer care representatives
with a continually updated database, thus shortening the interaction time
required to satisfy the customer’s needs and preventing human errors and closely
monitor the service provided by them, in order to assure its quality. We
constantly review our performance by reviewing customers applications and
conducting surveys among our subscribers in order to ensure their satisfaction
with our services and to improve them as necessary. In addition, we constantly
apply preventive and preemptive measures aimed at
reducing
churn, which has somewhat increased, in line with other countries experience,
following number portability application in December 2007 and increased
competition in the cellular market. In 2009, the Israeli "Public Trust"
organization report stated that we provide the best quality of customer care in
the Israeli cellular market and that we received the lowest number of customer
complaints although we have the highest number of subscribers in the Israeli
cellular market. The 2009 Israeli Consumers Council, the largest consumers
organization in Israel, report, published in January 2010, stated that although
the number of cellular customer complaints increased substantially, our number
of customer complaints was the lowest.
In order
to better respond to subscribers’ needs in the most efficient manner, our
customer support and service network offers several channels for our
subscribers:
Call centers. In
order to provide quick and efficient responses to the different needs of our
various subscribers, our call-center services are divided into several
sub-centers: general services; finance; network; international roaming; and data
transfer. The call center services are provided in four languages: Hebrew,
Arabic, English and Russian. We regularly monitor the performance of our call
centers. We currently operate call centers in twelve locations throughout
Israel, two of which are outsourced. On average, we respond to 1 million calls
every month. During peak hours our call centers have the capability to respond
to 800 customer calls simultaneously.
Walk-in
centers. As of December 31, 2009, we independently operated
approximately 30 service and sales centers with approximately 110 additional
sale and service points operated by our dealers, covering almost all the
populated areas of Israel. These centers provide a walk-in contact channel and
offer the entire spectrum of products and services that we provide to our
subscribers and potential subscribers (the majority of which are provided in our
dealers' sale and service points as well), including handsets and accessories
sales, upgrades and other services, such as finance, calling-plan changes and
subscriptions to new services. These stores are mostly located in central
locations, such as popular shopping malls. Our walk-in centers also provide our
subscribers with repair services, performed by highly skilled technicians. In
2008 we introduced several efficiency measures to our repair services process
(and continued rolling out these measures during 2009), aimed at improving its
quality and reducing its costs, primarily given the higher costs of repairing 3G
handsets which are more complex and expensive. The measures included repair by
advanced regional labs instead of the on-site labs and allowed concentration of
the technical services in specialist teams and management of the
related inventory in fewer locations. Consequently, as of December 31, 2009,
approximately 70% of our centers were converted to offer a 48 hours repair
service, while our other centers offer onsite express repair services where the
subscriber deposits a handset with our repair lab and receives the repaired
handset, on average, within one hour. We intend to continue extending these
measures to other centers. Our subscribers may borrow a substitute handset, free
of charge, in order to continue to enjoy our cellular phone services as their
handset is being repaired.
Self-services. We
provide our subscribers and potential subscribers with various self-service
channels, such as interactive voice response, or IVR, web-based services and
service using SMS. These channels provide general and specific information,
including calling plans, account balance, billing-related information and
roaming
tariffs.
They also provide subscribers information regarding trouble shooting and
handset-operation, and enable subscribers to activate and deactivate services
and to download content. In 2009 we launched our new and improved website, which
also includes information on our various services, products, the monthly
statement etc. Our new website further includes three additional designated
service sites: in Arabic, in Russian and a site for our business
customers.
Our
business sales force and back office personnel also provide customer care to our
business customers. We offer our business customers repair services by a
dispatch service collecting and returning the repaired handset within 48 hours,
during which time, the customer is provided with a substitute handset, free of
charge.
All of
our service channels are monitored and analyzed regularly in order to assure the
quality of our services and to identify areas where we can improve.
Be’eri
Printers provides our printing supplies and invoices as well as the
distribution, packaging and delivery of invoices and other mail to the postal
service distribution centers. We entered into an agreement with
Be’eri Printers - Limited Partnership and with Be’eri Technologies (1977) Ltd.,
or together Be’eri, for printing services in August 2003. Under the
terms of the agreement, we committed to purchase from Be’eri a minimum monthly
quantity of production and distribution services which may be reduced if we
modify our printed invoice delivery policy. The agreement is valid
until December 2010.
Competition
There is
substantial competition in all aspects of the cellular communications market in
Israel and we expect this to continue in the future due to the highly penetrated
state of our market and the expected entry of additional competitors. We compete
for market and revenue share with three other cellular communication operators:
Partner ; Pelephone, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the incumbent
landline provider, Bezeq; and MIRS.. For recent acquisitions in the Israeli
communication market See "Item 4. Information on The Company - Business Overview
- The Telecommunications Industry in Israel - Cellular Services".
Our
estimated market share based on number of subscribers was approximately 34.6% as
of December 31, 2009. To our knowledge, the market shares at such time of
Partner, Pelephone (assuming no material changes in the fourth quarter, since
Pelephone did not yet publish its year-end figures) and MIRS were estimated to
be approximately 32%, 28.9% and 4.5%, respectively. Since MIRS does
not publish data on its number of subscribers, estimates of its market share are
based on surveys.
The
competition in our market has further increased following the launch of
Pelephone's UMTS/HSPA network in 2009. Competition may intensify further
following the recent acquisitions in the Israeli communications market which may
lead to new initiatives and combinations of services. New communication groups,
such as the Mirs – Hot group, if and when Mirs' acquisition is completed, will
allow some of the players to offer quadruple and even quintuple service bundles
to existing customers in each of their previously separated platforms as well as
new customers, and as for the Mirs – Hot combination, more so once (and if) Mirs
upgrades its network to UMTS. The Mirs upgrade and/ or the entry of additional
cellular operators and - subject to the design and grant of an appropriate form
of license by the regulator, and agreement with cellular providers –
MVNOs, into the market, will further intensify competition in the
market. We may also face competition in the future from other
providers
of voice and data communications, including service providers that may offer
WiMAX, WiFi and/or VOBoC.
We
believe that the principal competitive factors include general brand perception,
perceived price, customer service and handset selection. In addition, content,
data and other value-added services constitute a potential growth engine for
increasing revenues from subscribers and are also an important factor in
selecting a cellular provider.
In the
content provision market, we recently compete also with international media
providers and handsets manufacturers, such as Apple, Google and Nokia, who have
opened their own content enabling stores and are changing the traditional role
of the cellular operator from the content provider into one of many content
providers, competing to provide content to the operator's subscribers. The Open
Garden international trend is facilitated by technological changes allowing high
speed internet surfing and supporting handsets and is gradually changing
customers' consumption habits from surfing and downloading content mainly
through the cellular operator's portal, to an off-portal surfing and content
downloading as well as growing demand for internet surfing and content in
general. Expansion of this trend, known as the "Open Garden", will enlarge the
content market but will further increase competition in the content provision
arena. Expansion of arrangements introduced by Apple, in which subscribers using
an Apple handset can only purchase content through the Apple store, could
adversely affect our content revenues.
In
response to the enhanced competition in our market, we have implemented various
steps and strategies, including:
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marketing
and branding campaigns aimed at enhancing market leadership, perceived
value, brand recognition and loyalty among our existing and potential
subscriber base;
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investing
significant resources in improving customer service and retention, as well
as supporting information technology
systems;
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introducing
innovative value-added services and identifying popular niches among
various subscriber groups;
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investing
in improving our network technology to ensure our ability to offer quality
services and advanced services, both cellular and landline
services;
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using
innovative sales campaigns for attracting new subscribers by offering
subsidies on handsets to new subscribers ;
and
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offering
attractive calling plans to subscribers, adapted to their needs and
preferences;
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identifying
new opportunities to maximize our advantages as an operator, in order to
expand our share in the "Open Garden" market
place.
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Our
ability to compete successfully will depend, in part, on our ability to
anticipate and respond to trends and events affecting the industry, including:
the introduction of new services and technologies, changes in consumer
preferences, demographic trends, economic conditions, pricing strategies of
competitors and changes to the legal and regulatory environment. We
believe that we are well positioned for the competition in our
market.
In August
2008, the Ministry of Communications adopted the majority of the recommendations
published in March 2008 by a public committee appointed by the Ministry of
Communications to review various issues in the Israeli communications market.
The recommendations adopted include recommendations: to accelerate the
procedures necessary to allow the entry of MVNOs and additional infrastructure
based operators to the cellular market; to publish a WiMAX frequencies tender
for cellular use; to examine interconnect fees and further revise them
accordingly, during 2009; to negotiate a reduction of inbound and outbound
roaming tariffs with the European Union and/or members of the European Union
and/or countries frequently visited by Israelis; to regulate charges for
cellular-originated international calls; and unbundling of Bezeq's network to be
followed by alleviating some of the restrictions with respect to offering
integrated packages of services currently imposed on Bezeq and its subsidiaries.
Also, in August 2008, the Israeli Government adopted resolutions in line with
the recommendations concerning MVNO, roaming tariffs and interconnect fees, as
well as a resolution directing the Ministry of Communication to examine ways to
encourage the entry into the cellular market of additional operators, including
by providing certain relieves and incentives. In October 2009, the Ministry of
Communications published the general principles for an additional UMTS spectrum
tender, expected to be published in 2010, as decided upon by the tender
committee, comprising of Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Finance
representatives. According to the principles published, which the Ministry of
Communications noted may still change, the tender will include additional UMTS
spectrum for two additional UMTS operators; participation will be allowed for
new operators and MIRS; and the winners shall be awarded certain benefits and
leniencies (not available to other existing operators, such as us) such as
discounts in spectrum fees and a five year exemption from royalties payment,
rebates on spectrum allocation fees and license fees; additional means to
facilitate their entry are under consideration, such as regulatory change
allowing national roaming and/or regulating compulsory cell site sharing. The
Ministry of Communications is expected to conduct a hearing on these regulatory
changes in the near future. The implementation of the recommendations adopted is
expected to further increase competition in the market and could adversely
influence our results of operations. Following the change to cellular originated
international calls charging mechanism and the entry of MVNO operators,
including International Landline Operators, or ILDs, to the cellular market, the
Ministry of Communications is expected to change current regulation to allow
cellular operators to hold ILDs. Such change will allow us to pursue a business
combination with Netvision, an IDB affiliate, if we so agree with Netvision and
subject to, among others, the requisite regulatory and corporate approvals. For
developments regarding MVNO see "Government Regulation – Mobile Virtual Network
Operator"; For developments regarding interconnect fees and regulating charges
for cellular originated international calls see "Government Regulation – Tariff
Supervision".
Intellectual
Property
We are a
member of the GSM Association, together with other worldwide operators that use
GSM technology. As a member of the association, we are entitled to use its
intellectual property rights, including the GSM logo and trademark.
We have
registered approximately 20 domain names and approximately 120 trademarks and
several trade names, the most important of which are the star design, “Cellcom”,
“Talkman” and “Cellcom Volume”. We are also the proprietor of a few registered
patents and patent applications.
Government
Regulations
The
following is a description of various regulatory matters which are material to
our operations, including certain future legislative initiatives which are in
the process of being enacted. There is no certainty that the future
legislation described here will be enacted or whether it will be subject to
further change before its final enactment.
General
A
significant part of our operations is regulated by the Israeli Communications
Law, 1982, the regulations promulgated under the Communications Law and the
provisions of our licenses, which were granted by the Israeli Ministry of
Communications pursuant to the Communications Law. We are required by
law to have a general license in order to provide cellular communications
services in Israel. The Ministry of Communications has broad supervisory powers
in connection with the operations of license holders and is authorized, among
other things, to impose financial penalties for violations of the Communications
Law, the regulations and our licenses.
Our
Principal License
The
establishment and operation of a cellular communications network requires a
license pursuant to the Communications Law for telecommunications operations and
services and pursuant to the Israeli Wireless Telegraph Ordinance (New Version),
1972, for the allocation of spectrum and installation and operation of a
cellular network.
We
provide our cellular services under a non-exclusive general license granted to
us by the Ministry of Communications in June 1994, which requires us to provide
cellular services in the State of Israel to anyone wishing to
subscribe. The license expires on January 31, 2022, but may be
extended by the Ministry of Communications for successive periods of six years,
provided that we have complied with the license and applicable law, have
continuously invested in the improvement of our service and network and have
demonstrated the ability to continue to do so in the future. The main
provisions of the license are as follows:
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The
license may be modified, cancelled, conditioned or restricted by the
Ministry of Communications in certain instances, including: if required to
ensure the level of services we provide; if a breach of a material term of
the license occurs; if DIC (or a transferee or transferees, if approved by
the Ministry of Communications), in its capacity as our founding
shareholder, holds, directly or indirectly, less than 26% of our means of
control; if our founding shareholders who are Israeli citizens and
residents hold, directly or indirectly, less than 20% of our
means of control (DIC, as founding shareholder, has undertaken to comply
with this condition); if at least 20% of our directors are not appointed
by Israeli citizens and residents from among our founding shareholders or
if less than a majority of our directors are Israeli citizens and
residents; if any of our managers or directors is convicted of a crime of
moral turpitude and continues to serve; if we commit an act or omission
that adversely affects or limits competition in the cellular
communications market; or if we and our 10% or greater shareholders fail
to maintain combined shareholders’ equity of at least $200
million. For the purpose of the license, “means of control” is
defined as voting rights, the right
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to
appoint a director or general manager, the right to participate in
distributions, or the right to participate in distributions upon
liquidation; |
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It
is prohibited to acquire (alone or together with relatives or with other
parties who collaborate on a regular basis) or transfer our shares,
directly or indirectly (including by way of creating a pledge which if
foreclosed, will result in the transfer of shares), in one transaction or
a series of transactions, if such acquisition or transfer will result in a
holding or transfer of 10% or more of any of our means of control, or to
transfer any of our means of control if as a result of such transfer,
control over our company will be transferred from one party to another,
without the prior approval of the Ministry of
Communications. For the purpose of the license, “control” is
defined as the direct or indirect ability to direct our operations whether
this ability arises from our articles of association, from written or oral
agreement or from holding any means of control or otherwise, other than
from holding the position of director or
officer;
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It
is prohibited for any of our office holders or anyone holding more than 5%
of our means of control, to hold, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of
the means of control in Bezeq or another cellular operator in Israel, or,
for any of the foregoing to serve as an office holder of one of our
competitors, subject to certain exceptions requiring the prior approval of
the Ministry of Communications;
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We,
our office holders or interested parties may not be parties to any
arrangement whatsoever with Bezeq or another cellular operator that is
intended or is likely to restrict or harm competition in the field of
cellular services, cellular handsets or other cellular
services. For the purpose of the license, an “interested party”
is defined as a 5% or greater holder of any means of
control;
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We
are subject to the guidelines of Israel’s General Security Services, which
may include requirements that certain office holders and holders of
certain other positions be Israeli citizens and residents with security
clearance. For example, our Board of Directors is required to appoint a
committee to deal with matters concerning state security. Only directors
who have the requisite security clearance by Israel’s General Security
Services may be members of this committee. In addition, the
Minister of Communications is entitled under our license to appoint a
state employee with security clearance to act as an observer in all
meetings of our Board of Directors and its
committees;
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During
the entire period of operation under the license, we are required to have
agreements with a manufacturer of cellular network equipment which must
include, among other things, a know-how agreement and an agreement
guaranteeing the supply of spare parts for our network equipment for a
period of at least seven years;
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We
are required to interconnect our network to other public
telecommunications networks in Israel, on equal terms and without
discrimination, in order to enable subscribers of all operators to
communicate with one another;
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We
may not give preference in providing infrastructure services to a license
holder that is an affiliated company over other license holders, whether
in payment for services, conditions or availability of services or in any
other manner, other than in specific circumstances and subject to the
approval of the Ministry of
Communications;
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The
license sets forth the general types of payments that we may collect from
our subscribers, the general mechanisms for setting tariffs, providing
cellular services related benefits, limitations on raising tariffs (for
non-business subscribers under obligation to purchase our services for a
predefined period, during such period), and on the duration of a
non-business subscriber's obligation to purchase our services, the reports
that we must submit to the Ministry of Communications and the obligation
to provide notice to our customers and the Ministry of Communications
prior to changing tariffs. The Ministry of Communications is authorized to
intervene in setting tariffs in certain
instances;
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The
license requires us to maintain a minimum standard of customer service,
including, among other things, establishing call centers and service
centers, maintaining a certain service level of our network, collecting
payments pursuant to a certain procedure, protecting the privacy of
subscribers and obtaining an explicit request from our subscribers to
provide services, whether by us or by third parties, as a precondition to
providing and charging for such
services;
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The
license or any part thereof may not be transferred, pledged or encumbered
without the prior approval of the Ministry of Communications. The license
also sets forth restrictions on the sale, lease or pledge of any assets
used for implementing the license;
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We
are required to obtain insurance coverage for our cellular
activities. In addition, the license imposes statutory
liability for any loss or damage caused to a third party as a result of
establishing, sustaining, maintaining or operating our cellular network.
We have further undertaken to indemnify the State of Israel for any
monetary obligation imposed on the State of Israel in the event of such
loss or damage. For the purpose of guaranteeing our obligations
under the license, we have deposited a bank guarantee in the amount of $10
million with the Ministry of Communications, which may be forfeited in the
event that we violate the terms of our
license.
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In 2005,
our license was amended to regulate charging for SMS messages sent outside our
network, which, under a certain interpretation of the amendment, may lead to
claims of our not being in compliance with our license. To date, we have
fulfilled the license requirements with respect to substantially all SMS
messages sent outside out network. However, due to technological
difficulties which have not yet been resolved, we may face claims, if such
interpretation of the amendment prevails, of having been late in implementing
this amendment with respect to all such SMS messages. We had notified
the Ministry of Communications of our technological inability to fully implement
the amendment, in light of this interpretation. The Ministry of
Communications had proposed an amendment to our license to resolve this problem,
which we believe is unsatisfactory.
In the
event that we violate the terms of our license, we may be subject to substantial
penalties, including monetary sanctions. In 2007, the Communications
Law was amended to include an increase in the financial sanctions
that may be imposed on us by the Ministry of Communications for a breach of our
licenses. Following the increase, the maximum amount per violation
that may be imposed is NIS 1.4 million plus 0.25% of our annual revenue for the
preceding year. An additional sanction amounting to 2% of the original sanction
may be imposed for each day that the violation continues. In addition, the
Ministry of Communications may determine certain service-related terms in our
license as “service terms”; the maximum monetary sanctions per violation of a
“service term” shall be double the amount of any other monetary sanction set in
our license for such a violation per each period of 30 days or portion thereof
during which the violation continues.
Other
Licenses
Special
general license for the provision of landline communication
services
In April
2006, Cellcom Fixed Line Communications L.P., or Cellcom Fixed Line, a limited
partnership wholly-owned by us, was granted a non-exclusive special general
license for the provision of landline telephone communication services. The
license expires in 2026 but may be extended by the Ministry of Communications
for successive periods of 10 years. We began providing landline
telephone services in July 2006, concentrating on offering landline telephone
services to selected businesses. The partnership deposited a bank guarantee in
the amount of NIS 10 million with the Ministry of Communications upon receiving
the license. The provisions of our general license described above,
including as to its extension, generally apply to this license, subject to
certain modifications. It should be noted that in addition to any 10%
share transfer requiring the prior approval of the Ministry of Communications as
noted in our general license, the special general license additionally requires
prior approval for acquiring the ability to effect a significant influence over
us. In this context, holding 25% of our means of control is presumed
to confer significant influence.
In
December 2007 this license was amended to include the provision of voice
services over the internet broadband infrastructure of other operators (VOB), as
well. This amendment will enable us to penetrate the residential sector as well,
should we choose to do so.
Data
and transmission license
In 2000,
we were granted a non-exclusive special license for the provision of local data
communication services and high-speed transmission services, which is effective
until December 2012. Following the grant of a special general license
for the provision of landline telephone communication services to Cellcom Fixed
Line, which also includes the services previously provided through our data and
transmission license, our data and transmission license was amended in June 2006
to permit only Cellcom Fixed Line to be our customer of these services (and
these services are now being provided to our customers through Cellcom Fixed
Line). The provisions of our general and general specific licenses described
above, including as to their extension, generally apply to this license, subject
to certain modifications.
Cellular
services in Judea and Samaria
The
Israeli Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria granted us a non-exclusive
license for the provision of cellular services to the Israeli-populated areas in
Judea and Samaria. This license is effective until December 31, 2011.
The provisions of the general
license
described above, including as to its extension, generally apply to this license,
subject to certain modifications.
Internet
Service Provider license
In
December 2001, we were granted a non-exclusive special internet services
provider, or ISP license for the provision of internet access services. The
license expires in 2013 but may be extended by the Ministry of Communications
for successive periods of five years. The provisions regarding the transfer of
our shares which are included in the special general license for the provision
of landline communication services described above, generally apply to this
license.
Tariff
Supervision
Under the
Israeli Communications Regulations (Telecommunications and Broadcasting)
(Payment for Interconnecting), 2000, interconnect tariffs among landline
operators, international call operators and cellular operators are subject to
regulation and have been gradually decreased. The current maximum tariffs are in
effect as of March 1, 2008, except for the maximum interconnect tariff payable
by a cellular operator for sending an SMS message to another cellular network,
which is in effect as of March 2006.
Following
the Israeli Government resolutions adopted in August 2008 to examine and revise
interconnect fees, the Ministry of Communications is examining interconnect fees
to cellular operators and is expected to conduct a hearing on the matter in the
near future, after it receives the recommendations of an international
consulting company appointed for that purpose by the Ministry of Communications.
A public committee is expected to review interconnect tariffs to land line
operators, among other issues relating to the land line market, during
2010.
The
gradual reduction of interconnect tariffs from March 2005 to March 2008 by the
Ministry of Communications, led to a decrease in our revenues. Any additional
reduction, if decided upon, is expected to have an additional adverse effect on
our results of operations, the materiality of which will depend on the level of
reduction and our ability to compensate for lost revenues. Further, following
the recent Ministry of Communications decision to change the pricing mechanism
of cellular-originated international calls, effective June 30, 2010, to be
priced by the ILD operator, whereby the cellular operator will be entitled only
to interconnect fees, any reduction of interconnect tariffs could have an
adverse effect on our revenues from cellular originated-international calls as
well.
Under
these regulations and our license, commencing January 1, 2009, our basic airtime
charging units, including for interconnect purposes, was changed from
twelve-second units to one-second units. Our general license also prevents us
from offering our subscribers calling plans using airtime charging units other
than the basic airtime charging unit.
In
October 2008, the Ministry of Communications amended our license in a manner
that obligates us, commencing December 31, 2008, to set a fixed tariff for
non-business subscribers under obligation to purchase our services for a
predefined period, during that period, thus limiting our ability to raise
tariffs to such subscribers.
In 2008,
the Consumer Protection Law was amended in a manner that obligates us,
commencing January 2009, to terminate certain services (excluding voice
services) we
provide
to our subscribers during a predefined period, at the end of that period, unless
the price for the services to be provided after the end of the predefined period
has been set in advance or we have received the subscriber’s affirmative consent
to continue and provide these services.
In July
2009, the Ministry of Communications amended our license, effective November 1,
2009, in a manner that prohibits any linkage between a cellular services
transaction and a handset purchase transaction, thus requiring us to offer any
cellular services-related benefits offered to a customer purchasing a handset
from us to any customer who purchased the handset elsewhere.
In June
2007, the European Union adopted a resolution to reduce and regulate roaming
tariffs. In August 2008, the Israeli Government adopted a resolution
to negotiate a reduction of inbound and outbound roaming tariffs with the
European Union and/or members of the European Union or countries frequently
visited by Israelis. In November 2008 the Ministry of Communications issued a
supplemental request for information, following its request in 2007, requesting
us to provide information in relation to our roaming services. The requests for
information were made in order to evaluate the need for intervention in roaming
tariffs. If the Ministry of Communications decides to intervene in
the pricing of roaming services, this could reduce the revenues we derive from
our roaming services.
In
January 2010, the Ministry of Communications issued a request for information,
in order to evaluate the implications of requiring cellular, landline and ILD
operators, to offer "limited credit" services to their post-paid customers. In
February 2010, a proposed amendment to the Communications Law, requiring
cellular operators to provide such "limited credit" services, passed the
preliminary phase of enactment in the Israeli parliament. If this requirement is
implemented, we will be required to limit post-paid customers usage of our
services to their choice of "credit limit" which may adversely affect our
revenues and will require us, among others, to make substantial investments in
the adaptations of our IT systems, including our billing system.
Permits
for Cell Site Construction
General
In order
to provide and improve network coverage to our subscribers, we depend on cell
sites located throughout Israel. The regulation of cell site
construction and operation are primarily set forth in the Israeli National
Zoning Plan 36 for Communications, which was published in May
2002. The construction of radio access devices, which are cell sites
of smaller dimensions, is further regulated in the Communications
Law.
The
construction and operation of cell sites are subject to permits from various
government entities and related bodies, including:
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building
permits from the local planning and building committee or the local
licensing authority (if no exemption is
available);
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approvals
for construction and operation from the Commissioner of Environmental
Radiation of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection;
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permits
from the Civil Aviation Authority (in most
cases);
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permits
from the Israel Defense Forces (in certain cases);
and
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other
specific permits necessary where applicable, such as for cell sites on
water towers or agricultural land.
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In
February 2010, the Israeli Ministry of Interior published a memorandum of a new
Planning and Building bill, intended to replace the existing Planning and
Building law. If the bill would be enacted, it may have an effect, among others,
on current permits for our cell sites, the procedures to receive building
permits for our cell sites and the scope of our indemnification obligations. In
this preliminary stage, we cannot estimate what are the chances of its enactment
and what would be its effects, if so enacted, on our network and network
build-out.
National
Zoning Plan 36
National
Zoning Plan 36 includes guidelines for constructing cell sites in order to
provide cellular broadcasting and reception communications coverage throughout
Israel, while preventing radiation hazards and minimizing damage to the
environment and landscape. The purpose of these guidelines is to simplify and
streamline the process of cell site construction by creating a uniform framework
for handling building permits.
National
Zoning Plan 36 sets forth the considerations that the planning and building
authorities should take into account when issuing building permits for cell
sites. These considerations include the satisfaction of safety standards meant
to protect the public’s health from non-ionizing radiation emitting from cell
sites, minimizing damage to the landscape and examining the effects of cell
sites on their physical surroundings. National Zoning Plan 36 also
determines instances in which building and planning committees are obligated to
inform the public of requests for building permits prior to their issuance, so
that they may submit objections to the construction of a site in accordance with
the provisions of the Planning and Building Law.
See “Item
4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview - Government Regulations -
Site licensing” below for arguments against the application of
National Zoning Plan 36 to certain cell sites.
However,
National Zoning Plan 36 is in the process of being revised. Current proposed
changes will impose additional restrictions and/or requirements on the
construction and operation of cell sites and will, if approved by the
National Council for Planning and Building and thereafter by the Government of
Israel, harm our ability to construct new cell sites, make the process of
obtaining building permits for the construction and operation of cell sites more
cumbersome and costly, could adversely affect our existing
network and may delay the future deployment of our network. The
National Council is expected to deliberate on the subject in the first half of
2010.
Site
licensing
We have
experienced difficulties in obtaining some of the permits and consents required
for the construction of cell sites, especially from local planning and building
authorities. The construction of a cell site without a building permit (or
applicable exemption) constitutes a violation of the Planning and Building Law.
Violations of the Planning and Building Law are criminal in
nature. The Planning and Building Law contains enforcement provisions
to ensure the removal of unlawful sites. There have been instances in
which we
received
demolition orders or in which we and certain of our directors, officers and
employees faced criminal charges in connection with cell sites constructed
and/or used without the relevant permits or not in accordance with the permits.
In most of these cases, we were successful in preventing or delaying the
demolition of these sites, through arrangements with the local municipalities or
planning and building authorities for obtaining the permit, or in other cases,
by relocating to alternate sites. As of December 31, 2009, we were subject to 22
criminal and administrative legal proceedings alleging that some of our cell
sites were built and/or have been used without the relevant permits or not in
accordance with the permits. As of the same date, a small portion of our cell
sites operated without building permits or applicable exemptions. Although we
are in the process of seeking to obtain building permits or modify our cell
sites in order to satisfy applicable exemptions for a portion of these sites, we
may not be able to obtain or modify them and in several instances we may be
required to relocate these sites to alternative locations or to demolish them
without any suitable alternative. In addition, we may be operating a
significant number of our cell sites, in a manner which is
not fully compatible with the building permits issued for them, although they
are covered by permits from the Ministry of Environmental Protection in respect
of their radiation level. In some cases we will be required to
relocate these cell sites to alternative locations, to reduce capacity coverage
or to demolish them without any suitable alternative.
Based on
advice received from our legal advisors and consistent with most Court rulings
on the matter and the Israeli Attorney General opinion on the matter (given in
May 2008) that the exemption does apply to cellular radio access devices, we
have not requested building permits under the Planning and Building Law for
rooftop radio access devices. The Israeli Attorney General further recommended
that an inter-ministry committee be established to examine the appropriateness
of future application of the exemption to cellular devices given the changed
circumstances since the enactment of the exemption and opined that
failure to conclude the examination within a reasonable period may affect the
legal assessment of the exemption as being reasonable.
However,
notwithstanding the Attorney General's opinion, in May 2008 the District Court
of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, in its capacity as court of appeals, ruled that our and other
cellular operators’ devices do not meet the exemption’s requirements and
therefore the exemption may not be relied upon by us and other cellular
operators. We and other cellular operators appealed against this ruling to the
Supreme Court. The State notified the Supreme Court it concurs with
our and another cellular operator’s appeals against the District Court ruling.
The State requested that a third operator’s appeal be returned to the District
Court for further deliberation on specific questions regarding the
interpretation of "rooftop" and the requirement to obtain an extraordinary usage
permit in the circumstances of that case in the context of the exemption.
Furthermore, in July 2008, a petition seeking to annul the Attorney General's
opinion and apply the District Court ruling was filed with the Supreme Court by
the Union of Local Authorities in Israel and certain local planning and building
authorities which also requested to join our appeal and argue against the
position of the State and in June 2009, another petition seeking similar
remedies, was also filed with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided to
hear both petitions and our appeal together.
In July
2009, the inter-ministry committee established to examine the appropriateness of
future application of the exemption according to the Attorney General opinion,
published its recommendations for future application of the exemption. While the
Ministry of Communications recommended that, given the difficulties in obtaining
permits for the
construction
of cell sites, the exemption should be reviewed after the lapse of one to two
years from the approval of the new National Zoning Plan 36, to verify that it
provides an adequate solution that allows the cellular operators to provide
required communication services, the Ministries of Interior Affairs and
Environmental Protection recommended that the exemption be annulled within 6
months from the date of the recommendations, based, among others, on the
following arguments: (1) current cellular infrastructure is sufficient, given it
is currently used to provide advanced services such as internet, radio and
television broadcasting, while such services may be provided by a landline
network; and (2) with respect to radiation safety, cell sites constructed
pursuant to a building permit are preferable to radio access devices, and
utilizing a cellular network to provide advanced services which can be provided
through a landline network, is unjustified in light of the preventive care
principle set in the Israeli Non-Ionizing Radiation Law.
In
September 2009, following publication of the inter-ministry committee's
recommendations, the Attorney General concluded that the current application of
the exemption does not balance properly the different interests involved and
therefore cannot continue. The Attorney General further concluded that, in
accordance with its authority under applicable law, the Ministry of Interior (in
consultation with the Ministry of Communications) should prepare regulations
setting conditions for the application of the exemption, such as limiting the
exemption to instances in which the local building and planning authority did
not respond within a reasonable fixed time frame and to extraordinary
circumstances, and bring such regulations for approval by the Economy Committee
of the Israeli Parliament by the end of October 2009. Conditions substantially
limiting our ability to use the exemption could adversely affect our existing
network and network build-out. In January 2010, the Attorney General
advised the Supreme Court that the regulations are expected to be brought before
the Economy Committee of the Israeli Parliament by the end of February 2010 and
that in case the government fails to do so by the such date it will not object
to the grant of an interim order preventing the construction of cellular radio
access devices without a building permit. Following the Attorney General's
statement, the Supreme Court did not grant such interim orders and will review
the matter again in March 2010. To the best of our knowledge, to date, no such
regulations were brought before the Economy Committee of the Israeli
Parliament.
Additionally,
in November 2008, the District Court of Central Region, in its capacity as court
of appeals, ruled that the exemption does not apply to radio access devices, if
the rooftop on which those devices are located is at the same level as a place
of residence or other building that is regularly frequented by people. Other
appeals relating to the exemption, including as to the requirement to obtain an
extraordinary usage permit, are still under consideration in the District Court
and other similar challenges, as well as other claims asserting that those cell
sites and other facilities do not meet other legal requirements continue.
Further, in July 2008 and again in July 2009, an amendment to the Communications
Law proposing to annul the exemption passed the preliminary phase of enactment
at the Israeli parliament.
An
annulment of the exemption or limitation of its scope could adversely affect our
network and network build-out, particularly given the objection of some local
planning and building authorities to grant due permits where required, could
have a negative impact on our ability to obtain environmental permits for these
sites, could negatively affect the extent, quality, capacity and coverage of our
network and our ability to continue to market our
products
and services effectively. This may have a material adverse effect on our results
of operations and financial condition.
Radio
access devices do receive the required permits from the Ministry of
Environmental Protection. Since October 2007, the Commissioner of Environmental
Radiation at the Ministry of Environmental Protection took the position that he
will not grant and/or renew operating permits to radio access devices, where the
local planning and building committee’s engineer objected to the Company's
reliance upon this exemption for radio access devices. We believe that in taking
this position, the Commissioner is acting beyond his powers.
For
reasons not related to radiation hazards, we have not received environmental
permits for a small portion of our cell sites, primarily due to building and
planning issues, such as objections by local planning and building committee's
engineers to our reliance on the exemption from obtaining building permits for
radio access devices.
Operating
a cell site or a facility without the requisite permits could subject us and our
officers and directors to criminal, administrative and civil liability. Should
any of our officers or directors be found guilty of an offence, although this
has not occurred to date, they may face monetary penalties and a term of
imprisonment. In addition, our sites may be the subject of demolition orders and
we may be required to relocate cell sites to less favorable locations or stop
operation of cell sites. This could negatively affect the extent, quality and
capacity of our network coverage and adversely affect our results of
operations.
Several
local planning and building authorities argue that Israeli cellular operators
may not receive building permits in reliance on the current National Zoning Plan
36, or the Plan, for cell sites operating in frequencies not specifically
detailed in the frequencies charts attached to the Plan. In a number of cases,
these authorities have refused to provide a building permit for such new cell
sites, arguing that the Plan does not apply to such cell sites and that building
permits for such cell sites should be sought through other processes (which are
longer and cumbersome), such as an application for an extraordinary usage or
under existing local specific zoning plans. Since June 2002, following the
approval of the Plan, building permits for the Company's cell sites (where
required) have been issued in reliance on the Plan. The current proposed draft
amendment to the Plan covers all new cell sites requiring a building permit,
independently of the frequencies in which they operate. Most of our cell sites
and many cell sites operated by other operators, operate in frequencies not
specifically detailed in the Plan. We believe that the Plan applies to all cell
sites, whether or not they operate in specific frequencies, consistent with the
practice developed since 2002 and intend to defend our position vigorously.
However, we are currently unable to assess the chances of success of the above
argument.
If this
approach continues, it would have a negative impact on our ability to deploy
additional cell sites (until such time as the Plan is amended to include all
cellular cell sites), which could negatively affect the extent, quality and
capacity of our network coverage and our ability to continue to market our
products and services effectively.
In
addition to cell sites, we provide repeaters (also known as bi-directional
amplifiers) to subscribers seeking a solution to weak signal reception within
specific indoor locations. Based on advice received from our legal
advisors, we have not requested building permits under the Planning and Building
Law for outdoor rooftop repeaters, which are a small part of the repeaters that
have been installed. It is unclear whether other types of repeaters require
building
permits. Some repeaters require specific permits and others require a
general permit from the Ministry of Environmental Protection in respect of their
radiation level, and we ensure that each repeater functions within the
parameters of the applicable general permit. The Israeli courts have not yet
addressed the question of whether building permits are required for the
installation of repeaters. Should it be established that the
installation of repeaters (including those already installed) requires a
building permit, we will perform cost-benefit analyses to determine whether to
apply for permits for existing repeaters or to remove them and whether to apply
for permits for new repeaters.
In
addition, we construct and operate microwave sites as part of our transmission
network. The various types of microwave sites receive permits from the Ministry
of Environmental Protection in respect of their radiation level. Based on advice
received from our legal advisors, we believe that building permits are not
required for the installation of these microwave facilities on rooftops. If
courts determine that building permits are necessary for the installation of
these sites, it could have a negative impact on our ability to obtain
environmental permits for these sites and to deploy additional microwave sites
and could hinder the extent, quality and capacity of our transmission network
coverage and our ability to continue to market our landline services
effectively.
Indemnification
obligations
In
January 2006, the Planning and Building Law was amended to provide that as a
condition for issuing a building permit for a cell site, local building and
planning committees shall require letters of indemnification from cellular
operators indemnifying the committees for possible depreciation claims under
Section 197 of the Planning and Building Law, in accordance with the directives
of the National Council for Planning and Building. Section 197
establishes that a property owner whose property value has been depreciated as a
result of the approval of a building plan that applies to his property or
neighboring properties may be entitled to compensation from the local building
and planning committee. In February 2007, the Israeli Minister of Interior
Affairs extended the limitation period within which depreciation claims may be
brought under the Planning and Building Law from three years from approval of
the building plan to the later of one year from receiving a building permit
under National Zoning Plan 36 for a cell site and six months from the
construction of a cell site. The Minister retains the general authority to
extend such period further. This extension of the limitation period increases
our potential exposure to depreciation claims.
The
National Council’s guidelines issued in January 2006 provide for an undertaking
for full indemnification of the planning and building committees by the cellular
companies, in the form published by the council. The form allows the
indemnifying party to control the defense of the claim. These guidelines will
remain in effect until replaced by an amendment to National Zoning Plan
36.
Since
January 2006, we have provided approximately 289 indemnification letters in
order to receive building permits. In addition, prior to January 2006, we
provided three undertakings to provide an indemnification letter to local
planning and building committees. Local planning and building
committees have sought to join cellular operators, including us, as defendants
in depreciation claims made against them even though indemnification letters
were not provided. We were joined as defendants in a small number of
cases, but are not, as of December 31, 2009, a party to any such depreciation
claim. We expect that we will be required to continue to provide
indemnification letters as the process of deploying our cell sites continues. As
a result of the requirement to provide indemnification letters, we may
decide to
construct new cell sites in alternative, less suitable locations, to reduce
capacity coverage or not to construct them at all, should we determine that the
risks associated with providing such indemnification letters outweigh the
benefits derived from constructing such cell sites, which could impair the
quality of our service in the affected areas.
Construction
and operating permits from the commissioner of environmental
radiation
Under the
Non Ionizing Radiation Law (and previously under the Israeli Pharmacists
Regulations (Radioactive Elements and their Products), 1980), it is prohibited
to construct cell sites without a permit from the Ministry of Environmental
Protection. The Commissioner of Environmental Radiation, or Commissioner, is
authorized to issue two types of permits: construction permits, for cell site
construction; and operating permits, for cell site operation.
These
permits contain various conditions that regulate the construction and/or
operating of cell sites, as the case may be. Our cell sites routinely
receive both construction and operating permits from the Commissioner within the
applicable time frames. Some repeaters require specific permits and others
require general permits from the Commissioner in respect of their radiation
level, and we ensure that each repeater functions within the parameters of its
applicable general permit.
The
Pharmacists Regulations provide that each of the two kinds of permits is valid
for one year from the date of its issuance, or for a shorter period of time as
determined by the Commissioner. We submitted annual reports regarding radiation
surveys conducted on our cell sites, which, according to the Commissioner,
automatically renews the permits for additional one-year terms. Under the
Pharmacists Regulations, the Commissioner may issue orders to take appropriate
action should he believe a cell site or other facility poses a threat to the
health or welfare of individuals, the public or the environment. Failure to
comply with the Pharmacists Regulations, the terms of a permit or the
instructions of the Commissioner can lead to sanctions, including the revocation
or suspension of the permit.
Pursuant
to the Non-Ionizing Radiation Law, which has become effective, for the most
part, on January 1, 2007, the construction and operation of cell sites and other
facilities requires the prior approval of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection. The validity of a construction permit will be for a period not
exceeding three months, unless otherwise extended by the Commissioner, and the
validity of an operating permit will be for a period of five years and we are
required to submit to the Commissioner annual reports regarding radiation
surveys conducted on our cell sites. Permits that were issued under the
Pharmacists Regulations were deemed, for the remainder of their term, as permits
issued under the Non-Ionizing Radiation Law. An applicant must first receive a
construction permit from the Commissioner and only then may the applicant
receive a building permit from the planning and building committee. In order to
receive an operating permit from the Commissioner, certain conditions must be
met, such as presenting a building permit or an exemption. See “Site licensing“
above for additional details in regards to obtaining a building permit and/or
relying on an exemption.
The
Non-Ionizing Radiation Law also regulates permitted exposure levels,
documentation and reporting requirements, and provisions for supervision of cell
site and other facility operation. The Non-Ionizing Radiation Law
grants the Commissioner authority to issue eviction orders if a cell site or
other facility operates in conflict with its permit, and it imposes criminal
sanctions on a company and its directors and officers for violations of the law.
Failure to comply with the Non-Ionizing Radiation Law or the terms of a permit
can lead
to
revocation or suspension of the permit, as well as to withholding the grant of
permits to additional cell sites of that operator.
In July
2008, a petition was filed with the Supreme Court by certain environmental
organizations against the Minister of Environmental Protection, the Minister of
Communications and the cellular companies, including us, seeking remedies
relating to the delayed enactment of the Non-Ionizing Radiation regulations, the
last draft of which included additional restrictions in relation to the
operation of cell sites and other facilities. In December 2008, the Minister of
Environmental Protection signed the Non-Ionizing Radiation Regulations, which
did not include the section setting the aforesaid restrictions (including
maximum exposure levels to non ionizing radiation). Following an update
delivered by the Minister of Environmental Protection and the Minister of
Communications to the Supreme
Court that such section of the Regulations, is in the process of being enacted
and requested permission to further update the Supreme Court in April 2010, the
Supreme Court postponed the hearing of this petition for the meantime. Further,
in February 2010, the Minister of Environmental Protection published a proposed
amendment to the Non-Ionizing Radiation Law, aiming to cancel the requirement to
obtain the Minister of Communications' approval to the Non-Ionizing Radiation
Regulations, where such regulations may have a substantial and direct effect on
the monetary burden imposed on the communication market, as is required under
the current law. If restrictions similar to those included in the draft are
subsequently adopted, they will, among other things, limit our ability to
construct new sites (and if applied to existing cell sites, it will also limit
our ability to renew operating permits for a number of our existing sites),
especially in residential areas.
Handsets
The
Israeli Consumer Protection Regulations (Information Regarding Non-Ionizing
Radiation from Cellular Telephones), 2002, regulate the maximum permitted level
of non-ionizing radiation from end-user cellular phones that emits non-ionizing
radiation, according to the European standard, for testing GSM devices, and the
American standard, for testing TDMA and CDMA devices. They also require cellular
operators to attach an information leaflet to each equipment package that
includes explanations regarding non-ionizing radiation, the maximum permitted
level of non-ionizing radiation and the level of radiation of that specific
model of equipment. The Radiation Regulations further require that such
information also be displayed at points-of-sale, service centers and on the
Internet sites of cellular operators.
Pursuant
to procedures published by the Ministry of Communications at the end of 2005,
end-user cellular equipment must comply with all relevant standards, including
specific absorption rate, or SAR, level standards. We obtain type-approval from
the Ministry of Communications for each handset model imported or sold by us. We
include information published by the manufacturer regarding SAR levels with all
of our handsets. SAR levels are a measurement of non-ionizing
radiation that is emitted by a hand-held cellular telephone at its specific rate
of absorption by living tissue. SAR tests are performed by handsets
manufacturers on prototypes of each model handset, not for each and every
handset. We do not perform independent SAR tests for equipment and rely for this
purpose on information provided by the manufacturers. As the manufacturers’
approvals refer to a prototype handset, we have no information as to the actual
SAR level of each specific handset and throughout its lifecycle,
including in the case of equipment repair.
According
to these procedures, in the event of equipment repair, SAR levels must be tested
again and if they are not tested, the repairing entity is required to inform the
customer that there may be changes in the SAR levels by affixing a label to the
equipment. The Ministry of Communications has appointed a consultant to create
guidelines in that regard, but to date, the Ministry has not issued them. We
have awaited the publication of these guidelines before implementing these
requirements, but given the continued delay, are informing our customers that
there may be changes in the SAR levels.
Obtaining
a license for importing or trading in spare parts that are likely to affect the
level of non-ionizing radiation requires receipt of compliance approvals from
the manufacturer of the parts or from a laboratory authorized by the Ministry of
Communications. To the best of our knowledge, to date no spare parts
manufacturer has provided any cellular operator with such an approval and no
laboratory has been authorized by the Ministry of Communications to issue such
approvals.
Royalties
Under the Communications Law, the
Israeli Communications Regulations (Royalties), 2001, and the terms of our
general license from the Ministry of Communications, in 2009 we were required to
pay the State of Israel royalties equal to 1.5% of our revenues generated from
telecommunications services, less payments transferred to other license holders
for interconnect fees or roaming services, sale of handsets and losses from bad
debt. The rate of these royalties has decreased in recent years, from
4.5% in 2002, to 4% in 2003, to 3.5% in 2004 and
2005, to 3% in 2006, to 2.5% in 2007, to 2% in 2008, to 1.5% in 2009 and 1% in
2010 and thereafter. A public committee appointed by the Ministry of
Communications to review various issues in the Israeli communications market
published its recommendations in March 2008, including a recommendation that our
obligation to pay royalties be annulled no later than 2012 (subject to Israeli
corporate income tax reduction between 2008 and 2012).
Frequency
Fees
Frequency
allocations for our cellular services are governed by the Wireless Telegraph
Ordinance. We pay frequency fees to the State of Israel in accordance with the
Israeli Wireless Telegraph Regulations (Licenses, Certificates and Fees), 1987.
We are currently in dispute with the Ministry of Communications over a sum of
approximately NIS 73 million (including interest and CPI linkage differences) as
of December 31, 2009, in GSM and UMTS frequency fees. For further information,
see “Item 8 – Financial Information - Legal Proceedings.” Furthermore, in
December 2008, we returned the TDD spectrum allocated to us in 2001, to the
Ministry of Communications, after not being able to use that spectrum since it
was awarded to us, due to unavailability of supporting equipment.
Mobile
Virtual Network Operator
A mobile
virtual network operator, or MVNO, is a cellular operator that does not own its
own spectrum and usually does not have its own radio network
infrastructure. Instead, MVNOs have business arrangements with
existing cellular operators to use their infrastructure and network for the
MVNO’s own customers. The introduction of the operation of MVNOs in the Israeli
cellular market could increase competition and may result in a reduction in our
market share, which may adversely affect our revenues.
In August
2007 and again in August 2008, the Israeli Government instructed the Ministry of
Communications to take all measures necessary to allow any MVNO wishing to
provide cellular services to the public using the network of a cellular operator
to do so. We understand that a small number of companies, including Smile
Telecom and the Israeli Post Service Company, informed the Ministry of
Communications of their intention to request an MVNO license. The Communications
Law was amended in July 2009 to include an MVNO license and a hearing regarding
the application of an MVNO based on agreement with a cellular operator, was
published on January and November 2009. Following the enactment of the
regulations necessary for the provision of an MVNO license in January 2010,
entities wishing to obtain an MVNO license may file an application with the
Ministry of Communications. A form of the MVNO license has not been published
yet and is expected to be published shortly. The regulations published, regulate
the operation of an MVNO pursuant to an agreement to be reached and entered
between a cellular operator and an MVNO and sets, among others, the conditions
for receiving an MVNO license, including a requirement to operate a mobile phone
switch, a restriction on a cellular operator and landline operator to receive an
MVNO license and limitations on parties related to an existing cellular operator
and on other communication licensees, to receive an MVNO license. Although the
regulations – following the hearing on the matter – deal with an agreement based
MVNO, the Communications Law, as amended, instructs further that in the event
that a MVNO and the cellular operator will not have reached an agreement as to
the provision of service by way of MVNO within six months from the date the MVNO
has approached the cellular operator, and if the Ministry of Communications
together with the Ministry of Commerce determine that the failure to reach an
agreement is due to unreasonable conditions imposed by the cellular operator,
the Ministry Of Communications will use its authority to provide instructions.
Such instructions may include intervening in the terms of the agreement,
including by setting the price of the service.
Emergency
Situations
We may be
subject to certain restrictions and instructions regarding our activities or
provision of services during national emergencies or for reasons of national
security or public welfare, including taking control of our cellular or land
line networks. Further, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Communications
may determine that our services are deemed essential services, in which case we
may be subject to further additional limitations on our business
operations.
Reporting
Requirements
We are
subject to extensive reporting requirements. We are required to
submit to the Ministry of Communications detailed annual reports with
information concerning subscribers, revenues by service, the number of new
subscribers and churn, annual financial statements and prior notice of tariff
increases. In addition, under our license we may be required by the Ministry of
Communications to file additional reports, such as reports on complaints,
pricing, specific costs and revenues, network problems and the development of
the network.
Contributing to the Community and
Protecting the Environment
We and
our employees have been contributing to the community since our inception and
are proud to be among the leaders of community responsibility. Like other
companies in the IDB group, we consider contribution to the community in Israel,
and specifically to the communities residing next to Israeli northern and
southern borders, an important component
of our
business vision and believe we have a responsibility towards the Israeli
community, as we acknowledge that business leadership goes hand in hand with
social leadership.
In 2009
we continued to contribute to the community with a specific focus on our
"Cellcom Volume" initiative. In addition to promoting Israeli music and artists
and providing our customers with Israeli music through a variety of musical
content, we have contributed to the creation of "Cellcom Volume" youth centers
in various locations throughout Israel, in which we provide young people
resources related to music, including music classes, facilities to bands and
choirs for rehearsals and recording studios. During 2009 we opened an additional
center in Israel, as we believe music is a language which connects and bonds
different people together. As of December 31, 2009, we had ten "Volume Centers"
and five “mini Volume Centers” active throughout the country. Another "Volume
Center" is currently under construction. Our employees volunteer regularly in
these centers as well as with other community projects.
In
addition to our contribution to the build-up and strengthening of the community,
through activities such as our "Cellcom Volume" youth centers, we make financial
donations to other worthy causes and entities. In August 2006, our Board of
Directors determined our donation policy to be at an amount equal to up to one
percent of our annual net income. In 2009 we donated a total sum of
approximately NIS 6.4 million, including our contribution to the
community.
We are
aware of the importance of environmental protection. Accordingly, while
providing quality products and services to our subscribers, we seek to operate
responsibly to continuously reduce negative impacts on the environment and the
landscape, aiming at a better environmental performance than required by local
law. We dedicate personnel, funds and technologies to improve our performance,
strive to achieve an efficient deployment of infrastructure subject to the
applicable standards, and cooperate with the local authorities. We constantly
monitor our environmental performance and aim to reduce our ecological
footprint, through activities such as recycling, reduction of paper usage by
managed printing, reduction of pollutants' emissions and energy usage as well as
activities aimed at allowing our subscribers to better protect the environment,
such as collecting used batteries and sending subscribers their monthly bill for
our services and other correspondence from us via e-mail in lieu of regular
mail. In 2009 we prepared and published in Israel a public report on our
corporate social responsibility, as of December 31, 2008,
and it is also available on our website at www. cellcom.co.il.
C. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
The
IDB Group
Our
largest shareholder, DIC, is a majority-owned subsidiary of IDB Development
Corporation Ltd., or IDB Development, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of IDB Holding Corporation Ltd., or IDB, one of Israel’s largest business
groups. IDB and DIC are public Israeli companies traded on the Tel
Aviv Stock Exchange. IDB Development ceased being a public company in 2009
following the acquisitions of all its shares that were held by the public, but
its debentures continue to be traded on the TASE. See the footnote to the table
under “Item 7.A – Major Shareholders” for information on the holdings in
IDB. We do not have any significant subsidiaries.
D. PROPERTY,
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Headquarters
In August
2003, we entered into a long-term agreement for the lease of our headquarters in
Netanya, Israel. The leased property covers approximately 57,800
square meters, of which approximately 26,000 square meters consist of
underground parking lots. The lease is in effect until December 31,
2019 and is renewable for two additional periods of five years each,
upon our notice.
Service
centers, points of sale and cell sites
As of
December 31, 2009, we leased approximately 30 service centers, points of sale
and other facilities, which are used for marketing, sales and customer
service. Lease agreements for our retail stores and service centers
are generally for periods of two to three years, with extension options that
vary by location.
In
addition, we lease from various parties, including the Israeli Land Authority,
or ILA, municipalities and private entities sites for the establishment,
maintenance and operation of cell sites for our cellular network. The duration
of these lease agreements varies and ranges, in most cases, from two to six
years, with an option to extend the lease for successive similar periods. The
lease agreements also differ from each other in aspects such as payment terms
and exit windows that enable us to terminate the agreement prior to its
scheduled expiration. In some of the agreements, the lessor is entitled to
terminate the agreement at any time without cause, subject to prior
notice. Based on our past experience, we encounter difficulties in
extending the term of approximately 7% of the lease agreements for cell sites,
which at times results in our having to pay substantially higher rent in order
to remain in the same locations or to find alternative sites.
Authorization
agreement with land regulatory authorities
In
October 2005, we entered into an authorization agreement with the ILA (which
manages the lands of the Development Authority and the Jewish National Fund)
that authorizes us to use lands managed by the ILA for the establishment and
operation of cell sites. The authorization agreement is effective until December
31, 2009 and the parties have agreed to extend it until December 31, 2010. We
are currently negotiating the renewal of the agreement with the ILA, in light of
the ILA's demand for increased consideration. Any delay in the renewal of the
agreement may cause a delay in the construction of new cell sites on the lands
managed by the ILA.
The
authorization agreement provides that subject to the receipt of approval from
the ILA, we will be entitled to establish and operate cell sites on the lands
leased to third parties throughout the agreement’s term. In connection with the
authorization agreement we undertook to vacate at the end of the agreement’s
term all facilities installed in the authorized area unless the authorization
period is extended.
Under the
authorization agreement, the ILA is entitled to revoke authorizations granted to
us in the event of changes in the designation of the land on which a cell site
was erected, in the event that we violate a fundamental condition of the
authorization agreement, in the event that the holders of rights in the
properties on which we erected cell sites breach the agreements between them and
the ILA and in the event that the land on which a cell site was erected is
required for public use.
ITEM
4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM
5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND
PROSPECTS
The
following operating and financial review and prospects should be read in
conjunction with “Item 3. Key Information – A- Selected Financial Data” and our
consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in
this annual report. Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, which differ in
certain respects from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S.
GAAP. Following our adoption of IFRS, as issued by the IASB, we are
no longer required to reconcile our financial statements prepared in accordance
with IFRS to U.S. GAAP.
In
accordance with the instructions of the Israeli Accounting Standard No. 29,
“Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)”, which was
published in July 2006, we have adopted IFRS as issued by the IASB, with effect
from January 1, 2008, based upon the guidance in IFRS 1, "First-time adoption of
IFRSs", and have prepared our financial statements according to
IFRS.
This
discussion contains forward-looking statements. We have based these
forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about
future events. Our actual results may differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many important
factors, including those set forth under “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk
Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report.
A.
OPERATING RESULTS
Overview
General
We are
the leading provider of cellular communications services in Israel in terms of
number of subscribers, revenues, revenues from services, EBITDA and EBITDA
margins as of December 31, 2009, providing services to approximately 3.292
million subscribers in Israel with an estimated market share of
34.6%.
We earn
revenues and generate our primary sources of cash by offering a broad range of
cellular services through our network covering substantially all of the
populated territory of Israel. These services include basic and advanced
cellular telephone services, text and multimedia messaging services and advanced
cellular content and data services. We also provide international roaming
services to our subscribers in 177 countries as of December 31, 2009 as well as
to subscribers of foreign networks visiting Israel. We offer our subscribers a
wide selection of handsets of various leading global manufacturers as well as
extended warranty services. We have an advanced fiber-optic transmission
infrastructure of approximately 1,500 kilometers. Together with our
complementary microwave-based infrastructure, our fiber-optic infrastructure
connects the majority of our cell sites with the remainder connected using
supplemental transmission capacity leased from Bezeq, the incumbent landline
operator. Having our own transmission network enables us to save
substantial
operating cash lease costs that would be associated with complete reliance on
Bezeq’s infrastructure, although these savings are partially offset by
maintenance costs and microwave spectrum fees. It also allows us to
sell transmission and data services to business customers and telecommunications
operators. Following the receipt of our license to provide landline telephone
services in Israel in 2006, we began to offer these services and as
of February 2008, additional advanced landline services, through our NGN system,
to selected landline business customers. Although we do not expect revenues from
landline telephony services to amount to a material portion of our revenues in
2010, we consider landline telephone services to be a future growth opportunity
and we believe that revenues from these services will continue to grow in
2010.
Our
management evaluates our performance through focusing on our key performance
indicators, which include among others: number of subscribers, churn rate,
average minutes of usage per subscriber, or MOU, average revenue per subscriber,
or ARPU, EBITDA (as defined in “Results of Operations”), operating income and
net income. These key performance indicators are primarily affected
by the competitive and regulatory landscape in which we operate and our ability
to adapt to the challenges posed. We have modified our process for calculating
our number of subscribers at various times in the past. This modification
impacts the comparability of our subscriber count and other key performance
indicators.
Our
competitive landscape is characterized by a highly penetrated cellular
market. Competition is intense and attracting new subscribers and
retaining existing subscribers has become increasingly difficult and costly. The
competition in our market has further increased as a result of the
implementation of number portability in December 2007, as it has removed a
deterrent to switching providers. We intend to drive revenue growth primarily
by: focusing on core business and synergetic complementary business; maintaining
and enhancing our strong brand; retaining our existing subscribers; increasing
our ARPU by offering new and advanced services as well as increasing our
Internet, content, data services and land line services revenues; and attracting
new subscribers. In particular, in addition to being an important factor in
selecting a cellular provider, we believe that content, data and other
value-added services are a potential growth engine for increasing revenues.
Since the full launch of our 3.5G HSPA based services, in 2006, revenues from
our content and data services have grown significantly. The cellular industry is
primarily regulated by the Ministry of Communications. See “Item 4. Information
on the Company – B. Business Overview - Government
Regulations.” While our pricing is not generally regulated, certain
of our rates and pricing mechanisms are subject to regulation. In particular,
the annual reduction of interconnect tariffs by the Ministry of Communications
commencing in March 2005 and ending in 2008, adversely affected our results and
required us to find alternative sources of revenues to compensate for these
reductions. Following a Government resolution adopted in August 2008, to review
the interconnect fees and adjust them accordingly, the Ministry of
Communications is currently reviewing interconnect fees. Commencing January 1,
2009, the basic airtime charging unit, as well as the interconnect tariff unit,
was decreased from a 12-second basic charging unit to a one-second basic
charging unit. Additionally, in September 2007 our general license was further
amended in a manner that prevents us from offering our subscribers calling plans
using airtime charging units other than the basic airtime charging unit.
Commencing January 1, 2009, our license prevents us from raising tariffs to
non-business customers having an obligation to purchase our services for a
predefined period during such period. We took steps to address the effects of
these amendments including initiating new and innovative marketing plans. In
February 2010, a proposed amendment to
the
Communications Law, requiring cellular operators to provide "limited credit"
services to their post-paid subscribers, passed the preliminary phase of
enactment in the Israeli parliament.
The
construction and operation of our cell sites and other transmission facilities
are highly regulated and require us to obtain various consents and permits. See
“Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview - Government
Regulations—Permits for Cell Site Construction.” We have experienced
difficulties in obtaining some of these consents and permits, particularly in
obtaining building permits for cell sites from local planning and building
authorities. See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors. We may not be able
to obtain permits to construct and operate cell sites.” However, even
though 22 criminal and administrative proceedings (with two cell site subject to
a demolition order) are outstanding as of December 31, 2009, we do not expect
that the demolition of these facilities would have a material impact on our
results of operations and financial condition. In December 2008, the Minister of
Environmental Protection signed the Non-Ionizing Radiation Regulations, which do
not include a section setting restrictions (including maximum levels of exposure
to non ionizing radiation) in relation to the operation of cell sites and other
facilities, that had appeared in the earlier draft legislation. This Section is
in the process of being enacted and the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of a
petition filed in connection with such regulations until further update
by the Minister of Environmental Protection and the Minister of
Communications. If such restrictions are subsequently adopted, they will, among
other things, limit our ability to construct new sites and renew operating
permits for a number of our existing sites, especially in residential
areas. National Zoning Plan 36 is in the process of being revised. If
proposed changes are approved, they will harm our ability to
construct new cell sites, make the process of obtaining building permits for the
construction and operation of cell sites more cumbersome and costly,
could adversely affect our existing network and may delay the future
deployment of our network. Moreover, if we are unable to obtain or
renew consents and permits or rely on exemptions from obtaining permits for our
existing sites or other facilities, we will be required to demolish or relocate
these cell sites and facilities. Our inability to relocate cell sites or other
facilities in a timely manner and/or our inability to obtain the permits and
consents for new cell sites, or rely on exemptions, could adversely affect our
existing network resulting in the loss of subscribers, prevent us from meeting
the network coverage and quality requirements contained in our license and
adversely impact our network build-out, all of which may have a material adverse
result on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our
profitability is also affected by other factors, including changes in our cost
of revenues and selling, general and administrative expenses, including
depreciation and finance expenses.
Following
the acquisition by DIC of a majority interest in us in September 2005, DIC
brought in a new management team, including Ami Erel, the Chairman of our Board
of Directors, who has been President and CEO of Bezeq, Amos Shapira, our Chief
Executive Officer who has been chief executive officer of Kimberly-Clark’s
Israeli subsidiary and of El Al Airlines, Tal Raz, our Chief Financial Officer
(until September 2009, at which time he was replaced as Chief Financial Officer
in September 2009 by Yaacov Heen, one of our top financial executives, and
continues to serve as our director), formerly one of the founders and a director
of Partner, one of our principal competitors, and Adi Cohen, our VP Marketing,
who had been marketing manager of Shufersal, Israel's largest retail chain, and
previously, Partner's marketing manager. Our management team has implemented a
series of initiatives to drive growth, including the continued enhancement of
our distinctive brand, greater focus
on
customer service and new sales campaigns, including the launch of new content
and data services, alongside a continued managerial focus on ongoing efficiency
increase. This streamlining has improved our operating cost structure and
reduced our general and administrative expenses. Following implementation of
these initiatives, our revenues and operating income increased in 2007 by
approximately 8% and 36%, respectively (compared with 2006), in 2008 by
approximately 6% and 21%, respectively (compared with 2007) and in 2009 by
approximately 1% and 5%, respectively (compared with 2008). Notwithstanding
these savings and management’s continued focus on cost cutting initiatives, we
expect that the higher cost of 3G enabled handsets to support our advanced
content and data services may increase the costs related to subscriber
acquisition and retention and handset repairs.
Our
results are also impacted by currency fluctuations. While
substantially all of our revenues are denominated in NIS, for 2009,
approximately 36% of cash outflow was denominated in, or linked to, other
currencies, mainly U.S. dollars. These payments included capital
expenditures, some cell site rental fees, payments to equipment including
handset suppliers. Changes to the Israeli CPI, may also impact our results as
our debentures (excluding Series E) and some of our expenses are linked to the
Israeli CPI. Any devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar or
other foreign currencies will therefore increase the NIS cost of our expenses
that are not denominated in NIS or are linked to those currencies and any
increase in the Israeli CPI will increase the financial expenses associated with
our debentures. We enter into derivative instruments to mitigate the
effect of the various market risks associated with these
expenses. See “Item 11 - Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures
About Market Risk.”
Further,
we incurred significant debt in late 2005 and in the first half of 2006, which
increased our financial expenses compared with historical results. We issued
approximately NIS 2.0 billion ($530 million) principal amount of two series of
debentures which bear interest at the rates of 5.0% and 5.3% and are linked to
the Israeli CPI. In addition, in October 2007 and February 2008, we
issued two new series of debentures to the public in Israel, for an aggregate
principal amount of approximately NIS 1,647 million ($436 million) which bear
interest at annual rates of 4.60% and 5.19%, respectively and are linked to the
Israeli CPI. Further, in April 2009 we issued to the public in Israel,
additional debentures of our existing series of debentures bearing annual
interest rate of 5.19% as well as debentures of a new series, Series E, which
bears interest at an annual rate of 6.25%, without any linkage, for an aggregate
principal amount of approximately NIS 975 million ($ 258 million) See “Item 5.
Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – A. Debt Service”.
In
February 2006, our Board of Directors adopted a policy to distribute each year
at least 75% of our annual net income. Our net income was determined under
Israeli GAAP for periods until December 31, 2007 and for periods commencing on
or after January 1, 2008, is determined under IFRS, following the adoption of
IFRS in accordance with the Israeli Accounting Standard No. 29 “Adoption of
International Financial Reporting Standards”. In March 2007, our Board resolved
to distribute dividends within the boundaries of the February 2006 dividend
policy and until resolved otherwise, on a quarterly basis. During 2006, we
distributed cash dividends in the aggregate amount of NIS 3.83 billion mainly
from retained earnings accumulated over the previous years, in 2007 and 2008 we
distributed cash dividends in the aggregate amount of NIS 655 and 1,530 million,
respectively. Prior to 2006, we had
not distributed dividends since our inception.
In 2009,
we distributed cash dividends in the aggregate amount of approximately NIS 1.19
billion, including the dividend declared for the fourth quarter of 2008. Our
board of
directors
has also declared a cash dividend for the fourth quarter of 2009 of NIS 2.60 per
share, or approximately NIS 257 million in the aggregate, which will be paid on
March 31, 2010.
Any
dividends may be declared solely by our Board of Directors, which will take into
account the factors set out in “Item 8. Financial Information – A. Statements
and Other Financial Information - Dividend Policy”. The dividend per share that
we will pay for the fourth quarter of 2009 does not reflect the level of
dividends that will be paid for future quarterly periods, which can change at
any time in accordance with the policy set out above. See “Item 8. Financial
Information – A. Statements and Other Financial Information - Dividend Policy”
and “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Dividend payments.” Also, in
the future our Board of Directors may determine that our cash needs for debt
service, capital expenditures or operations may increase and that it would not
be prudent to distribute dividends.
On
February 9, 2007, we closed the initial public offering of our ordinary shares
and their listing on the NYSE. The offering was made solely by certain of our
existing shareholders, and we did not receive any proceeds. The selling
shareholders agreed to bear the out-of-pocket expenses of the offering. This
offering fulfilled the agreement of our majority shareholder, DIC, with some of
our other shareholders to endeavor to cause us to undertake an initial public
offering by 2009 and it enables us to take advantage of the equity and debt
capital raising opportunities available to a public company in the capital
markets, to have the ability to use equity based compensation schemes as a tool
to incentivize management to generate positive operating results and to provide
access to certain of our shareholders to sell their shares. In July 2007, our
shares were dual listed on the TASE. As a public dual-listed company, our legal
and financial compliance costs are higher than as a private company and some
activities are more time-consuming and costly.
Change
in accounting policy regarding Subscriber Acquisition and Retention
Costs
In the
second quarter of 2009, we decided to change our accounting policy regarding
subscriber acquisition and retention costs and to recognize certain subsidies
provided to handsets, which are sold with a service agreement containing
guaranteed minimum future revenue, as additional costs that are eligible for
capitalization. Under our previous accounting policy, capitalized subscriber
acquisition and retention costs included only deferred costs in respect of sales
commissions related to the acquisition and retention of subscribers, provided
the costs could be measured reliably and were directly attributable to obtaining
a specific subscriber, and we recognized subsidies on handset sales as an
expense in the period incurred. The change in policy has been retrospectively
applied to all reported periods starting from January 1, 2007 , when the
relevant criteria for capitalizing these costs were first met, and therefore,
the comparable data for previous years has been amended to reflect this change
in accounting policy. The retrospective application of that accounting policy
change increased our retained earnings, as of January 1, 2009 by approximately
NIS 48 million and had the following effect on our results of operations for all
of the periods reported herein.
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
Decrease
in purchase of handsets
|
|
|
(77 |
) |
|
|
(76 |
) |
Increase
in amortization expense
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
70 |
|
Increase
in operating income
|
|
|
62 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Increase
in income tax
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Increase
in net income
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Increase
in basic and diluted earnings per share (in NIS)
|
|
|
0.45 |
|
|
|
0.04 |
|
Increase
in EBITDA
|
|
|
77 |
|
|
|
76 |
|
2006
Share Incentive Plan
In
September 2006, our Board of Directors approved an option plan for our
employees, officers and directors. The plan had an initial pool of 2,500,000
shares in respect of which options and restricted stock units, or RSUs, may be
granted. In October and November 2006, we granted options to purchase an
aggregate of 2,414,143 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $12.60 per share.
Among those grants were options to purchase up to 450,000 ordinary shares to
each of Ami Erel, our Chairman of the Board, and Amos Shapira, our Chief
Executive Officer. The remainder of the options grants was made to our senior
employees. In March 2007, August 2008 and August 2009, we granted additional
options to purchase an aggregate of 30,786, 27,500 and 74,164 ordinary shares,
respectively, at an exercise price of $12.60, $25 and $24.65 per share,
respectively, to certain of our senior employees, under the terms of the
plan. Distribution of cash dividends before the exercise of these
options will reduce the exercise price of each option by an amount equal to the
gross amount of the dividend per share distributed. During 2008 and 2009,
844,591 and 546,417 shares, respectively, were issued due to the exercise of
options, which constitute substantially all vested options and approximately
three quarters of the amount of options granted, by Messrs. Ami Erel and Amos
Shapira and other grantees; 300,817 and 90,177 options, respectively, were
canceled (due to our net exercise mechanism); and 4,125 and 7,759 options,
respectively, previously granted to senior employees were revoked and returned
to the option pool. As of December 31, 2009, the number of outstanding options
to purchase ordinary shares amounted to704,674. However, the terms of the 2006
Share Incentive Plan provide for a net exercise mechanism, the result of which
is to require us to issue a smaller number of ordinary shares than represented
by the outstanding options. Unless the Board of Directors otherwise approves,
the number of ordinary shares issuable by us upon the exercise of an option will
represent a market value that is equal to the difference between the market
price of the ordinary shares and the option exercise price of the exercised
options, at the date of exercise. In 2008, we amended the option plan and the
terms of our outstanding options as follows: (1) the definition of corporate
transactions triggering accelerated vesting of the options, was changed to DIC
ceasing to “control” us (as the term “control” is defined in the Israeli
Securities Law, namely the ability to direct a company's activities) (previously
- upon a decrease in DIC's share ownership to less than 50.01% of our
outstanding share capital); (2) we are required to provide the grantees with a
ten day period to exercise the options upon the occurrence of a corporate
transaction. An additional change was approved only in regards to options
already granted prior to the adoption of the amendment: when a grantee is
dismissed without cause, an additional period of up to six (6) months from the
date of dismissal will be allowed for vesting of the third or fourth portions of
the options to occur.
In
general, the options and RSUs vest in four equal installments on each of the
first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the date of grant. Under IFRS,
we are required to expense the grant date fair value of the options over their
vesting period. In accordance with these standards, we estimated the total
compensation cost related to the options granted in 2006 to be approximately NIS
53 million as of the date of grant, to be recognized over the vesting period
commencing on February 9, 2007, the date of completion of our initial public
offering. In 2007 we expensed approximately NIS 29 million of the total
compensation cost. During 2008 we reevaluated the total compensation cost
related to the options granted and
increased
it by approximately NIS 4 million. Due to sales in 2008 of our
ordinary shares held by DIC, that led to a reduction in DIC’s ownership to below
50.01%, the vesting of the options granted in 2006 and 2007 was considered
accelerated for accounting purposes and the balance of the total compensation
cost, related to those grants, in the amount of approximately NIS 28 million,
was expensed during 2008.
Revenues
We derive
our revenues primarily from the sale of cellular network services (such as
airtime), handsets and other services, including content and value added
services, extended handset warranties and the provision of transmission and
landline services. Revenues from airtime are derived from subscribers
originating calls on our network and from interconnect revenues from other
operators for calls terminating on our network. Revenues also include roaming
charges that we bill to our subscribers for the use of the networks of our
roaming partners outside Israel, to which we refer as outbound roaming, and
charges that we bill to our roaming partners whose subscribers use our network,
to which we refer as inbound roaming.
Our
revenues are usually affected by seasonality. The third quarter of the year is
usually the strongest quarter with the highest revenues, since it occurs in the
summer season, characterized by longer daylight hours (facilitating
higher airtime usage) and increased incoming and outgoing tourism (facilitating
higher roaming revenues) . The fourth quarter of the year is usually the weakest
quarter with lower revenues, since the Jewish holiday season, characterized by
reduced usage, usually occurs in this quarter, and since it occurs in the
fall-winter seasons, characterized by shorter daylight hours (resulting in lower
airtime usage).
Cost
of revenues
The
principal components of our cost of revenues are interconnect fees, the purchase
of handsets, accessories and spare parts, content cost, cell site leasing costs,
outbound roaming services fees, royalty payments to the government of Israel,
salaries and network development and maintenance. Our cost of revenues also
includes depreciation of the cost of our network equipment and amortization of
our spectrum licenses and capitalized handset subsidies. See
“—Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates—Long-lived
assets - depreciation.”
Selling
and marketing expenses
Selling
and marketing expenses consist primarily of sales force salaries and
commissions, advertising, public relations and promotional
expenses. We compensate our sales force through salaries and
incentives. Our selling and marketing expenses also include depreciation, mainly
of leasehold improvements and equipment in our service centers and points of
sales and amortization of capitalized sales commissions.
General
and administrative expenses
General
and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and compensation,
professional and consultancy fees, leases and maintenance of our offices, bad
debt and doubtful accounts allowance, and other administrative expenses. Our
general and administrative expenses also include depreciation and maintenance
fees, mainly for our billing and information systems.
Other
income and expenses
Other
income and expenses consist primarily of capital gains or losses from sale of
capital assets.
Financial
income and expenses
Financial
income and expenses consist primarily of interest expense on long-term and
short-term loans and interest on our debentures, the interest income component
of handset long-term installment sales, the effects of fluctuations in currency
exchange rates, Israeli CPI adjustments related to the Israeli CPI-linked
debentures and other expenses, and income or losses relating to financial
derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting according to
IFRS.
Income
Tax
Generally,
Israeli companies were subject to Corporate tax on their taxable income at the
rate of 26% for the 2009 tax year which will decrease to 25% for the 2010 tax
year. The Israeli Economic Efficiency Improvement Law (legislative amendments
for the implementation of the economic program for the years 2009 and 2010),
enacted in July 2009, provides, among others, for an additional gradual
reduction of the corporate tax rate. According to this Law the Corporate tax
rate will decrease to 24% for the 2011 tax year, to 23% for the 2012 tax year,
to 22% for the 2013 tax year, to 21% for the 2014 tax year, to 20% for the 2015
tax year and to 18% for the 2016 tax year and thereafter. Israeli
companies are generally subject to capital gains tax at a rate of 25% for
capital gains (other than gains deriving from the sale of listed securities)
derived from assets purchased after January 1, 2003. A deferred tax asset or
liability is created for temporary differences between income recognized for tax
purposes and for accounting purposes.
Results
of Operations - Comparison of 2007, 2008 and 2009
The
following table sets forth key performance indicators for the periods
indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007* |
|
|
|
2008* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribers
at end of period(1) (in thousands)
|
|
|
3,073 |
|
|
|
3,187 |
|
|
|
3,292 |
|
|
|
3.7 |
% |
|
|
3.3 |
% |
Period
churn rate(1)(2)
|
|
|
16.3 |
% |
|
|
18.9 |
% |
|
|
19.6 |
% |
|
2.6pp
|
|
|
0.7pp
|
|
Average
monthly usage per subscriber (MOU) (in minutes)(1)(3)
|
|
|
322 |
|
|
|
329 |
|
|
|
331 |
|
|
|
2.2 |
% |
|
|
0.6 |
% |
Average
monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) (1)(4) (in NIS)
|
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
144 |
|
|
|
(0.7 |
%) |
|
|
(3.4 |
%) |
Operating
income (in NIS millions)
|
|
|
1,394 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
|
|
1,768 |
|
|
|
21.2 |
% |
|
|
4.6 |
% |
Net
income (in NIS millions)
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
7.6 |
% |
|
|
19.5 |
% |
EBITDA(5)
(in NIS millions)
|
|
|
2,187 |
|
|
|
2,482 |
|
|
|
2,529 |
|
|
|
13.5 |
% |
|
|
1.9 |
% |
Operating
income margin(6)
|
|
|
23.0 |
% |
|
|
26.3 |
% |
|
|
27.3 |
% |
|
|
3.3
|
pp |
|
|
1.0
|
pp |
EBITDA
margin(7)
|
|
|
36.1 |
% |
|
|
38.7 |
% |
|
|
39.0 |
% |
|
|
2.6
|
pp |
|
|
0.3
|
pp |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
Retrospective
application due to accounting policy change regarding Subscriber
Acquisition and Retention Costs.
|
**
|
pp
denotes percentage points and this measure of change is calculated by
subtracting the 2007 measure from the 2008 measure and the 2008 measure
from the 2009 measure,
respectively.
|
(1)
|
Subscriber
data refer to active subscribers. Commencing in 2006, we use a six-month
method of calculating our subscriber base, which means that we deduct
subscribers from our subscriber base after six months of no revenue
generation or activity on our network by or in relation to both the
post-paid and pre-paid subscriber. The six-month method is, to
the best of our knowledge, consistent with the methodology used by other
cellular providers in Israel.
|
(2)
|
Churn
rate is defined as the total number of voluntary and involuntary permanent
deactivations in a given period expressed as a percentage of the number of
subscribers at the beginning of such period. Involuntary
permanent deactivations relate to subscribers
|
|
who
have failed to pay their arrears for the period of six consecutive
months. Voluntary permanent deactivations relate to subscribers
who terminated their use of our services. |
(3)
|
Average
monthly minutes of use per subscriber (MOU) is calculated by dividing the
total billable minutes (of outgoing and incoming calls from other
networks, excluding roaming usage) during the month, by the average number
of subscribers during such month, and by dividing the sum of such results
for all months in the reported period by the number of months in the
period. Following the regulatory requirement to change the basic airtime
charging unit from twelve-seconds to one-second units commencing January
1, 2009, MOU for 2007 and 2008 has been adjusted to the same
per-one second unit basis to enable a comparison. MOU for 2007 and 2008
based on the former charging units were 348 and 350 minutes,
respectively.
|
(4)
|
Average
monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) is calculated by dividing revenues
from cellular services for the period by the average number of subscribers
during the period and by dividing the result by the number of months in
the period. Revenues from inbound roaming services are included
even though the number of subscribers in the equation does not include the
users of those roaming services. Inbound roaming services are
included because ARPU is meant to capture all service revenues generated
by a cellular network, including roaming services. Revenues
from sales of extended warranties are included because they represent
recurring revenues generated by subscribers, but revenues from sales of
handsets, repair services and transmission services are
not. We, and industry analysts, treat ARPU as a key performance
indicator of a cellular operator because it is the closest meaningful
measure of the contribution to service revenues made by an average
subscriber.
|
|
We
have set out below the calculation of ARPU for each of the periods
presented:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions, except number of subscribers and months)
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
less revenues from equipment
sales
|
|
|
635 |
|
|
|
745 |
|
|
|
751 |
|
less other revenues*
|
|
|
93 |
|
|
|
135 |
|
|
|
162 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
used in ARPU calculation (in NIS millions)
|
|
|
5,322 |
|
|
|
5,537 |
|
|
|
5,570 |
|
Average
number of subscribers
|
|
|
2,955,855 |
|
|
|
3,105,022 |
|
|
|
3,215,492 |
|
Months
during period
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
ARPU
(in NIS, per month)
|
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
144 |
|
* Other
revenues include revenues from repair services, transmission services and
land-line services.
(5)
|
EBITDA
is a non-GAAP measure and is defined as income before financial income
(expenses), net; other income (expenses), net; income tax; depreciation
and amortization. We present EBITDA as a supplemental
performance measure because we believe that it facilitates operating
performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by
backing out potential differences caused by variations in capital
structure (most particularly affecting our interest expense given our
recently incurred significant debt), tax positions (such as the impact on
periods or companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating
losses) and the age of, and depreciation expenses associated with, fixed
assets (affecting relative depreciation expense and the impact of purchase
accounting (affecting depreciation and amortization
expense). EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a
substitute for operating income or other statement of operations or cash
flow data prepared in accordance with Israeli GAAP as a measure of our
profitability or liquidity. EBITDA does not take into account
our debt service requirements and other commitments, including capital
expenditures, and, accordingly, is not necessarily indicative of amounts
that may be available for discretionary uses. In addition, EBITDA, as
presented in this annual report, may not be comparable to similarly titled
measures reported by other companies due to differences in the way these
measures are calculated.
|
The following is a reconciliation of EBITDA with net income and operating
income:
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2007* |
|
|
|
2008* |
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
Financing
expenses, net
|
|
|
147 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
|
|
219 |
|
Income
taxes
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
1,394 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
|
|
1,768 |
|
Other
expenses (income), net
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
821 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
2,187 |
|
|
|
2,482 |
|
|
|
2,529 |
|
*
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change regarding Subscriber
Acquisition and Retention Costs.
(6)
|
Operating
income margin is defined as operating income as a percentage of total
revenues for each of the applicable
periods.
|
(7)
|
EBITDA
margin is defined as EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues for each of
the applicable periods.
|
The
following table sets forth our selected consolidated statements of operations as
a percentage of total revenues from operations for the periods
indicated:
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
100.0 |
% |
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
54.8 |
% |
|
|
52.9 |
% |
|
|
51.4 |
% |
Gross
profit
|
|
|
45.2 |
% |
|
|
47.1 |
% |
|
|
48.6 |
% |
Selling
and marketing expenses
|
|
|
11.3 |
% |
|
|
10.9 |
% |
|
|
11.0 |
% |
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
10.8 |
% |
|
|
10.3 |
% |
|
|
10.2 |
% |
Other
(income) expenses, net
|
|
|
0.1 |
% |
|
|
(0.4 |
%) |
|
|
0.1 |
% |
Operating
income
|
|
|
23.0 |
% |
|
|
26.3 |
% |
|
|
27.3 |
% |
Financial
expenses, net
|
|
|
2.4 |
% |
|
|
4.8 |
% |
|
|
3.4 |
% |
Income
before taxes
|
|
|
20.6 |
% |
|
|
21.5 |
% |
|
|
23.9 |
% |
Income
tax
|
|
|
5.4 |
% |
|
|
6.1 |
% |
|
|
5.7 |
% |
Net
income
|
|
|
15.2 |
% |
|
|
15.4 |
% |
|
|
18.2 |
% |
Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
6.1 |
% |
|
|
1.0 |
% |
The
increase in revenues in 2009 was mainly due to a 31% increase in revenues from
content and value added services (including SMS), as well as a significant
increase in revenues from land-line services. The increase in revenues was
partially offset by a substantial decrease in roaming revenues following the
reduction in incoming and outgoing tourism resulting from the global economic
slowdown. The increase in revenues was also offset in part by a decrease in
revenues from domestic voice services mainly due to the ongoing airtime price
erosion.
The
increase in revenues in 2008 was mainly due to a 37% increase in revenues from
content and value added services (including SMS), an increase in revenues from
extended warranty services and an increase in revenues from sale of handsets and
accessories, as well as a significant increase in revenues from land-line
services. The increase in revenues was partially offset by the reduction of
interconnect tariffs by the Ministry of Communications in March 2008 and the
ongoing airtime price erosion.
The
following table sets forth the breakdown of our revenues for the periods
indicated based on the various sources thereof:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Voice
services:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outgoing
air time*
|
|
|
2,861 |
|
|
|
47.3 |
% |
|
|
2,878 |
|
|
|
44.8 |
% |
|
|
2,806 |
|
|
|
43.3 |
% |
Incoming
air time
|
|
|
1,188 |
|
|
|
19.7 |
% |
|
|
1,169 |
|
|
|
18.2 |
% |
|
|
1,176 |
|
|
|
18.1 |
% |
Roaming
|
|
|
424 |
|
|
|
7.0 |
% |
|
|
423 |
|
|
|
6.6 |
% |
|
|
340 |
|
|
|
5.3 |
% |
Total
voice services
|
|
|
4,473 |
|
|
|
74.0 |
% |
|
|
4,470 |
|
|
|
69.6 |
% |
|
|
4,322 |
|
|
|
66.7 |
% |
Content
and value added services**
|
|
|
492 |
|
|
|
8.1 |
% |
|
|
674 |
|
|
|
10.5 |
% |
|
|
882 |
|
|
|
13.6 |
% |
Other
services***
|
|
|
450 |
|
|
|
7.4 |
% |
|
|
528 |
|
|
|
8.3 |
% |
|
|
528 |
|
|
|
8.1 |
% |
Total
services
|
|
|
5,415 |
|
|
|
89.5 |
% |
|
|
5,672 |
|
|
|
88.4 |
% |
|
|
5,732 |
|
|
|
88.4 |
% |
Handsets
and accessories
|
|
|
635 |
|
|
|
10.5 |
% |
|
|
745 |
|
|
|
11.6 |
% |
|
|
751 |
|
|
|
11.6 |
% |
Total
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
*
|
Including air time packages and
interconnect.
|
**
|
Consists
of content services, text messages and data
services.
|
***
|
Consists
of fixed monthly subscription fees, extended warranty fees, land-line
services and others.
|
During
2009, revenues from services (comprising 88.4% of total revenues) increased by
approximately 1%, compared with 2008. This increase in revenues from
services resulted mainly from an increase in our subscriber base of
approximately 3.3% (mainly among “post-paid” subscribers), an increase in
revenues from content and value added services, as well as an increase in
revenues from land-line services. These increases were partially offset by the
significant decrease in roaming revenues and the ongoing airtime price
erosion.
During
2008, revenues from services (comprising 88.4% of total revenues) increased by
approximately 5%, compared with 2007. This increase in revenues from
services resulted mainly from an increase in our subscriber base of
approximately 3.7% (mainly among “post-paid” subscribers), an increase in
revenues from content and value added services, as well as an increase from
land-line services and extended warranty services. These increases were
partially offset by the reduction in interconnect tariffs and the ongoing
airtime price erosion.
During
2008 and 2009, revenues from content and value added services increased by
approximately 37% and 31%, respectively compared with the previous respective
years, mainly as a result of the growth in content services, text messages and
sales of data packages, which is significantly attributable to the growth of our
3G subscriber base. As a percentage of service revenues, revenues from content
and value added services increased from 9.1% in 2007 to 11.9% in 2008 and to
15.4% in 2009, and as percentage of total revenues, from 8.1% in 2007 to 10.5%
in 2008 and 13.6% in 2009.
In 2009,
revenues from other services remained the same as in 2008 and were affected
mainly by an increase in revenues from land-line services, which was offset
mainly by a decrease in fixed monthly subscription fees. As a
percentage of total revenues, revenues from other services decreased to 8.1% in
2009 from 8.3% in 2008.
During
2008, revenues from other services increased by approximately 17% mainly as a
result of the increase in extended warranty fees, land-line services and fixed
monthly subscription fees. As a percentage of total
revenues, revenues from other services increased to 8.3% in 2008 from 7.4% in
2007.
During
2008 and 2009, handset and accessories revenues (comprising 11.6% of total
revenues) increased by 17.3% and 0.8%, respectively compared with the previous
respective years. This increase primarily resulted from an increase
in the average handset sale price due to the larger amount of advanced 3G
handsets in the mix of handsets sold in 2008 compared with 2007 and in 2009
compared with 2008. The increase was offset in part by a decrease in the total
amount of handsets sold during those years compared with the previous years
which resulted from more aggressive sales campaigns launched in 2007 compared
with 2008 and in 2008 compared with 2009.
The
following table sets forth the breakdown of our revenues for the periods
indicated based on the types of subscribers:
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
%
of Total Revenues
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
%
of Total Revenues
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
%
of Total Revenues
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Individual
|
|
|
4,377 |
|
|
|
72.3 |
% |
|
|
4,626 |
|
|
|
72.1 |
% |
|
|
4,775 |
|
|
|
73.7 |
% |
Business*
|
|
|
1,524 |
|
|
|
25.2 |
% |
|
|
1,654 |
|
|
|
25.8 |
% |
|
|
1,622 |
|
|
|
25.0 |
% |
Other*
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
2.5 |
% |
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
2.1 |
% |
|
|
86 |
|
|
|
1.3 |
% |
Total
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
*
|
Consists
of revenues from inbound roaming services and other
services.
|
A
breakdown of revenues according to types of subscribers (individual and
business) during 2009 shows an approximately 3% increase, compared with 2008, in
revenues attributable to individual subscribers, which resulted mainly from a
higher subscriber base and increased usage. Revenues attributable to business
subscribers decreased approximately 2%, mainly as a result of a significant
decrease in outbound roaming revenues following the global economic slowdown and
the airtime price erosion. Other revenues decreased 37% in 2009 compared with
2008, mainly due to a significant decrease in revenues from inbound roaming
services, which resulted from a reduction in incoming tourism also following the
global economic slowdown.
A
breakdown of revenues according to types of subscribers (individual and
business) during 2008 shows an approximately 6% increase in revenues
attributable to individual subscribers and an approximately 9% increase in
revenue attributable to business subscribers, compared with 2007. These
increases are the result of a higher subscriber base and increased
usage.
The
following table sets forth the breakdown of our revenues for the periods
indicated based on the types of subscription plans:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pre-paid
|
|
|
729 |
|
|
|
12.0 |
% |
|
|
696 |
|
|
|
10.9 |
% |
|
|
657 |
|
|
|
10.1 |
% |
Post-paid
|
|
|
5,172 |
|
|
|
85.5 |
% |
|
|
5,584 |
|
|
|
87.0 |
% |
|
|
5,741 |
|
|
|
88.6 |
% |
Other*
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
2.5 |
% |
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
2.1 |
% |
|
|
86 |
|
|
|
1.3 |
% |
Total
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
*
Consists of revenues from inbound roaming services and other
services.
|
A
breakdown of revenues according to types of subscription plans (pre-paid and
post-paid) shows that the increase in revenues in 2009 compared with 2008 and in
2008 compared with 2007 resulted from post-paid subscribers. This increase was
primarily the result of an increase in revenues from services resulting from an
increase in usage of content and value-added services, in land-line services and
from the expansion of our subscriber base.
Cost
of revenues and gross profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007*
|
|
|
|
2008* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues-services
|
|
|
2,592 |
|
|
|
2,641 |
|
|
|
2,643 |
|
|
|
1.9 |
% |
|
|
0.1 |
% |
Cost
of revenues-equipment
|
|
|
723 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
|
|
690 |
|
|
|
4.3 |
% |
|
|
(8.6 |
%) |
Total
cost of revenues
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
|
|
2.4 |
% |
|
|
(1.9 |
%) |
Gross
profit
|
|
|
2,735 |
|
|
|
3,021 |
|
|
|
3,150 |
|
|
|
10.5 |
% |
|
|
4.3 |
% |
|
*
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change regarding
Subscriber Acquisition and Retention Costs.
|
|
The
slight increase in services cost of revenues in 2009 compared with 2008,
resulted mainly from an increase in interconnect fees due to an increase in the
number of outgoing calls completed in other operators' networks, an increase in
cost of content and value-added
services
due to increased usage and a one-time provision in the amount of NIS 15 million
related to a dispute with the Ministry of Communications regarding frequencies
fees. These increases were offset mainly by a decrease in roaming related
expenses due to the reduction in outgoing tourism, in depreciation expenses and
in royalties paid to the Ministry of Communications resulting from a decline in
the royalties' rate.
The
increase in services cost of revenues in 2008 compared with 2007, resulted
mainly from an increase in interconnect fees due to an increase in the number of
outgoing calls completed in other operators' networks, an increase in cost of
content and value-added services due to increased usage and an increase in
handsets repair cost due to higher maintenance cost for the advanced handsets
sold. The increase was partially offset by a decrease in rent and related
expenses and in royalties paid to the Ministry of Communications resulting from
a decline in the royalties' rate.
The
decrease in equipment cost of revenues in 2009 compared with 2008, resulted
primarily from a decrease in the total amount of handsets sold during 2009
compared with 2008, mainly due to more aggressive sales campaigns launched in
2008 compared with 2009. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in
the average handset cost due to a larger amount of advanced 3G handsets sold
during 2009.
The
increase in equipment cost of revenues in 2008 compared with 2007, resulted
primarily from an increase in the average handset cost due to a larger amount of
advanced 3G handsets sold during 2008 and an increase in currency hedging
expenses related to handsets purchases, which was partially offset by increased
efficiency in handset procurement.
The
increase in gross profit in 2009 compared with 2008 and in 2008 compared with
2007, resulted mainly from increases in revenues from content and value added
services and revenues from landline services. The increase also benefited from a
decrease in handsets subsidy. These increases were partially offset by the
ongoing airtime price erosion.
Selling
and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling and marketing
expenses
|
|
|
685 |
|
|
|
701 |
|
|
|
716 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
% |
|
|
2.1 |
% |
General and administrative
expenses
|
|
|
653 |
|
|
|
659 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
|
|
0.9 |
% |
|
|
0.2 |
% |
Total
|
|
|
1,338 |
|
|
|
1,360 |
|
|
|
1,376 |
|
|
|
1.6 |
% |
|
|
1.2 |
% |
The
increase in selling and marketing expenses in 2009 compared with 2008, was
mainly due to an increase in amortization expenses. This increase was partially
offset by a decrease in advertising and customer retention expenses. The
deferral of sales commissions in 2009 amounted to approximately NIS 64 million
compared with approximately NIS 60 million in 2008. Amortization of deferred
sales commissions increased in 2009 to approximately NIS 60 million compared
with approximately NIS 36 million in 2008.
The
increase in selling and marketing expenses in 2008 compared with 2007, was
mainly due to an increase in payroll expenses resulting from the expansion of
our services and sales teams at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, as
part of our preparation for the implementation of number portability and our
strategy to constantly improve service level and customer satisfaction. The
increase also resulted from an increase in customer retention
expenses. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in
advertising and postage
expenses.
Following the expanded marketing of innovative new plans with guaranteed
revenues during 2007 and according to accounting standards, we are required to
defer sales commissions related to acquisition and retention of subscribers with
guaranteed revenues and to recognize such commissions as intangible assets, to
be amortized over the expected life of such subscribers' guaranteed revenues. We
commenced deferring these commissions in the fourth quarter of
2007. The deferred sales commissions in 2008 amounted to
approximately NIS 60 million compared with approximately NIS 21 million in 2007.
Amortization of deferred sales commissions increased in 2008 to approximately
NIS 36 million compared with approximately NIS 2 million in 2007.
General
and administrative expenses in 2009 remained similar to 2008, and were affected
by a significant increase in bad debts and doubtful accounts expenses, mainly
due to the global economic slowdown and following the implementation of number
portability, which allows subscribers to switch to another cellular operator
without settling their outstanding debt first. This increase was offset by a
decrease in payroll expenses, mainly due to a decrease in compensation expenses
related to our share incentive plan, mostly expensed during 2008. The increase
in general and administrative expenses was also offset by a decrease in
maintenance cost related to our information systems and in depreciation and
amortization expenses in 2009 compared with 2008.
General
and administrative expenses increased in 2008 compared with 2007, as a result of
an increase in bad debts and doubtful accounts expenses, mainly following the
implementation of number portability. This increase was partially offset by a
decrease in depreciation and amortization expenses in 2008.
Other
income (expenses), net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
Other
income (expenses), net
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
Other
expenses in 2009 consisted mainly of capital losses which resulted from deletion
of certain equipment items.
Other
income in 2008 consisted mainly of capital gains from sales of certain surplus
underground pipes for fiber optic cables.
Financing
expenses, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
Financing
expenses
|
|
|
(287 |
) |
|
|
(393 |
) |
|
|
(370 |
) |
Financing
income
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
83 |
|
|
|
151 |
|
Financing
expenses, net
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
|
|
(310 |
) |
|
|
(219 |
) |
Financing
expenses, net decreased in 2009 compared with 2008, primarily due to gains from
our hedging portfolio, mainly from our CPI hedging transactions, as well as from
embedded derivatives income in 2009 compared with embedded derivatives expense
in 2008 mainly due to the one-time reversal of financing income in the amount of
NIS 29 million in
the
second quarter of 2008, following a clarification of the Israel Accounting
Standard Board to the International Accounting Standard no. 39. The decrease in
financing expenses, net also resulted from a decrease in CPI linkage expenses
associated with our debentures due to the decreased inflation rate of 3.8% in
2009 compared with 4.5% in 2008. These decreases were partially offset by an
increase in interest expenses associated with our debentures, due to the
increase in our outstanding indebtedness following the issuance of our new
series of debentures and the expansion of existing series in April
2009.
Financing
expenses, net increased in 2008 compared with 2007, resulting primarily from an
increase in interest and CPI linkage expenses associated with our debentures,
due to the increase in our outstanding indebtedness following the issuance of
our new series of debentures in October 2007 and the expansion of these series
in February 2008 and the increased inflation rate of 4.5% in 2008 compared with
2.8% in 2007. The increase also resulted from embedded derivatives expenses in
2008 compared with embedded derivatives income in 2007. This increase was
partially offset by a decrease in interest expenses related to our credit
facility which was voluntarily prepaid in full in March 2008.
Interest
and CPI linkage expenses associated with the principal amount of the debentures,
and interest expenses resulting from the credit facility (voluntarily prepaid in
full, in March 2008) incurred during 2009, 2008 and 2007 were approximately NIS
370 million, NIS 367 million and NIS 249 million, respectively.
Income
tax
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
19.2 |
% |
|
|
(6.1 |
%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax in 2009 decreased by 6.1% compared with 2008, resulting from the reduction
in income tax rate to 26% in 2009 from 27% in 2008 and a reduction of deferred
tax liabilities and the recognition of a one-time tax income of approximately
NIS 41 million in the third quarter of 2009, due to the enactment of the
Economic Efficiency Improvement Law (legislative amendments for the
implementation of the economic program for the years 2009 and 2010), in July
2009, which provides, among others, for an additional gradual reduction of the
Corporate tax rate from 25% for the 2010 tax year down to 18% for the 2016 tax
year and thereafter. The decrease in income tax was partially offset by an
increase in income before income tax.
Income
tax in 2008 increased by 19.2% compared with 2007, resulting from the increase
in income before income tax and pursuant to the release in 2007 of a tax
provision in the amount of approximately NIS 55.5 million, which was recorded in
2006. The increase was partially offset by a reduction in income tax rate to 27%
in 2008 from 29% in 2007.
Net
income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In
NIS millions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
7.6 |
% |
|
|
19.5 |
% |
The
increase in net income in 2009 compared with 2008, was due primarily to an
increase of 1% in revenues, while total operating expenses decreased by 1%,
leading to an increase of 4.6% in operating income. The increase also resulted
from a decrease in financing expenses and income tax.
The
increase in net income in 2008 compared with 2007, was due primarily to an
increase of 6.1% in revenues while total operating expenses increased by only
2.2%, leading to an increase of 21.2% in operating income. This increase was
partially offset by the significant increase in financing expenses and the
increase in income tax.
B.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
General
Our
liquidity requirements relate primarily to working capital requirements, debt
service, capital expenditures for the expansion and improvement of our networks
and payment of dividends. Until the end of 2005, these requirements had been
funded largely through funds generated from operations and bank borrowings.
However, in late 2005 and the first half of 2006, we raised significant
additional capital by issuing two series of debentures in the aggregate
principal amount of approximately NIS 2.0 billion ($530 million) and by
establishing a credit facility of $350 million (voluntarily prepaid in full and
terminated in March 2008). Our Board of Directors, at the request of our
shareholders, determined to incur such debt, and pay dividends in excess of the
amount of such debt with available cash and proceeds of the borrowings, to
increase the leverage in our capital structure and improve our shareholders’
expected rate of return on our equity. In addition, in October 2007, we issued
two new series of debentures to the public in Israel, for a total principal
amount of approximately NIS 1,072 million ($284 million) and in
February 2008 we issued, in a private placement, additional debentures of these
two new series, for a total principal amount of approximately NIS 575 million
($152 million). In April 2009, we raised additional debt by issuing additional
debentures of an existing series as well as debentures of a new series, for a
total amount of approximately NIS 975 million ($258 million).
In
February 2010, the Committee for
Establishing Parameters for Institutional Bodies' Investments in Nongovernmental
Bonds, nominated by the commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and
Savings in the Ministry of Finance, published a final report of its
conclusions and recommendations. The committee's report, includes
recommendations for regulatory intervention of the commissioner, in establishing
internal procedures to be followed
by Israeli institutional investors before investing in non-governmental debentures
and recommendations that Israeli institutional investors would be required to
set a policy with respect to the incorporation of rights to demand immediate
repayment
in the debentures, recommendations that the debentures include certain
contractual terms and covenants and the information necessary for institutional
investors' examination of investment in the debentures and for their ongoing
monitoring, to be required from Israeli institutional investors before investing
in non-governmental debentures, as well as recommendations for establishing
cooperation mechanism among Israeli institutional investors regarding certain
issues related to investment in non-governmental debentures. There is no
certainty as to which recommendations will be adopted, if any. If the
committee's report recommendations are adopted, they may adversely affect our
possibilities of raising debt from Israeli institutional investors as well as
the terms and price of such debt raising.
We
believe that our free cash flow together with our financial reserves will be
sufficient to fund our anticipated cash needs for working capital, capital
expenditures and debt service for at least the next 12 months. Our future
capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue
growth, the timing and extent of spending to support marketing and subscriber
retention efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing
activities
and the timing of introductions of new products and enhancements to existing
products.
In
February 2006, our Board of Directors adopted a policy to distribute each year
at least 75% of our annual net income (determined in accordance with Israeli
GAAP for periods until December 31, 2007 and in accordance with IFRS - for
periods commencing on or after January 1, 2008), subject to compliance with
applicable law, our license and contractual obligations and so long as the
distribution would not be detrimental to our cash needs or to any plans approved
by our Board of Directors. See “Item 8. Financial Information – A. Consolidated
Statements and Other Financial Information – Dividend Policy.” It is
possible that our Board of Directors’ estimate of our cash needs will be
incorrect, or that events could occur that could increase our cash needs beyond
anticipated. If that occurs, we may not have sufficient cash to cover these
needs as a result of prior dividend payments, and we would need to identify
additional sources of financing, which could include equity or debt
financing. We may not be able to obtain such financing on acceptable
terms or at all.
Dividend
payments
During
2009, we distributed cash dividends in the aggregate amount of NIS 1.19 billion
($314 million), including the dividend declared for the fourth quarter of 2008
in the amount of NIS 270 million ($72 million), based on net income and existing
retained earnings. During 2008, we distributed cash dividends in the
aggregate amount of NIS 1.53 billion ($405 million), based on net income and
existing retained earnings. During 2007, we distributed cash dividends in the
aggregate amount of NIS 655 million ($174 million) based on net income and
existing retained earnings.
Debt
service
Shelf
Prospectus
In March
2009, we filed a shelf prospectus with the Israeli Securities Authority and the
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The shelf prospectus will allow us, from time to time,
to offer and sell debt, equity and warrants in Israel, in one or more offerings,
subject to a supplemental shelf offering report, in which we will describe the
terms of the securities offered and the specific details of the offering. At
this stage, no decision has been made as to the execution of any such offering,
nor as to its scope, terms and timing, if executed, and there is no certainty
that such offering will be executed.
Public
debentures
In
December 2005 and January 2006, we issued two series of debentures (Series A and
Series B) to institutional and other investors in private placements. In May
2006, we issued additional debentures of the existing two series. The debentures
are listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. As of December 31, 2009, these
debentures consist of approximately NIS 710 million ($188 million) aggregate
principal amount of Series A Debentures (after we repaid the first three
principal payments in July 2008 and in January and July 2009, in the sum of
approximately NIS 118 millions ($31 million) each). and approximately NIS 925
million ($245 million) aggregate principal amount of Series B Debentures. The
Series A Debentures bear interest at the rate of 5.0% per year, and are linked
(principal and interest) to
the
Israeli CPI. The principal is payable in nine semiannual payments commencing in
July 2008, and the interest is payable semiannually commencing in July 2006. The
Series B Debentures bear interest at the rate of 5.3% per year, and are linked
(principal and interest) to the Israeli CPI. The principal is payable in five
annual payments commencing in January 2013, and the interest is payable annually
commencing in January 2007.
The
Series A and B debentures are unsecured and do not restrict our ability to issue
additional debentures of any class or distribute dividends in the future. The
Series A and B debentures contain standard terms and obligations including
restriction on our ability to create liens on our assets, other than fixed liens
on assets provided in connection with financing the purchase of such
assets.
In
October 2007 we issued two new series of debentures (Series C and Series D) to
the public in Israel. The debentures are listed for trading on the Tel Aviv
Stock Exchange.
The
Series C and D Debentures were issued for a total principal amount of NIS 245
million ($65 million) and approximately NIS 827 million ($219 million),
respectively. In February 2008 we issued, in a private placement, additional
debentures of Series C in a principal amount of NIS 81 million ($21 million) and
additional Series D Debentures in a principal amount of approximately NIS 494
million ($131 million) and in April 2009
(under the above Shelf Prospectus), we issued to the public in Israel additional
Series D debentures in a principal amount of approximately NIS 186 million ($49
million) for a
total consideration of approximately NIS 215 million ($57 million). As of December 31,
2009, these debentures consist, of approximately NIS 254 million ($67 million)
aggregate principal amount of Series C Debentures (after we repaid the first two
principal payments in March and September 2009, in the sum of
approximately NIS 36 millions ($10 million) each) and approximately NIS 1,507
million ($399 million) aggregate principal amount of Series D
Debentures.
The
Series C principal is payable in nine equal semiannual payments on March 1 and
September 1, for each of the years 2009 through 2012 (inclusive) and on March 1,
2013. The interest on Series C debentures is payable semiannually on March 1 and
on September 1, for each of the years 2008 through 2012 (inclusive) and on March
1, 2013. The Series D principal is payable in five equal annual payments on July
1, for each of the years 2013 through 2017 (inclusive). The interest on Series D
debentures is payable annually on July 1, for each of the years 2008 through
2017 (inclusive). Series C and D debentures bear an annual interest rate of
4.60% and 5.19%, respectively and are linked (principal and interest) to the
Israeli CPI for August 2007.
The
Series C and D debentures are unsecured and do not restrict our ability to issue
additional debentures of any class or distribute dividends in the
future. The Series C and D debentures contain standard terms and
obligations.
In April
2009, we issued to the public in Israel a new Series E debentures in a principal
amount of approximately NIS 789 million ($209 million) at an interest rate of
6.25% per annum, without any linkage, for a total consideration of approximately
NIS 785 million ($208 million). The Series E principal is payable in six equal
annual payments on January 5, of each of the years 2012 through 2017
(inclusive). The interest on Series E debentures is payable annually on January
5, of each of the years 2010 through 2017 (inclusive). The debentures were
issued in a public offering in Israel based on the aforementioned shelf
prospectus and were listed for trading on the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange.
The
Series E debentures are unsecured and do not restrict our ability to issue
additional debentures of any class or distribute dividends in the
future. The Series E debentures contain standard terms and
obligations.
Our
debentures are rated ilAA/Stable by Standard & Poor's Maalot rating
company.
Other
credit facilities
As of
December 31, 2009, there were no other credit facilities
outstanding.
Capital
expenditures
Our
accrual capital expenditure in 2007, 2008 and 2009 amounted to NIS 651 million,
NIS 633 million and NIS 663 million, respectively. Accrual capital expenditure
is defined as investment in fixed assets and intangible assets, such as spectrum
licenses, during a given period. The amounts of capital expenditure have been
adjusted to include capitalized subscriber acquisition and retention
cost. For the periods under review, a key focus of our capital
investment has been the enhancement and expansion of our networks and
transmission infrastructure.
Cash
flows from operating activities
Cash
flows from operating activities increased by 18.4% in 2009 to NIS 2,088 million
from NIS 1,763 million in 2008. The increase resulted mainly from the slight
decrease in income tax payments in 2009 compared with 2008, while income before
income tax increased.
Cash
flows from operating activities decreased by 3.1% in 2008 to NIS 1,763 million
from NIS 1,820 million in 2007. The decrease resulted mainly from the increased
expenditure related to the expansion in our workforce and the increase in
subscriber retention and acquisition costs, especially at the beginning of 2008
following the introduction of number portability in December 2007, as well as
from an
increase in income tax paid during 2008, which included a one-time catch up
payment of NIS 70 million for 2007 accrued tax liability. These increases were
partially offset by other operating activities.
Cash
flows from investing activities
The net
cash flows from operating activities is the main capital resource for our
investment activities. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, our net cash used in investing
activities amounted to NIS 560 million, NIS 546 million and NIS 782 million,
respectively. The payments were primarily for the expansion of the
technological networks and information systems infrastructures. The increase in
2009 compared with 2008, resulted mainly from the investment in our current
debentures portfolio according to our investment policy, which totaled NIS 212
million in 2009.
Cash
flows from financing activities
In 2009,
the net cash used in financing activities amounted to NIS 678 million compared
with NIS 1,853 million in 2008. The decrease resulted primarily from a decrease
in cash dividend paid mainly due to the special dividend paid in April 2008, a
decrease in repayments of long-term loans from banks in 2008 and an increase in
proceeds from issuance
of
debentures in 2009. These were partially offset by an increase in repayments of
debentures.
In 2008,
the net cash used in financing activities amounted to NIS 1,853 million compared
with NIS 405 million in 2007. The increase was primarily due to an increase in
cash dividend paid and a decrease in proceeds from issuance of
debentures.
During
2008, we voluntarily prepaid in full the outstanding balance of our credit
facility in the amount of NIS 648 million and received net amount of NIS 589
million from the expansion of two existing series of debentures in February
2008. We also made debentures' payments of principal in the aggregate amount of
NIS 125 million and interest payments in the aggregate amount of NIS 175 million
mostly related to our debentures. Furthermore, during 2008, we paid cash
dividends in the amount of NIS 1.525 billion (excluding the difference between
withholding tax in respect of the last dividends distributed in 2007 and 2008,
which were paid subsequent to balance sheet dates).
During
2007, 2008 and 2009, the average outstanding amount of long-term liabilities
(long-term loans and debentures) was NIS 3.2 billion, NIS 3.8 billion and NIS
4.3 billion, respectively.
Working
capital
Our
working capital as of December 31, 2009 was NIS 1,254 million, compared with NIS
461 million as of December 31, 2008. The increase in working capital
was primarily due to the increase in cash and cash-equivalents and in current
investments, resulting mainly from the issuance of debentures in
2009.
Our
working capital as of December 31, 2008 was NIS 461 million, compared with
working capital of NIS 716 million as of December 31, 2007. The
decrease in working capital was mainly due to the decrease in cash and
cash-equivalents, resulting mainly from the increase in cash dividend
distributed in 2008 compared with 2007. This decrease was partially offset by a
decrease in trade payables and accrued expenses, due to the higher balances at
the end of 2007 attributed to our preparation for number portability launched in
December 2007.
Trade
receivables
Trade
receivables consist of outstanding amounts due from customers, mainly for
cellular services and handsets and accessories, net of the allowance for
doubtful accounts. Most of our handset sales are made on an
installment basis (generally, 36 monthly payments). Installments due
in the twelve months following the balance sheet date are included in current
trade receivables; the remaining installments are included in long-term
receivables. As of December 31, 2009, net current trade receivables
amounted to NIS 1,579 million compared with NIS 1,478 million as at December 31,
2008 and NIS 1,385 million as at December 31, 2007. This increase was
primarily due to the increase in our revenues. The current maturity
of long-term receivables as of December 31, 2009 was NIS 695 million, compared
with NIS 666 million as at December 31, 2008.
C. RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT, PATENTS AND LICENSES, ETC.
Not
applicable.
D.
TREND INFORMATION
Trend
information is included throughout the other sections of this Item
5.
E.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
There are
no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a
current or future material effect on our financial condition, revenues or
expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital
resources.
F.
TABULAR DISCLOSURE OF CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
Set forth
below is a description of our contractual cash obligations, in millions of NIS,
as of December 31, 2009.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2011-
2013 |
|
|
|
2014-2015 |
|
|
|
|
Long-term
debt obligations (including interest)(1)
|
|
|
5,706 |
|
|
|
566 |
|
|
|
2,123 |
|
|
|
1,580 |
|
|
|
1,437 |
|
Operating
lease obligations
|
|
|
643 |
|
|
|
215 |
|
|
|
327 |
|
|
|
101 |
|
|
|
— |
|
Purchase
obligations
|
|
|
441 |
|
|
|
194 |
|
|
|
247 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Total
|
|
|
6,790 |
|
|
|
975 |
|
|
|
2,697 |
|
|
|
1,681 |
|
|
|
1,437 |
|
|
(1)
|
Interest
does not include (a) payments that could be required under our
interest-rate swap agreements; such payments will depend upon changes in
interest rates and could vary significantly, or (b) any increase in
interest that would be required based on increases in the Israeli
CPI.
|
Application
of Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
The
preparation of our financial statements requires management to make judgments,
estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reflected in the consolidated
financial statements and accompanying notes, and related disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates upon past
experience, where applicable, various factors, external sources and on other
assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results
of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets
and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other
sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under
different assumptions or conditions, and could have a material impact on our
reported results.
In many
cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction, event or activity
is specifically dictated by accounting principles and does not require
management’s judgment in its application, while in other cases, management’s
judgment is required in the selection of the most appropriate alternative among
the available accounting principles, that allow different accounting treatment
for similar transactions.
We
believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to our
financial results and to the understanding of our past and future performance,
as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s
estimates and assumptions. We consider an accounting estimate to be
critical if: (1) it requires us to make assumptions because information was not
available at the time or it included matters that were highly uncertain at the
time we were making our estimate and (2) changes in the estimate or different
estimates that we could have selected may have had a material impact on our
financial condition or results of operations.
Revenue
recognition
Nature
of critical estimate items
As
described in Note 3.J to our consolidated financial statements included
elsewhere in this annual report, revenues derived from usage of our networks,
including airtime, interconnect, content and value added services and roaming
revenues are recognized when the services are provided and all other revenue
recognition criteria are met. Sale of handsets with accompanying services
constitutes a revenue arrangement with multiple deliverables. Accordingly,
consideration received for handsets, up to their fair value, that is not
contingent upon delivery of additional items (such as the service), is
recognized as equipment revenues upon the delivery of the equipment to the
subscriber, when all revenue recognition criteria are met. Consideration for
services is recognized as service revenues, when earned. In revenue arrangements
including more than one deliverable, the arrangement consideration is allocated
to each deliverable based on the fair value of the individual element. Revenue
is recognized when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been
transferred to the buyer, recovery of the consideration is probable, the
associated costs and possible return of goods can be estimated reliably, there
is no continuing management involvement in regards to the goods and the amount
of revenue can be measured reliably.
Assumptions
/ approach used
We
determine the fair value of the individual elements based on prices at which the
deliverable is regularly sold on a stand alone basis, after considering volume
discounts where appropriate. The accounting estimates used in the results of
operations related to the recognition of revenue require us to make assumptions
about possible future billing adjustments arising from disputes with subscribers
and discounts not taken into consideration at the time of billing.
Effect
if different assumptions used
Management
believes that the determination of fair value of the individual elements
(relevant to revenue recognition) for each reporting period represent its best
estimate, but the actual fair value can differ from the estimate
selected. The impact of variances in actual performance versus the
amounts recorded could have an adverse effect on the accounts receivable
reported on the balance sheet and the results reported in the statements of
operations, and could be material to our financial condition.
Long-lived
assets – depreciation
Nature
of critical estimate items
The
cellular communications industry is capital intensive. The depreciation of
operating assets constitutes a significant operating cost for us. We have
substantial investments in tangible long-lived assets, primarily our
communications networks.
Assumptions
/ approach used
We
depreciate our property, plant and equipment using the straight line method.
Separate individual significant components are depreciated over their individual
estimated useful lives. We periodically review changes in our technology and
industry conditions to determine adjustments to estimated remaining useful lives
and depreciation rates.
Effect
if different assumptions used
Changes
in technology or changes in our intended use of these assets can cause the
estimated period of use or the value of these assets to
change. Actual economic lives may differ from estimated useful
lives. Periodic reviews could result in a change in our assets’
depreciable lives, and therefore, in our depreciation expense in future
periods.
Impairment
of long-lived assets
Nature
of critical estimate items
We review
finite-lived long-lived assets, principally consisting of property, plant and
equipment, and spectrum licenses for impairment based on the requirements of
International Accounting Standard No. 36, or whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate that their carrying values may not be recoverable through
the present value of anticipated cash flows from the continued use of the asset,
including those expected at the time of its future retirement and disposal. If
necessary, we reduce the carrying values of the assets to their estimated fair
values.
Assumptions
/ approach used
In
analyzing finite-lived long-lived assets for potential impairment, significant
assumptions that are used in determining the discounted cash flows of the asset
group include:
|
·
|
cash
flows attributed to the asset
group;
|
|
·
|
future
cash flows for the asset group, including estimates of residual values,
which incorporate our views of growth rates for the related business and
anticipated future economic conditions;
and
|
|
·
|
period
of time over which the assets will be held and
used.
|
Effect
if different assumptions used
The use
of different estimates and assumptions within our discounted cash flow modes
(e.g., growth rates, future economic conditions, estimates of residual values)
could result in discounted cash flows that are lower than the current carrying
value of an asset group, thereby requiring the need to reduce the carrying value
to the discounted cash flow amount.
The use
of different discount rates when determining the fair value of the asset group
could result in different fair values, and impact any related impairment
charges.
Accounts
receivable - bad debt and allowance for doubtful accounts
Nature
of critical estimate items
We
maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts to reflect estimated losses
resulting from impairment of accounts receivables.
Assumptions
/ approach used
We
regularly evaluate the adequacy of our allowance for doubtful accounts by taking
into account variables such as past experience, age of the receivable balance
and current economic conditions of the party owing the receivable
balance. If the financial conditions of certain subscribers were to
deteriorate, resulting in impairment in their ability to make payments,
additional allowance for doubtful accounts may be required.
Effect
if different assumptions used
We
believe that our allowance for doubtful accounts is adequate to cover estimated
losses in customer accounts receivable balances under current
conditions. However, changes to the allowance for doubtful accounts
may be necessary in the event that the financial condition of our customers
improves or deteriorates.
Provisions
for contingent liabilities
Provisions
in general are highly judgmental, especially in cases of legal disputes. We
assess the probability of an adverse event as a result of a past event and if
the probability is evaluated to be more likely than not, we fully provide for
the total amount of the estimated contingent liability. We continually evaluate
our pending provisions to determine if additional accruals are required. It is
often difficult to accurately estimate the ultimate outcome of a contingent
liability. Different variables can affect the timing and amount we provide for
certain contingent liabilities. Our provisions are therefore subject to
estimates made by us and our legal counsel, which are subject to changes as the
status of legal and commercial disputes changes over time. Adverse revision in
our estimates of the potential liability could materially impact our financial
condition, results of operations or liquidity.
New
Accounting Standards
None
A. DIRECTORS
AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
The
following table sets forth information regarding our directors, executive
officers and other key employees as of December 31, 2009*:
|
|
|
Ami
Erel (2), (3)
|
62
|
Chairman
of the Board
|
Nochi
Dankner (3)
|
55
|
Director
|
Isaac
Manor
|
68
|
Director
|
Shay
Livnat (2), (3)
|
51
|
Director
|
Raanan
Cohen (2), (4)
|
42
|
Director
|
Avraham
Bigger
|
63
|
Director
|
Rafi
Bisker (2) (4)
|
58
|
Director
|
Shlomo
Waxe (1), (2), (4)
|
63
|
Independent
Director
|
Haim
Gavrieli
|
39
|
Director
|
Ari
Bronshtein (2)
|
40
|
Director
|
Tal
Raz
|
48
|
Director
*
|
Joseph
Barnea (1), (2), (3), (4)
|
74
|
Independent
/ External Director
|
Ronit
Baytel (1)
|
42
|
Independent
/ External Director
|
Amos
Shapira
|
60
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
Yaacov
Heen
|
40
|
Chief
Financial Officer*
|
Adi
Cohen
|
44
|
Vice
President of Marketing
|
|
|
|
Eliezer
(Lipa) Ogman
|
56
|
Chief
Technology Officer
|
Isaiah
Rozenberg
|
49
|
Vice
President of Engineering
|
Itamar
Bartov
|
47
|
Vice
President of Executive and Regulatory Affairs
|
Refael
Poran
|
61
|
Vice
President of Business Customers
|
Meir
Barav
|
52
|
Vice
President of Sales and Services
|
Ronit
Ben-Basat
|
42
|
Vice
President of Human Resources
|
Amos
Maor
|
46
|
Vice
President of Operations and Supply Chain
|
Liat
Menahemi-Stadler
|
43
|
General
Legal Counsel
|
Gil
Ben-Itzhak
|
44
|
Controller
|
|
*
Tal Raz served as our Chief Financial Officer until September 20, 2009 and
has served as a member of our Board of Directors since September 21 2009.
Yaacov Heen was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer as of September
21, 2009.
|
|
(1)
Member of our Audit Committee.
|
|
(2)
Member of our Analysis Committee.
|
|
(3)
Member of our Option Committee.
|
|
(4)
Member of our Security Committee.
|
Ami Erel has served as
Chairman of our Board of Directors since 2005. Mr. Erel has served as President
and Chief Executive Officer of Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. since 2001.
From March to December 2007, Mr. Erel also served as the Chief Executive Officer
of NetVision Ltd., where he served prior to March 2007 and continues to serve
from January 2008, as Chairman of the board of directors. From 1999 to 2001, he
served as President of Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., where he continues to
serve as a member of the Board of Directors and also served, until January 2007,
as Chairman of the board of directors. From 1997 to 1999, he served as President
and Chief Executive Officer of Bezeq – The Israeli Telecommunications
Corporation Ltd. Mr. Erel also serves as the Chairman of the board of
directors of Koor Industries Ltd. and as a member of the boards of directors of
Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd., Shufersal Ltd., Property and Building
Corporation Ltd. and other IDB group companies. Mr. Erel has served as the
chairman of the executive committee of the Manufacturers Association of Israel
from 2005 to 2009 and since September 2009 he has served as the chairman of the
Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute. Mr. Erel
holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of
Technology.
Nochi Dankner has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2005. Mr. Dankner currently
serves as Chairman of the boards of directors of IDB Holding Corporation Ltd.
(of which he also served as Chief Executive Officer from May 2003 until August
2009), IDB Development Corporation Ltd. Discount Investment
Corporation Ltd., Clal Industries and Investments Ltd., Ganden Holdings Ltd. and
various private companies, and as a member of the boards of directors of Clal
Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd., Clal Insurance Company Ltd., Shufersal
Ltd., Property and Building Corporation Ltd., Koor Industries Ltd.,
Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd., and various private companies. Mr.
Dankner also serves as the Chairman of the IDB fund “For the Community” (a
non-profit organization), as a member of “Matan-Your Way to Give” (a non-profit
organization), as a member of the management committee of the Association of
Friends of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and as a member of the board of
trustees of Tel Aviv University, Buchmann Faculty of Law - Tel Aviv
University and Bar-Ilan University. Mr. Dankner holds an L.L.B.
and a B.A. in political science, both from Tel Aviv University.
Isaac Manor has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2005. Mr. Manor has served as
the Deputy Chairman of the board of directors of IDB Holding Corporation Ltd.
since 2003. From 1976 to 2001, he served as Chief Executive Officer
of companies in the automobile sector of the David Lubinsky group, the importer
of Peugeot and Citroen automobiles to Israel, where he currently serves as the
Chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Manor also serves as a
member of the boards of directors of IDB Development Corporation Ltd., Discount
Investment Corporation Ltd., Clal Industries and Investments Ltd., Shufersal
Ltd., Property and Building Corporation Ltd., Hadera Paper Ltd., Clal Insurance
Enterprises Holdings Ltd., Union Bank of Israel Ltd., Koor Industries Ltd.,
Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. and various private
companies. Mr. Manor holds an executive M.B.A. from the Hebrew
University.
Shay Livnat has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2005. Mr. Livnat has served as
the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zoe Holdings Ltd., a holding
company that manages a diverse portfolio of international telecommunications
operations and hi-tech companies, which was founded by him in 1988, since 2001
and as Vice President and member of the board of Taavura Holdings
Ltd. From 1988 to 1998, he served as Chief Executive Officer of
Tashtit Ltd. Mr. Livnat also serves as a member of the boards of
directors of various IDB group companies, including IDB Development Corporation
Ltd., Clal Industries and Investments Ltd., Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings
Ltd., Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. and other companies in the Avraham Livnat
Group and Zoe/Cyphertech Group of companies. Mr. Livnat also serves as a member
of the board of the Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa. Mr. Livnat holds a
B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey,
USA.
Raanan Cohen has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2000. Mr. Cohen also has
served as Chief Executive Officer of Koor Industries Ltd. since July
2006. From 2004 to 2006, he also served as Chief Executive Officer of
Scailex Corporation Ltd.. Since 2001 he has served as Vice President
of Discount Investment Corporation Ltd., having previously served, from 1999 to
2001, as executive assistant to the chief executive officer of Discount
Investment Corporation Ltd. From 1997 to 1999, he was an associate at
McKinsey & Company Inc., London. Mr. Cohen also serves as a
member of the boards of directors of Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. and various
private companies. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Israeli Bar
Association and holds an L.L.B. and a B.A. in economics from Tel Aviv University
and an M.B.A. in management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of management
of Northwestern University.
Avraham Bigger has served as
a member of our Board of Directors since 2005. Mr. Bigger is the
owner and managing director of three family-owned companies. Since October 2006,
Mr. Bigger has served as the Chairman, and from January 2007 to December 2009 he
has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd.
From June 2003 to July 2007, Mr. Bigger served as the Chairman of the board of
directors of Shufersal Ltd.; as the chairman of the boards of directors of
various private companies; as the Deputy Chairman of the Caesarea Edmond
Benjamin De Rothschild Foundation and the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin De Rothschild
Development Corporation Ltd.; and as a member of the boards of directors of the
First International Bank of Israel Ltd. and various private companies.
Mr. Bigger holds a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. from the Hebrew
University.
Rafi Bisker has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2006. Mr. Bisker currently
serves as co-Chairman of Shufersal Ltd. and as the Chairman of Property and
Building
Corporation Ltd., Bayside Land Corporation Ltd. and various private
companies. From 2000 to 2005, he served as Chief Executive Officer of
Ganden Holdings Ltd and Ganden Real Estate Ltd.. From 1989 to 1999,
he served as Chief Executive Officer of Dankner Investments
Ltd. Mr. Bisker also serves as a member of the boards of
directors of IDB Holding Corporation Ltd., IDB Development Corporation Ltd.,
Discount Investment Corporation Ltd., Clal Industries and Investments Ltd., Koor
Industries Ltd., Ganden Holdings Ltd., ISPRO The Israel Properties Rental
Corporation Ltd., Mehadrin Ltd., and various private
companies. Mr. Bisker holds a B.Sc. in civil engineering from
the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Shlomo Waxe has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2006. Mr. Waxe has served as
Director General of the Israel Association of Electronics and Software
Industries since 2006. From 2002 to 2005, he worked in the field of
communications management and consultancy. From 1999 to 2001, he
served as Chief Executive Officer of Zeevi Communications Ltd. From
1997 to 1999, he served as a consultant to cellular communications projects in
Sao Paulo, Brazil and in Northeast Brazil. From 1993 to 1997, he
served as the Director General of Israel’s Ministry of
Communications. From 1990 to 1993, he served as commanding officer of
the signal, electronics and computer corps of the Israel Defense Forces and he
is a retired brigadier general. Mr. Waxe also serves as a member of the
boards of directors of Tambour Ltd. and C. Mer Industries Ltd. and until 2009,
served as a board member of Shrem, Fudim – Technologies
Ltd. Mr. Waxe holds a B.A. in political science from the
University of Haifa.
Haim Gavrieli has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2008. Mr. Gavrieli has served as the
Chief Executive Officer of IDB Holding Corporation Ltd. since 2009 and also as
Executive Vice President of IDB Development Corporation Ltd. since 2006. He also
serves as a member of the boards of directors of Discount Investment Corporation
Ltd., Koor Industries Ltd., Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd., NetVision Ltd.,
Clal Finance Ltd., other IDB group companies and various private companies. Mr.
Gavrieli also serves as the Deputy Chairman of Shufersal Ltd. and chairman of
the board of directors of IDB Tourism (2009) Ltd. From April 2005 to November
2006 he served as Vice President of IDB Development Corporation Ltd.. From April
2001 to April 2005, he served as personal assistant to the chairman of IDB
Holding Corporation Ltd. and also as personal assistant to the chairman of the
board of directors of Ganden Holdings Ltd., and previously, from 1999 to 2001,
Mr Gavrieli served as an advisor to the Israeli Minister of Finance.
Mr. Gavrieli holds a B.A. in political science and sociology from the
University of Haifa and an M.A. in management from the University of
Haifa.
Ari Bronshtein has served as
a member of our Board of Directors since 2008. Mr. Bronshtein has served as
Vice-President of DIC since January 2006 and since 2009, he also serves as a
co-Chief Executive Officer of Elron Electronic Industries Ltd.. Mr. Bronstein
also serves as a member of the boards of directors of Maxima Air Separation
Center Ltd. and various private companies. Until 2009, Mr. Bronstein also served
as a member of the board of directors of Hadera Paper Ltd. From 2004
to 2005, he served as Vice President and head of the Economics and Business
Development division and from 2000 to 2003, as Director of Finance and
Investments at Bezeq – The Israeli Telecommunications Corporation Ltd.. Mr.
Bronshtein holds a B.A. in finance and management and M.Sc. degree in finance
and accounting, both from Tel Aviv University.
Tal Raz has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since September 2009. Mr. Raz has served
as Chief Executive Officer of Clal Finance, since September 2009.
From
2005 to
September 2009, Mr Raz served as our Chief Financial Officer. From 2002 to 2005,
Mr. Raz served as Chief Financial Officer of Elron Electronic Industries Ltd.
From 2001 to 2002, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Elbit Ltd. From 1997 to 2001, he served as Elbit’s Chief Financial Officer,
having previously served in the same capacity at Agentsoft Ltd. and Paul Winston
Corporation. Prior to that, he was a senior auditor at Deloitte & Touche’s
New York office. Until January 2007, Mr. Raz served as a director of
NetVision Ltd. Mr. Raz is a member of the steering committee of the
Israeli CFO (Chief Financial Officers) Forum and is a certified public
accountant. He holds a B.A. in accounting and business administration and an
M.B.A. in business administration, from the City University of New
York.
Joseph Barnea has served as a member of
our Board of Directors since 2007. Mr. Barnea is a retired businessman. He
served as the Chief Executive Officer of Oxygen & Argon Works Ltd. from 1987
to 2005 and continued to serve as a member of its management until
2006. From 1985 to 1987, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of
Telkoor Ltd. From 1980 to 1985, he served as a Vice President of Elscint Medical
Imaging Ltd. Mr. Barnea is a member of the executive committee of the Israeli
Industrialists Association and until 2007 he served as the Chairman
of its Chemistry and Environment Association. From 2004 to 2009 Mr. Barnea
served as a member of the board of the Israeli Export & International
Cooperation Institute, from 2005 to 2009 he served as a member of the standard
committee of the Israeli Standards Institute and prior to that, as a member of
its board. From 2001 to 2004 he served as Chairman and President of the
International Oxygen Manufacturers Association (IOMA) USA. He served as Deputy
Commander of the signal, electronics and computer corps of the Israeli Defense
Forces. Mr. Barnea holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from
the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering from Columbia University, New York, USA.
Ronit Baytel has served as a
member of our Board of Directors since 2007. Ms. Baytel is a
director in the finance department of Ormat Technologies, Inc., a
company listed on the NYSE, in charge of SOX internal controls in the
preparation of financial statements and tax and special projects. From 1998 to
2005 she served as senior manager at Kesselman & Kesselman, a certified
public accountants firm in Israel, which is a member of the international
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Accountants firm. Ms. Baytel is a certified public
accountant and holds a B.A. in economics and accountancy from Tel Aviv
University and an M.B.A. from the Hebrew University.
Amos Shapira has served as
our President and Chief Executive Officer since 2005. From 2002 to
2005, Mr. Shapira served as Chief Executive Officer of El Al Israel Airlines
Ltd. From 1993 to 2002, he served as Chief Executive Officer of
Hogla-Kimberly Ltd., a company owned by Kimberly-Clark USA. He joined the board
of directors of Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. in 2006. From 2008 Mr Shapira
serves as the president of the Israeli Friends of the Tel Aviv University
Association. Mr. Shapira holds an M.Sc. in industrial administration from the
Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from the
University of Haifa.
Yaacov Heen has served as our
Chief Financial Officer since September 21, 2009. Mr. Heen served as head
of our economic department since 2006, responsible for our budget, financial
analysis, cost accounting and control over our performance. From 2002 to 2006 he
served as head of our pricing and business research department. Mr. Heen holds a
B.A. in economics and business administration and an M.B.A. in business
administration, both from the Bar-Ilan University.
Adi Cohen has served as our
Vice President of Marketing since 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Cohen served as
marketing manager of Shufersal Ltd. From 2002 to 2003, he served as Chief
Executive Officer of ERN Israel Ltd. From 1998 to 2003, he served as marketing
manager of Partner Communications Company Ltd. Mr. Cohen holds a
B.A. in economics and an M.B.A., both from the Hebrew University.
Eliezer (Lipa) Ogman has
served as our Chief Technology Officer since 2000. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Ogman
served as our Vice President of Engineering and Network Operation, and from 1994
to 1997 he served as manager of our network design department. Prior
to joining us, he served in the signal, electronics and computer corps of the
Israel Defense Forces, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. Mr. Ogman
holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of
Technology, an M.B.A. in business administration and an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering from Tel Aviv University.
Isaiah Rozenberg has served
as our Vice President of Engineering and Network Operation since
2005. From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Rozenberg served as manager of
our radio and switch engineering department. Mr. Rozenberg holds a B.Sc.
and an M.Sc. in electrical and electronics engineering from Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev.
Itamar Bartov has served as
our Vice President of Executive and Regulatory Affairs since 2005. From 2004 to
2005, Mr. Bartov served as Vice President of Customer Services of El Al Israel
Airlines Ltd., and from 2002 to 2004 he served as El Al’s Corporate
Secretary. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the Israel Postal
Authority’s Vice President of Business Development in Overseas Commerce and from
1996 to 2000 he served as the Israel Postal Authority’s Vice President of
Planning and Control. From 1993 to 1996, he served as senior advisor
to the Minister of Communications. Mr. Bartov holds an L.L.B. from the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Refael Poran has served as
our Vice President of Business Customers since 2006. From 1992 to
2004, Mr. Poran served as Chief Executive Officer of Adanet Communications
Ltd. From 2005 to 2006, he served as head of the information
technology section of the Haifa Port Company Ltd. Mr. Poran holds a B.Sc.
in electrical engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of
Technology.
Meir Barav has served as our
Vice President of Sales and Services since 2005. From 2001 to 2005,
Mr. Barav served as Vice President of Operations and Logistics of D.B.S.
Satellite Services (1998) Ltd. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Vice
President of Sales and Logistics of Strauss Ice Creams Ltd.. Mr. Barav
holds a B.A. in economics and statistics from the Open University.
Ronit Ben-Basat has served as
our Vice President of Human Resources since 2004. From 1999 to 2004,
Ms. Ben-Basat served in various positions for Cisco Systems in Israel, Europe
and San-Jose, California, as a senior human resources manager. From
1991 to 1999, she served as human resources and finance manager of LSI Logic.
Ms. Ben-Basat holds a B.A. in social work and an M.Sc. in organizational
development management, both from Tel Aviv University, and she also participated
in executive M.B.A. program at Cisco Systems, through INSEAD, France and IMD,
Switzerland.
Amos Maor has served as our
Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain since 2004. From 2002
to 2004, Mr. Maor served as manager of Supply Chain of Elite Industries Ltd.,
and from 2000 to 2002, he served as manager of Elite’s sales division
headquarters.
Mr. Maor
holds a B.Sc. in industry and management engineering from the Technion, Israel
Institute of Technology.
Liat Menahemi Stadler has
served as our General Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary since 2006. From
2000 to 2006, Ms. Menahemi Stadler served as head of the technology and general
purchasing division of our legal department. She has been a member of
our legal department since 1998. Ms. Menahemi Stadler holds an LL.B. and a
B.A. in English and French language and literature, both from the University of
Haifa.
Gil Ben-Itzhak has served as
our Controller since 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Ben-Itzhak served
as Chief Financial Officer of Paul Winston-Eurostar LLC in New York. From 2002
to 2003, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Elron Telesoft Ltd. and from
1996 to 2002, he served as Controller of Elbit
Ltd. Mr. Ben-Itzhak is a certified public accountant and holds a
B.A. in accounting and economics from the University of Haifa.
B. COMPENSATION
Executive
Officer and Director Compensation
The
aggregate direct compensation we paid to all our executive officers and
directors as a
group (24 persons) for 2009 was approximately NIS 22.8 million, of which
approximately NIS 6.8 million relates to 2008 bonuses paid in 2009 and
approximately NIS 2.1 million was set aside or accrued to provide for pension,
retirement, severance or similar benefits. These amounts do not
include expenses we incurred for other payments, including dues for professional
and business associations, business travel and other expenses and benefits
commonly reimbursed or paid by companies in Israel.
We pay no
cash compensation to our directors who are affiliated with DIC for their
services as directors, but we pay DIC NIS 2.0 million per year for management
services, adjusted to
changes in the Israeli Consumer Price Index for June 2006, and in 2009 this
payment amounted to approximately NIS 2.2 million. We pay Shlomo Waxe, our
independent director, a monthly director’s fee of $3,000 plus Israeli
value-added tax. Each of our two external directors are entitled to a director’s
fee in the amount of NIS 100,000 (approximately $26,500) per year and NIS 3,000
(approximately $795) per meeting, payable in accordance with the regulations
promulgated under the Israeli Companies Law, as adjusted for changes in the
Israeli CPI (approximately NIS 124,400 and NIS 3,700, respectively,
as of December 31, 2009).
Employment
Agreement of Amos Shapira
Mr. Amos
Shapira, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is entitled to a gross
monthly salary of NIS 120,000, linked to the Israeli CPI (approximately NIS
134,000 as of December 31, 2009). He is also entitled to a company
car, the use of a cellular phone and to reimbursement of incidental private
expenses in the amount of NIS 9,000 per year. Mr. Shapira is entitled to a fixed
bonus equal to six month’s salary per year, linked to Israeli CPI, in respect of
which no social benefits are accrued and an annual bonus based on our annual
profits that shall not exceed NIS 2.78 million. Mr. Shapira is also entitled to
participate in a share option plan, which was adopted in September 2006. Mr.
Shapira’s agreement contains provisions for vacation days, sick leave, managers’
insurance and an education fund. The agreement is for an unspecified period of
time and can be terminated by either party with advance notice of three months.
Mr. Shapira will continue to receive his salary and benefits
for a
period of nine months after termination by either party, unless we terminate the
agreement for cause. The aggregate monthly cost to us of Mr. Shapira’s
employment in 2009 amounted to approximately NIS 173,000 (approximately
$45,800). In addition, in March 2010, we will pay Mr. Shapira a bonus for 2009
in the amount of NIS 3.5 million.
C. BOARD
PRACTICES
Corporate
Governance Practices
We are
incorporated in Israel and therefore are subject to various corporate governance
practices under the Israeli Companies Law, 1999, or the Companies Law, relating
to such matters as external directors, the audit committee and the internal
auditor. These matters are in addition to the requirements of the New York Stock
Exchange and other relevant provisions of U.S. securities laws. Under the New
York Stock Exchange rules, a foreign private issuer may generally follow its
home country rules of corporate governance in lieu of the comparable New York
Stock Exchange requirements, except for certain matters such as composition and
responsibilities of the audit committee and the independence of its members. We
follow the Companies Law, the relevant provisions of which are summarized in
this annual report, and comply with the New York Stock Exchange requirement to
solicit proxies from our shareholders in respect of each meeting of
shareholders.
For a
summary of the significant differences between our corporate governance
practices as a foreign private issuer and those required of U.S. domestic
companies under NYSE Listing Standards see “Item 16G – Corporate
Governance”.
Under the
Companies Law, our Board of Directors must determine the minimum number of
directors having financial and accounting expertise, as defined in the
regulations of the Companies Law, that our Board of Directors should
have. In determining the number of directors required to have such
expertise, the Board of Directors must consider, among other things, the type
and size of the company and the scope and complexity of its operations. Our
Board of Directors has determined that we require at least two directors with
the requisite financial and accounting expertise and that Messrs. Dankner, Erel,
Manor, Bigger, Cohen, Bronshtein, Gavrieli and Raz have such expertise. The
Companies Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder also require that at
least one of our External Directors has financial and accounting expertise and
consider a person who is an audit committee independent financial expert
according to a foreign law, to comply with that requirement. Our
Board of Directors has determined that Ms. Ronit Baytel qualifies as an "audit
committee financial expert" as defined by the SEC in Item 16.A of Form
20-F.
Board
of Directors and Officers
Our Board
of Directors currently consists of thirteen directors, including three
independent directors under the rules of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act applicable to
audit committee members, of which two also qualify as external directors under
the Companies Law. Nine of our current directors, including
independent director Mr. Waxe, were elected at our annual shareholders meeting
held in September 2009. The external directors were appointed for an initial
period of three years at our general meeting held in May 2007, and are proposed
by our Board of Directors for re-election to this office for an additional
period of three years at our forthcoming 2010 annual shareholders meeting. Two
additional directors, Messrs. Dankner and Manor, were appointed by DIC, as
founding shareholder, in accordance with our license and articles of
association’s requirement that at least 20% of our directors be
appointed
by Israeli citizens and residents from among our founding shareholders. Our
articles of association provide that we must have at least five
directors.
Each
director (other than external directors and directors required to be appointed
by Israeli citizens and residents from among our founding shareholders) will
hold office until the next annual general meeting of our shareholders following
his or her election. The approval of at least a majority of the voting rights
represented at a general meeting and voting on the matter is generally required
to remove any of our directors from office (other than external
directors and directors required to be appointed by Israeli citizens
and residents from among our founding shareholders), provided that directors
appointed by the Board of Directors may also be removed by the Board of
Directors. A majority of our shareholders at a general meeting may
elect directors or fill any vacancy, however created, in our Board of Directors
(other than external directors and directors required to be appointed by Israeli
citizens and residents from among our founding shareholders). In
addition, directors, other than an external director or a director required to
be appointed by Israeli citizens and residents from among our founding
shareholders, may be appointed by a vote of a majority of the directors then in
office.
Our
articles of association provide, as allowed by Israeli law, that any director
may, by written notice to us, appoint another person who is not a director to
serve as an alternate director (subject to the approval of the chairman of the
Board of Directors; and in the case of an appointment made by the chairman, such
appointment shall be valid unless objected to by the majority of other
directors) and may cancel such appointment. The term of appointment
of an alternate director is unlimited in time and scope unless otherwise
specified in the appointment notice, or until notice is given of the termination
of the appointment. No director currently has appointed any other
person as an alternate director. The Companies Law stipulates that a
person who serves as a director may not serve as an alternate director except
under very limited circumstances. An alternate director has the same
responsibility as a director.
Each of
our executive officers serves at the discretion of our Board of Directors and
holds office until his or her successor is elected or until his or her earlier
resignation or removal. There are no family relationships among any
of our directors or executive officers.
External
Directors
Qualifications
of external directors
Companies
incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel whose shares are listed on a
stock exchange are required by the Companies Law to appoint at least two
external directors. External directors are required to possess
professional qualifications as set out in regulations promulgated under the
Companies Law. The appointment of our external directors was approved by our
shareholders in May 2007. The Companies Law provides that a person
may not be appointed as an external director if the person, or the person’s
relative, partner, employer or any entity under the person’s control, has or had
during the two years preceding the date of appointment, any affiliation with the
company or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with
the company.
The term
affiliation includes:
|
·
|
an
employment relationship;
|
|
·
|
a
business or professional relationship maintained on a regular
basis;
|
|
·
|
service
as an office holder, excluding service as a director in a private company
prior to its initial public offering if such director was appointed in
order to serve as an external director following the
offering.
|
The term
“office holder” is defined in the Companies Law as a director, general manager,
chief business manager, deputy general manager, vice general manager, any other
manager directly subordinate to the general manager or any other person assuming
the responsibilities of any of the foregoing positions, without regard to such
person’s title. Each person listed above under “Item 6.A - Directors
and Senior Management,” except Gil Ben-Itzhak, is an office holder for this
purpose.
No person
may serve as an external director if the person’s position or other business
interests creates, or may create, a conflict of interest with the person’s
responsibilities as a director or may otherwise interfere with the person’s
ability to serve as a director. If at the time an external director
is appointed all current members of the board of directors are of the same
gender, then that external director must be of the other gender.
Until the
lapse of two years from termination of office, a company may not appoint an
external director as an office holder and cannot employ or receive services from
that person for pay, either directly or indirectly, including through a
corporation controlled by that person.
Election
of external directors
External
directors are elected by a majority vote at a shareholders’ meeting, provided
that either:
|
·
|
at
least one-third of the shares of non-controlling shareholders voted at the
meeting vote in favor of the election of the external director;
or
|
|
·
|
the
total number of shares of non-controlling shareholders voted against the
election of the external director does not exceed 1% of the aggregate
voting rights in the company.
|
The
initial term of an external director is three years and he or she may be
reelected to one additional term of three years. Thereafter, he or she may be
reelected by our shareholders for additional periods of up to three years each
only if the audit committee and the board of directors confirm that, in light of
the external director’s expertise and special contribution to the work of the
board of directors and its committees, the reelection for such additional period
is beneficial to the company. An external director may only be
removed by the same percentage of shareholders votes as is required for his or
her election, or by a court, and then only if the external director ceases to
meet the statutory qualifications or violates his or her duty of loyalty to the
company. If an external directorship becomes vacant, a company’s
board of directors is required under the Companies Law to call a shareholders’
meeting promptly to appoint a new external director.
Each
committee of a company’s board of directors that has the right to exercise a
power delegated by the board of directors is required to include at least one
external director,
and the
audit committee is required to include all of the external directors. An
external director is entitled to compensation as provided in regulations adopted
under the Companies Law and is otherwise prohibited from receiving any other
compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with services provided as an
external director.
Israeli-Appointed
Directors
Our
license requires, and our articles of association provide, that at least 20% of
our directors will be appointed and removed by shareholders who are Israeli
citizens and Israeli residents from among our founding shareholders. If our
Board of Directors is comprised of 14 directors or less, the Israeli
shareholders will be entitled to appoint two directors, and if our Board of
Directors is comprised of between 15 and 24 directors, the Israeli shareholders
will be entitled to appoint three directors. Our articles of association provide
that DIC, as founding shareholder, is responsible for complying with the
requirement under our license that Israeli citizens and residents from among our
founding shareholders hold at least 20% of our outstanding shares, and that so
long as DIC so complies, it will be entitled to appoint and remove these
directors.
Board
Committees
Our Board
of Directors has established an audit committee, analysis committee, option
committee and a security committee.
Audit
committee
Under the
Companies Law, the board of directors of a public company must establish an
audit committee. The audit committee must consist of at least three directors
and must include all of the company’s external directors. The audit committee
may not include the chairman of the board, any director employed by the company
or providing services to the company on an ongoing basis, a controlling
shareholder or any of a controlling shareholder’s relatives. The members of the
audit committee are also required to meet the independence requirements
established by the SEC in accordance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act.
Our audit
committee provides assistance to our Board of Directors in fulfilling its legal
and fiduciary obligations in matters involving our accounting, auditing,
financial reporting and internal control functions by pre-approving the services
performed by our independent accountants and reviewing their reports regarding
our accounting practices and systems of internal control over financial
reporting. The audit committee also oversees the audit efforts of our
independent accountants and takes those actions as it deems necessary to satisfy
itself that the accountants are independent of management. Under the Companies
Law, the audit committee is required to identify deficiencies in the management
of the company, including by consulting with the internal auditor or the
independent accountants, and recommending remedial actions to the board of
directors, and is responsible for reviewing and approving certain related party
transactions, as described below. The audit committee may not approve such a
related party transaction unless at the time of approval the two external
directors were serving as members of the audit committee and at least one of
them was present at the meeting at which the approval was granted.
Our audit
committee is composed entirely of independent members (and includes all the
external directors) - Messrs. Joseph Barnea (chairman), Shlomo Waxe and Ronit
Baytel.
Our board
of directors determined Ms. Ronit Baytel to be qualified to serve as an "audit
committee financial expert" as defined by the SEC's rules.
Financial
exposure management subcommittee
Our
financial exposure management subcommittee, which is a subcommittee of our audit
committee was nominated by our board of directors and reviews our financial
exposures, investment and hedging policies and recommends to our board of
directors how we might enhance our investment and hedging performance. Our
financial exposure management subcommittee consists of our external directors,
Barnea and Baytel.
Analysis
committee
Our
analysis committee reviews our costs and recommends ways to achieve cost
efficiency in our activities to our Board of Directors. Our Analysis committee
also reviews our operations and future plans and recommends how we might enhance
our present and future performance to our Board of Directors. Our
analysis committee consists of Messrs. Bronshtein (chairman), Erel, Cohen,
Livnat, Waxe and Barnea.
Option
committee
Our
option committee administers the issuance of options under our 2006 Share
Incentive Plan to our employees who are not office holders, as well as any
actions and decisions necessary for the ongoing management of the plan. Our
option committee consists of Messrs. Erel (chairman), Dankner, Livnat and
Barnea.
Security
committee and observer
Our
security committee, which we were required to appoint once we became a public
company pursuant to our license, deals with matters concerning state security.
Only directors who have the requisite security clearance by Israel’s General
Security Services may be members of this committee. The committee is required to
be comprised of at least four members, including at least one external director.
In addition, the Minister of Communications is entitled under our license to
appoint a state employee with security clearance to act as an observer in all
meetings of our Board of Directors and its committees. Such an observer was
appointed in February 2008. Our security committee consists of Messrs. Waxe,
Bisker, Cohen and Barnea.
Internal
Auditor
Under the
Companies Law, the board of directors of a public company must appoint an
internal auditor nominated by the audit committee. The role of the internal
auditor is to examine whether a company’s actions comply with applicable law and
orderly business procedure. Under the Companies Law, the internal
auditor may not be an interested party or an office holder, or a relative of any
of the foregoing, nor may the internal auditor be the company’s independent
accountant or its representative. An interested party is generally defined in
the Companies Law as a 5% or greater shareholder, any person or entity who has
the right to designate one director or more or the chief executive officer of
the company or any person who serves as a director or as the chief executive
officer. Our internal auditor is Mr. Eli Nir, CPA.
Approval
of Specified Related Party Transactions under Israeli Law
Fiduciary
duties of office holders
The
Companies Law imposes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty on all office holders
of a company. The duty of care requires an office holder to act with the degree
of care with which a reasonable office holder in the same position would have
acted under the same circumstances. The duty of care includes a duty to use
reasonable means, in light of the circumstances, to obtain:
|
·
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information
on the appropriateness of a given action brought for his or her approval
or performed by virtue of his or her position;
and
|
|
·
|
all
other important information pertaining to these
actions.
|
The duty
of loyalty of an office holder includes a duty to act in good faith and for the
best interests of the company, including to:
|
·
|
refrain
from any conflict of interest between the performance of his or her duties
in the company and his or her other duties or personal
affairs;
|
|
·
|
refrain
from any activity that is competitive with the
company;
|
|
·
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refrain
from exploiting any business opportunity of the company to receive a
personal gain for himself or herself or others;
and
|
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·
|
disclose
to the company any information or documents relating to the company’s
affairs which the office holder received as a result of his or her
position as an office holder.
|
Personal
interests of an office holder
The
Companies Law requires that an office holder disclose any personal interest that
he or she may have and all related material information known to him or her
relating to any existing or proposed transaction by the company promptly and in
any event no later than the first meeting of the board of directors at which
such transaction is considered. If the transaction is an extraordinary
transaction, the office holder must also disclose any personal interest held by
the office holder’s spouse, siblings, parents, grandparents, descendants,
spouse’s descendants and the spouses of any of these people.
Under the
Companies Law, an extraordinary transaction is a transaction:
|
·
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other
than in the ordinary course of
business;
|
|
·
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that
is not on market terms; or
|
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·
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that
is likely to have a material impact on the company’s profitability, assets
or liabilities.
|
Under the
Companies Law, once an office holder complies with the above disclosure
requirement, the transaction can be approved, provided that it is not adverse to
the company’s interest. A director who has a personal interest in a matter which
is considered at a meeting of the board of directors or the audit committee,
will generally not be present at this meeting or
vote on
this matter unless a majority of the directors or members of the audit committee
have a personal interest in the matter. If a majority of the directors have a
personal interest in the matter, the matter also generally requires approval of
the shareholders of the company. Under the Companies Law, unless the articles of
association provide otherwise, a transaction with an office holder, or a
transaction with a third party in which the office holder has a personal
interest, requires approval by the board of directors. If it is an extraordinary
transaction or an undertaking to indemnify or insure an office holder who is not
a director, audit committee approval is required, as
well. Arrangements regarding the compensation, indemnification or
insurance of a director require the approval of the audit committee, board of
directors and shareholders, in that order. Our articles of association provide
that a non-extraordinary transaction with an office holder, or with a third
party in which an office holder has a personal interest, may be approved by our
Board of Directors, by our Audit Committee or, if the transaction involves the
provision of our communications services and equipment or involves annual
payments not exceeding NIS 250,000 per transaction, by our authorized
signatories.
Personal
interests of a controlling shareholder
Under the
Companies Law, the disclosure requirements that apply to an office holder also
apply to a controlling shareholder of a public company. A controlling
shareholder is a shareholder who has the ability to direct the activities of a
company, including a shareholder that owns 25% or more of the voting rights if
no other shareholder owns more than 50% of the voting rights, but excluding a
shareholder whose power derives solely from his or her position on the board of
directors or any other position with the company. Accordingly, DIC, and entities
and persons that directly or indirectly control DIC, are considered to be our
controlling shareholders. Extraordinary transactions with a controlling
shareholder or in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest, and
the terms of compensation of a controlling shareholder or his or her relative,
who is an employee or director, require the approval of the audit committee, the
board of directors and a majority of the shareholders of the company, in that
order. In addition, the shareholders approval must fulfill one of the following
requirements:
|
·
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at
least one-third of the shareholders who have no personal interest in
approving the transaction and who vote on the matter vote in favor of the
transaction; or
|
|
·
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the
shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction who vote
against the transaction do not represent more than 1% of the voting rights
in the company.
|
Duties
of shareholders
Under the
Companies Law, a shareholder has a duty to refrain from abusing his or her power
in the company and to act in good faith in exercising its rights in, and
performing its obligations to the company and other shareholders, including,
among other things, voting at general meetings of shareholders on the following
matters:
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·
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an
amendment to the articles of
association;
|
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·
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an
increase in the company’s authorized share
capital;
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·
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approval
of related party transactions that require shareholders
approval.
|
In
addition, any controlling shareholder, any shareholder who knows that its vote
can determine the outcome of a shareholders’ vote and any shareholder who, under
the company’s articles of association, can appoint or prevent the appointment of
an office holder or holds any other right in respect of the company, is required
to act with fairness towards the company. The Companies Law does not describe
the substance of this duty except to state that the remedies generally available
upon a breach of contract will also apply in the event of a breach of the duty
to act with fairness.
Approval
of Private Placements
Under the
Companies Law, a private placement of securities requires approval by the board
of directors and the shareholders of the company if it will cause a person to
become a controlling shareholder or if:
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·
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the
securities issued amount to 20% or more of the company’s outstanding
voting rights before the issuance;
|
|
·
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some
or all of the consideration is other than cash or listed securities or the
transaction is not on market terms;
and
|
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·
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the
transaction will increase the relative holdings of a shareholder that
holds 5% or more of the company’s outstanding share capital or voting
rights or that will cause any person to become, as a result of the
issuance, a holder of more than 5% of the company’s outstanding share
capital or voting rights.
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D. EMPLOYEES
Our
ability to achieve our strategic goals largely depends on our
employees. Consequently, we strive to recruit the most suitable
candidates for each position, to give our employees the best training needed to
qualify them for their tasks within our organization and aim to keep them
satisfied while being productive and efficient. We implement a comprehensive
review system that periodically analyzes our employees’ performance in order to
improve their performance and in order to enable us to properly compensate,
retain and promote our best employees. Since we are committed to
provide the best service to our subscribers, approximately 78% of our work force
is engaged in customer facing positions.
The
numbers and breakdowns of our full-time equivalent employees as of the end
of the past three years are set forth in the following table:
|
|
Number
of Full-Time Equivalent Positions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management
and headquarters
|
|
|
34 |
|
|
|
35 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
Human
resources
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
49 |
|
|
|
54 |
|
Marketing
|
|
|
74 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
80 |
|
Customers*
|
|
|
3,709 |
|
|
|
3,310 |
|
|
|
3452 |
|
Finance
|
|
|
113 |
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
133 |
|
Technologies
|
|
|
654 |
|
|
|
718 |
|
|
|
679 |
|
Total
|
|
|
4,630 |
|
|
|
4,306 |
|
|
|
4432 |
|
_____________
*
|
Includes
the customer facing units: business customers, sales and services,
operations and supply chain.
|
**
|
Including
approximately 30 higher cost temporary workers, most of whom
belonged to the Technologies unit at
December 2007.
|
***
|
Including
150 and 118 employees previously engaged through subcontractors, mainly in
the Technologies and Supply chain units during 2008
and 2009 respectively.
|
Israeli
labor laws govern the length of the workday, minimum wages for employees,
procedures for hiring and dismissing employees, determination of severance pay,
annual leave, sick days and other conditions of employment. Israeli law
generally requires severance pay upon the retirement or death of an employee or
termination of employment. Commencing in October 2008, Israeli law requires us
to hire certain workers retained through subcontractors who provided us services
for a certain minimum period. We are complying with this obligation. In
addition, under an 2008 order issued by the Ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Labor, all Israeli employers are obligated to contribute to a
pension plan, amounts equal to a certain percentage of the employee's wages, for
all employees, after a certain minimum period of employment. We are complying
with this obligation. For those of our employees who are entitled to a pension
arrangement according to their employment agreement, we fund future severance
pay obligations by contributing to managers’ insurance or other pension
arrangements in the amount of 8.3% of the employee’s wages. We have no unfunded
liability in respect of these employees. Under that order, additional employees
are entitled to contribution to a pension plan, which shall increase gradually
until 2013 and up to 5% of the employee’s wages, with additional identical
contribution for severance pay. A provision in our financial reports covers
severance pay to those employees who were not entitled to managers’ insurance or
other pension arrangements or for the balance between future severance pay
according to the law and the contribution for severance payment, made according
to said order. Furthermore, we and our employees are required to make payments
to the National Insurance Institute, which is similar to the U.S. Social
Security Administration. Such amounts also include payments by the employee for
health insurance. The total payments to the National Insurance Institute are
equal to approximately 17.43% of an employee’s wages (up to a specified amount),
of which the employee contributes approximately 12% and the employer contributes
approximately 5.43%.
We enter
into personal employment agreements with our employees on either a monthly (in
most cases, full-time positions) or hourly basis. Employment agreements with
most of our employees are at will. Substantially all of our employees have
signed non-disclosure and non-competition agreements, although the
enforceability of non-competition agreements is limited under Israeli
law.
Our
employee compensation structure is aimed at encouraging and supporting employee
performance towards enabling us to meet our strategic goals. Approximately 80%
of our customer facing employees are entitled to performance-based incentives,
which are granted mainly to customer-facing personnel, such as sales and service
employees. Moreover, substantially all employees, with the exception of customer
service representatives who are eligible to additional compensation based on
individual performance, are entitled to an annual bonus based on our overall
performance, subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. We intend to
pay these employees a yearly bonus for the year 2009 in an aggregate amount of
approximately NIS 61.7 millions. We also contribute funds on behalf of some of
our employees to an education fund.
We have
entered into agreements with a number of manpower agencies and programming
companies under which they provide us with temporary workers.
Our
employees are not represented by any labor union. Since our inception, we have
not experienced labor-related work stoppages and believe that our relations with
our employees are good.
E. SHARE
OWNERSHIP
As of
December 31, 2009, one of our directors, Mr. Nochi Dankner may be deemed to
beneficially own 51,575,658, or approximately 52.15%, of our ordinary shares.
51,450,000 ordinary shares of these are beneficially owned by DIC, of which Mr.
Dankner is the Chairman of the board of directors and 125,658 ordinary shares
are held by indirect subsidiaries of IDB Development (of which Mr. Dankner is
the Chairman of the board of directors), for their own account. This does not
include 1,947,420 ordinary shares held as of that date for members of the public
through, among others, provident funds, mutual funds, pension funds, exchange
traded funds, insurance policies and unaffiliated third-party client accounts,
which are managed by such subsidiaries. Mr. Dankner is also a controlling
shareholder and the Chairman of the board of directors of IDB. IDB Development,
IDB, Mr. Dankner and each of our other directors who are affiliated with IDB or
DIC, disclaim beneficial ownership of such shares.
Except as
described above, none of our executive officers or directors beneficially owns
1% or more of our outstanding ordinary shares.
2006
Share Incentive Plan
In
September 2006, our Board of Directors approved an option plan for our
employees, directors, consultants and sub-contractors and to those of our
affiliates and our shareholders’ affiliates. The plan has an initial
pool of 2,500,000 options or restricted stock units, or RSUs and is intended to
qualify for capital gains tax treatment under Section 102 of the Israeli Income
Tax Ordinance.
Under the
plan, our Board of Directors (or an option committee to which such authority may
be delegated by our Board of Directors) is authorized to determine the terms of
the awards, including the identity of grantees, the number of options or
RSUs granted, the vesting schedule and the exercise price.
The
options / RSUs have a term of six years and vest in four equal installments on
each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversary of the date of grant.
Under the plan, unvested options / RSUs terminate immediately upon termination
of employment or service. The plan, as amended in 2008, defines
acceleration events of options/ RSUs granted, including a merger, a
consolidation, a sale of all or substantially all of our consolidated assets, or
DIC ceasing to control (as the term "control" is defined in the Israeli
Securities Law; namely the ability to direct a company's activities) us
(previously - upon a decrease in DIC's share ownership to less than 50.01% of
our outstanding share capital). The plan terminates upon the earlier
of ten years from its adoption date or the termination of all outstanding
options / RSUs pursuant to an acceleration event. In 2008, we amended the option
plan and the terms of our outstanding options as follows: (1) the definition of
corporate transactions triggering accelerated vesting of the options, was
changed as detailed above; (2) we are required to provide the grantees with a
ten day period to exercise the options upon the occurrence of a corporate
transaction. An additional change was approved
only in
regards to options already granted prior to the adoption of the amendment: when
a grantee is dismissed without cause, an additional period of up to six (6)
months from the date of dismissal will be allowed for vesting of the third or
fourth portions of the options to occur.
In
October and November 2006, we granted options to purchase an aggregate of
2,414,143 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $12.60 per share on the terms
set forth above. Among those grants were options to purchase up to 450,000
ordinary shares to each of Mr. Ami Erel, our Chairman of the Board of Directors,
and Mr. Amos Shapira, our Chief Executive Officer. The balance of those grants
was made to our officers and senior employees. Distribution of cash
dividends before the exercise of these options reduces the exercise price of
each option by an amount equal to the gross amount of the dividend per share
distributed. In March 2007, August 2008 and August 2009, we granted additional
options to purchase an aggregate of 30,786, 27,500 and 74,164 ordinary shares,
respectively, at an exercise price of $12.60, $25 and $24.65 per
share, respectively, to certain of our senior employees, under the terms of the
plan.
As of
December 31, 2009, substantially all vested options, which constitute
approximately three quarters of the amount of options granted, including those
of Messrs. Ami Erel and Amos Shapira, were exercised. As of December
31, 2009, an aggregate of 704,674 ordinary shares are issuable upon exercise of
options according to the terms above. However, the terms of the 2006 Share
Inventive Plan provide for a net exercise mechanism, the result of which is to
require us to issue a smaller number of ordinary shares than represented by the
outstanding options. Unless the Board of Directors otherwise
approves, the number of ordinary shares issuable by us upon the exercise of an
option will represent a market value that is equal to the difference between the
market price of the ordinary shares and the option exercise price of the
exercised options, at the date of exercise.
In March
2007, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act
covering all ordinary shares subject to outstanding options or issuable pursuant
to our 2006 Share Incentive Plan. Shares registered under this Form S-8
registration statement are available for sale in the open market, subject to
Rule 144 volume limitations applicable to affiliates and vesting
restrictions.
ITEM
7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY
TRANSACTIONS
A. MAJOR
SHAREHOLDERS
The
following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our
shares as of December 31, 2009, by each person, or group of affiliated persons,
known to us to be the beneficial owner of 5% or more of our outstanding
shares.
In
accordance with the rules of the SEC, beneficial ownership includes voting or
investment power with respect to securities and includes any shares issuable
pursuant to options that are exercisable within 60 days of December 31, 2009.
Any shares issuable pursuant to options are deemed outstanding for computing the
percentage of the person holding such options but are not outstanding for
computing the percentage of any other person. The percentage of beneficial
ownership for the following table is based on 98,895,729 ordinary shares
outstanding as of December 31, 2009. To our knowledge, except as indicated in
the footnotes to this table and pursuant to applicable community property
laws, our
major shareholders do not have different voting rights and the persons named in
the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary
shares held by them.
|
|
Shares
Beneficially Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discount
Investment Corporation Ltd.*
|
|
|
51,450,000 |
|
|
|
52.02 |
% |
Directors
and executive officers as a group (24 persons)**
|
|
|
51,580,658 |
|
|
|
52.16 |
% |
*
|
DIC,
a public Israeli company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, is a
majority-owned subsidiary of IDB Development Corporation Ltd., or IDB
Development. Includes 23,661,645 ordinary shares held by DIC directly,
24,375,855 ordinary shares held by two wholly-owned subsidiaries of DIC
(namely, PEC Israel Economic Corporation, a Maine corporation, and DIC
Communication and Technology Ltd., an Israeli company) and 3,412,500
ordinary shares, representing approximately 3.45% of our issued and
outstanding shares, held by two shareholders whose voting rights are
vested in DIC. Does not include 125,658 ordinary shares (representing
approximately 0.13% of our issued and outstanding shares) held as of
December 31, 2009 by indirect subsidiaries of IDB Development for their
own account and 1,947,420 ordinary shares (representing approximately
1.97% of our issued and outstanding shares) held as of that date for
members of the public through, among others, provident funds, mutual
funds, pension funds, exchange traded funds, insurance policies and
unaffiliated third-party client accounts, which are managed by such
subsidiaries.
|
IDB
Development, an Israeli company, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IDB Holding
Corporation Ltd., or IDB, a public Israeli company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange.
IDB is
controlled as follows:
|
·
|
Ganden
Holdings Ltd., or Ganden, a private Israeli company controlled by Nochi
Dankner (who is also the Chairman of the boards of directors of IDB, IDB
Development and DIC and one of our directors) and his sister Shelly
Bergman, held as of December 31, 2009, directly and through a wholly-owned
subsidiary, approximately 55.26% of the outstanding shares of
IDB;
|
|
·
|
Shelly
Bergman, through a wholly-owned company, held as of December 31, 2009
approximately 4.23% of the outstanding shares of
IDB;
|
|
·
|
Avraham
Livnat Ltd., or Livnat, a private company controlled by Avraham Livnat
(one of whose sons, Zvi Livnat, is a director and Executive Vice President
of IDB, a director and Deputy Chairman of the board of directors of IDB
Development and a director of DIC, and another son, Shay Livnat, is one of
our directors and a director of IDB Development) held as of December 31,
2009, directly and through a wholly-owned subsidiary, approximately 13.43%
of the outstanding shares of IDB;
and
|
|
·
|
Manor
Holdings BA Ltd., or Manor, a private company controlled by Ruth Manor
(whose husband, Isaac Manor, is one of our directors, a director and
Deputy Chairman of the board of directors of IDB, and a director of IDB
Development and DIC, and their son Dori Manor is a director of IDB, IDB
Development and DIC) held as of December 31, 2009, directly and through a
majority-owned subsidiary, approximately 13.42% of the outstanding shares
of IDB.
|
Subsidiaries
of Ganden, Livnat and Manor have entered into a shareholders agreement with
respect to shares of IDB held by these subsidiaries, constituting 31.02%, 10.34%
and 10.34%, respectively, of the outstanding shares of IDB for the purpose of
maintaining and exercising control of IDB as a group. Their additional holdings
in IDB are not subject to the shareholders agreement. The term of the
shareholders agreement expires in May 2023.
Most of
the foregoing holdings in IDB have been pledged to financial institutions as
collateral for loans taken to finance the purchase of IDB's shares. Upon certain
events of default, these financial institutions may foreclose on the loans and
assume ownership of or sell such holdings.
Based on
the foregoing, IDB and IDB Development (by reason of their control of DIC),
Ganden, Manor and Livnat (by reason of their control of IDB) and Nochi Dankner,
Shelly Bergman, Ruth Manor, and Avraham Livnat (by reason of their control of
Ganden, Manor and Livnat, respectively) may be deemed to
share with
DIC the power to vote and dispose of our shares beneficially owned by DIC. Each
of these entities (other than DIC) and persons disclaims beneficial ownership of
such shares , and all of these entities and persons disclaim beneficial
ownership of our shares held under management of subsidiaries of IDB Development
for others.
**
|
Includes
the 51,450,000
ordinary shares held, directly or indirectly, by DIC and 125,658 ordinary shares
held by indirect subsidiaries of IDB Development, for their own account,
which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by Nochi Dankner by virtue of
his control of IDB. Does not include an aggregate of
1,947,420 of our ordinary shares held, as of December 31, 2009,
by members of the public through, among others, provident funds, mutual
funds, pension funds, exchange traded funds, insurance policies and
unaffiliated third-party client accounts, which are managed by
indirect subsidiaries of IDB Development. Each of our directors
who is affiliated with IDB or DIC disclaims beneficial ownership of such
shares. Also includes5,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the
exercise of stock options that are exercisable on, or within 60 days
following December 31,2009.
|
As of
December 31, 2009, we had eleven holders of record of our equity securities who
are, to our knowledge, located in the United States. The shares held by these
eleven holders of record represent 84.4% of our outstanding ordinary shares.
However, this number is not representative of the number of beneficial holders
nor is it representative of where such beneficial holders are located because
approximately 69.09% of our ordinary shares were held of record by Cede &
Co. for the account of the brokers or other nominees, including the Tel Aviv
Stock Exchange; approximately 21.95 % of our ordinary shares owned
directly by DIC is also held of record by Cede & Co; and PEC Israel Economic
Corporation, a Maine corporation that is the holder of record of
approximately 12.32% of our outstanding shares, is wholly owned by
DIC.
Prior to
September 2005, our initial principal shareholders were DIC, which indirectly
held approximately 25% of our share capital, and BellSouth Corporation and the
Safra brothers of Brazil, who indirectly held together approximately 69.5% of
our share capital and held the voting rights in additional 5.5% of our share
capital. DIC acquired the shares and voting rights of BellSouth and
the Safra brothers in September 2005 and subsequently sold an aggregate of 16.0%
of our share capital to financial investors in four transactions during 2006 and
an additional approximately 19.5% of our share capital as part of our initial
public offering in February 2007. Also as part of our initial public offering,
Goldman Sachs International, then a 5% shareholder, sold 1% of our then issued
and outstanding share capital. In 2007 and 2008, DIC sold in several additional
transactions approximately 11.62% of our issued share capital to a financial
institution which informed DIC at the time of its intention to place such shares
for sale outside the United States to non-US investors. In 2009 DIC purchased
minority stakes of approximately 1.97% of our issued share capital from two
shareholders (the voting rights of which were already held by DIC prior to the
purchase). For additional details as to such shareholders' agreements, see
below under "B. Related Party Transactions – Original 1997 shareholders
agreements".
B. RELATED
PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Agreements
among Our Shareholders
In
September 2005, DIC acquired the shares and voting rights in our company held
indirectly by BellSouth and the Safra brothers. In 2006, DIC sold a portion of
these shares in four transactions to six financial investors based on the price
of the Safra transaction, with adjustments for dividends paid and certain
additions to such price accrued during the period from the closing of the Safra
transaction to the applicable sale transaction. The following
summaries
of the agreements between DIC and certain other shareholders relate only to
provisions that were in effect as of January 1, 2009 or thereafter.
Original
1997 shareholders agreements
Brian
Greenspun, Daniel Steinmetz, Benjamin Steinmetz and Shlomo Piotrkowsky, who
owned of record, directly or indirectly, an aggregate of approximately 5.5% of
our then outstanding ordinary shares, granted the voting rights in these shares
to BellSouth and the Safra brothers. These voting rights were assigned to DIC in
connection with its acquisition of our control in September 2005. In 2009 DIC
purchased the minority stakes held by Brian Greenspun and Benjamin Steinmetz
(indirectly), representing approximately 1.97% of our outstanding share capital.
The remaining minority shareholders currently own approximately 3.45% of our
outstanding ordinary shares. These minority shareholders are restricted from
transferring these shares without the prior written consent of DIC and subject
to a right of first refusal in favor of DIC. Each of these minority shareholders
is also committed not to compete, directly or indirectly, with our cellular
communications business in Israel so long as he is a shareholder and for a
period of one year thereafter.
Goldman
Sachs 2006 share purchase agreement and shareholders agreement
In 2006,
DIC sold 5% of our then issued and outstanding share capital to Goldman Sachs
International, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. In connection with this
transaction, DIC undertook to cause us, subject to applicable law and
contractual limitations, to adopt a dividend policy to distribute annually at
least 75% of our annual net income, provided that any such distribution is not
detrimental to our cash needs or to any plans authorized by our Board of
Directors. The parties agreed that our Board of Directors would include at least
seven directors, excluding external (independent) directors, with the chairman
of our Board of Directors having a deciding vote on matters that are
tied. For so long as DIC is our largest shareholder and holds at
least 35% of our voting power, it was agreed that the parties would endeavor to
cause the election of our chairman from among the directors nominated by the IDB
group. The parties further agreed that they would use all their
voting power to elect all nominees designated by the IDB group to our Board of
Directors.
Any
private transfer of shares by either party is subject to the transferee becoming
a party to the shareholders agreement between the parties. The parties are
prohibited from transferring their holdings to a person who is in direct
competition with us in Israel, if such transfer may result in cancellation or
revocation of any of our licenses, or to a person which is, or is controlled by,
a resident or citizen of a country with which the State of Israel has no
diplomatic relations or which is an adversary thereof. Goldman Sachs
International agreed in principle that certain telecom holdings of the IDB group
may be sold to us, subject to the conditions set forth in the
agreement.
As Goldman Sachs & Co. is no longer
registered in our shareholders' register we do not know if it still holds any of
our ordinary shares.
Migdal
2006 share purchase agreement
In 2006,
DIC sold 4% of our then outstanding ordinary shares to Migdal Insurance Company
Ltd. and two of its affiliates, or the Migdal shareholders. As part of this
transaction, DIC granted the Migdal shareholders a tag along right, in the event
it sells shares resulting in it no longer being a controlling shareholder. In
return, DIC has the right to force the Migdal shareholders to sell their shares
in a transaction in which DIC sells all of its shares to a
purchaser
outside the IDB group. To the best of our knowledge, no such right
has materialized.
First
International Bank 2006 share purchase agreement
In 2006,
DIC sold 2% of our then outstanding shares to Stocofin (Israel) Ltd. (an
affiliate of the First International Bank of Israel Ltd.). As part of the
transaction, DIC undertook to cause us, subject to applicable law, our license
and contractual limitations, to adopt a dividend policy to distribute annually
at least 75% of our annual net income, provided that any such distribution is
not detrimental to our cash needs or to any plans authorized by our Board of
Directors. Furthermore, DIC granted Stocofin (Israel) Ltd. a tag
along right in the event it sells shares resulting in the purchaser becoming a
controlling shareholder. To the best of our
knowledge, no such right has materialized.
As Stocofin (Israel) Ltd. is
no longer registered in our shareholders' register, we do not know if it still
holds any of our ordinary shares.
Relationship
with IDB
As part
of the issuance of our debentures in October 2007, we sold NIS 15 million
aggregate principal amount of our Series C and Series D Debentures to investors
who are members of the IDB group. As part of the issuance of additional Series C
and Series D debentures in February 2008 we sold approximately NIS 48 million
aggregate principal amount of Series C and Series D Debentures to investors who
are members of the IDB group. The terms of participation of our affiliates in
all of these transactions were the same as those of unaffiliated
parties.
As part
of the issuance of our debentures in April 2009, we sold approximately NIS 109
million aggregate principal amount of our Series D and Series E Debentures to
investors who are members of the IDB group. The terms of participation of our
affiliates in all of these transactions were the same as those of unaffiliated
parties.
As of
December 31, 2009, an aggregate amount of approximately NIS 286 million of our
Series AB,C,D and E Debentures were held by investors who are members of the IDB
group and/or entities affiliated with IDB’s principal shareholders or officers,
either for their own account or for the benefit of members of the public
(through, among others, provident funds, mutual funds, pension funds, exchange
traded funds, insurance policies and unaffiliated third-party client accounts,
which are managed by subsidiaries of IDB).
As of
December 31, 2009, an aggregate of 1,947,420 of our ordinary shares (not
included in the holdings set forth in the Beneficial Owners' table above) were
held by members of the public through, among others, provident funds, mutual
funds, pension funds, exchange traded funds, insurance policies and unaffiliated
third-party client accounts, which are managed by subsidiaries of IDB.
In
October 2006, we entered into an agreement with DIC, to benefit from the
experience that DIC has in telecommunications and in the Israeli market
generally, pursuant to which DIC provides us with services in the areas of
management, finance, business and accountancy in consideration of NIS 2.0
million (linked to the Israeli Consumer Price Index for June 2006) plus VAT per
year. Among the services included are consulting and assistance on managerial,
economic and accounting issues, such as the preparation of an annual budget,
strategic
plans and central business processes for us. In addition, the provision of
employees and officers of DIC and its affiliates to be directors of Cellcom is
included in the agreement. This agreement is for a term of one year and is
automatically renewed for one-year terms unless either party provides 60 days’
prior notice to the contrary.
In the
ordinary course of business, from time to time, we purchase, lease, sell and
cooperate in the sale of goods and services, or otherwise engage in transactions
with entities that are members of the IDB group and entities affiliated with
IDB’s principal shareholders or officers. We believe that all such transactions
are on commercial terms comparable to those that we could obtain from
unaffiliated parties
Registration
Rights Agreement
In 2006,
we entered into a registration rights agreement with DIC, two wholly-owned
subsidiaries of DIC which are shareholders and six other
shareholders. For a summary of the terms of the agreement, see “Item
10. Additional Information – C. Material Contracts.”
C. INTERESTS
OF EXPERTS AND COUNSEL
Not
applicable.
ITEM
8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
A. CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Consolidated
Financial Statements
See Item
17.
Legal
Proceedings
General
We are
served from time to time with claims concerning various matters, including
disputes with customers, commercial disputes with third parties with whom we do
business and disputes with government entities, including local planning and
building committees and the Ministry of Communications. The disputes with
customers include purported class actions regarding claims such as alleged
overcharging of tariffs and interconnection fees, misleading representations,
unlawful rounding of tariffs and call units, providing services not in
compliance with applicable law, our license’s requirements or with a
subscriber’s agreement. The following is a summary of our material
litigation, pending as of the date of this annual report.
Two
legislative changes, the adoption of the Israeli Class Actions Law in 2007 and
the 2005 amendment to the Consumer Protection Law, include provisions that
expand the causes of action for which a class of litigants may bring suit,
including with regard to damages incurred prior to the effective dates of the
law and the amendment, reducing the minimal requirements for certification of a
class action suit and broadening and loosening the qualifications to be the
leading plaintiff in a class action lawsuit. These laws have
increased and may increase further, the number of requests for certification of
class action lawsuits against us and have increased and may increase further,
our legal exposure as a result of such class action lawsuits and our legal costs
in defending against such suits. See “Item 3. Key
Information
– D. Risk Factors - We are exposed to, and currently are engaged in, a variety
of legal proceedings, including class action lawsuits.”
All
amounts noted below are nominal and, in cases where the claim is approved, will
be adjusted to reflect changes in the Israeli CPI and statutory interest, from
the date that each claim was filed.
Based on
advice of counsel, we believe it is more likely than not that substantially all
the claims and disputes detailed below will be determined in our favor and
accordingly, no provision has been made in the financial statements in respect
of these claims and disputes. We have made a provision in the amount of
approximately NIS 28 millions, for the claim/s and dispute/s we are willing to
settle and/or for which we cannot reach a conclusion that it is more likely than
not that the claim/s and/ or dispute/s will be determined in our
favor.
Purported
class actions
In
September 2000, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the
District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by one of our subscribers in connection with
VAT charges in respect of insurance premiums and the provision of insurance
services that were allegedly provided not in accordance with the law. In
February 2006, the motion for certification as a class action was
denied. In March 2006, an appeal was filed with the Supreme Court
challenging the dismissal. In December 2008, the appeal was partially allowed
and the claim was returned for further consideration by the District Court of
certain issues determined by the Supreme Court. If the lawsuit is certified as a
class action, the amount of the claim is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS
402 million.
In August
2001, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by one of our subscribers in connection with our
outgoing call tariffs on the “Talkman” (pre-paid) plan and the collection of a
distribution fee for “Talkman” calling cards. In June 2004, the
motion for certification as a class action was denied. In September
2004, this decision was appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court. In
July 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court accepted a petition filed by both parties
with mutual consent, in light of the Israeli Class Action Law, 2006, to resubmit
the purported class action lawsuit for consideration in the District Court of
Tel Aviv-Jaffa. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 135 million. In
January 2010, during preliminary proceedings, the District Court accepted our
defense of limitations for the period prior to March 1999. We cannot quantify
which portion of the claim was dismissed following that decision.
In
December 2002, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us (and
another cellular operator) in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa in connection
with our incoming call tariff to subscribers of other operators when calling our
subscribers during the period before the regulation of interconnect fees. In
December 2008, the motion for certification as a class action was dismissed with
prejudice In January 2009, an appeal was filed with the Supreme Court
challenging the dismissal. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the
amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 1.6 billion.
In April
2003, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us and two other
cellular operators, with the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa in connection with
our incoming SMS tariff to subscribers of other operators when sending SMS
messages to our subscribers during the period before the regulation of SMS
interconnect fees. If the lawsuit is certified as
a class
action, the amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 90 million,
without specifying the amount claimed from us individually.
In August
2003, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa (and later transferred to the District Court of the
Central Region) by one of our subscribers in connection with our method of
rounding the rates of calls, our method of linking rates of calls to the
consumer price index and an alleged unlawful approval of a certain rate that was
approved by the Ministry of Communications in 1996. Following the
amendment to the Consumer Protection Law in December 2005, the plaintiff filed
an amended statement of its claim in March 2006, to which we have
replied. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount
claimed (for the original claim) is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 150
million. In August 2009, during preliminary proceedings, the court rejected the
plaintiffs' claim against the alleged unlawful approval granted by the Ministry
of Communications . We cannot quantify which portion of the amount claimed is
represented by this aspect of the lawsuit.
In August
2006, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us (and two other
cellular operators) in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by plaintiffs
alleging to be subscribers of the defendants in connection with sums allegedly
unlawfully charged for a segment of a call that was not actually carried
out. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to exceed NIS 100 million without
specifying the amount claimed from us individually.
In
December 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us (and two
other cellular operators) in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa by plaintiffs
alleging to be residing next to cell sites of the defendants which the
plaintiffs allege were built in violation of the law. The plaintiffs allege that
the defendants have created environmental hazards by unlawfully building cell
sites and therefore demand that the defendants will compensate the public for
damages (other than personal damages, such as depreciation of property and/or
health related damages which are excluded from the purported class action),
demolish existing unlawfully built cell sites and refrain from unlawfully
building new cell sites. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the
compensation claimed from the defendants (without any allocation of this amount
among the defendants) is estimated by the plaintiffs to be NIS 1,000
million.
In March
2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Central Region by plaintiffs alleging to be our subscribers, in
connection with allegations that we unlawfully charged our subscribers for
providing them with call details records. In August 2009 the request to certify
the lawsuit as a class action was approved by the court and the claim will be
tried as a class action, relating to an allegation that we breached the
agreements with our subscribers by charging them for the service we previously
provided free of charge, without obtaining their consent. We appealed the
decision and requested to stay proceedings until the appeal is decided. We await
the court's decision. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total
amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 440
million.
In April
2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by plaintiffs alleging to be our subscribers, in
connection with allegations that we overcharged certain subscribers entitled to
rebates under their agreement with us, by miscalculating the rebate. If the
lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount claimed is estimated by the
plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 100 million.
In May
2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us (and two other
cellular operators) in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by plaintiffs
alleging to be subscribers of the defendants, in connection with allegations
that the defendants have unlawfully charged their subscribers for certain failed
calls attempted by the subscribers, while abroad. If the lawsuit is certified as
a class action, the total amount claimed from all three defendants is estimated
by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 50 million, without specifying the
amount attributed to us.
In July
2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be our subscriber, in
connection with allegations that we mislead and overcharge certain subscribers,
in relation to airtime packages. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action,
the amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 72
million.
In July
2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the District
Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be our subscriber, in
connection with allegations that we mislead and unlawfully charge our
subscribers for a certain automatic call completion service, even if not used.
If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount claimed is estimated
by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 179 million.
In March
2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us, our chief executive
officer and some of our directors, in the District Court of Central Region, by a
plaintiff alleging to be our subscriber, in connection with allegations that we
unlawfully sent our subscribers commercial messages. In June 2009, our chief
executive officer and directors were removed from the list of defendants, with
the consent of the plaintiff. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the
total amount claimed from us is estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately
NIS 800 million.
In May
2009, a purported class action was filed against us in the District Court of
Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be our subscriber, in connection with
allegations that we misled our subscribers whose calling plan
includes certain reduced tariff calls, by failing to specify certain limitations
on reduced tariff calls. The plaintiff did not specify the amount claimed if the
lawsuit is certified as a class action.
In August
2009, a purported class action was filed against us (and another cellular
operator and two content providers), in the District Court of Central Region, by
two plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the cellular operators, in
connection with sums allegedly charged by the defendants in respect of content
services the subscribers allegedly did not order or which did not comply with
certain legal requirements. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the
total amount claimed from the defendants is estimated by the plaintiffs to be
approximately NIS 347 million, of which the sum of approximately 119 million is
attributed by the plaintiffs to us.
In
December 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against us in the
District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be our subscriber
in connection with allegations that we unlawfully included commercial content in
internet pages viewed by our subscribers through cellular "surfing", and
unlawfully charged them for such surfing. The plaintiff did not estimate the
total amount claimed, if the lawsuit is certified as a class
action.
Commercial
and other disputes
In April
2005, a lawsuit was filed against us in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by
one of our former dealers and importers for the amount of NIS 28 million
(reduced for court fee purposes from approximately NIS 38 million), alleging
that we have breached an agreement between the parties. We reject all
claims made by the plaintiff against us.
In
January 2007, a lawsuit was filed against us in an arbitration proceeding for
the amount of approximately NIS 35 million by a company that purchased cellular
services from us in order to sell the services to its customers, alleging, among
other things, that we have breached our agreements with the plaintiff and making
claims concerning our conduct. We reject all claims made by the
plaintiff against us.
There is
a dispute between the Ministry of Communications and us with respect to the
payment of fees for GSM and UMTS frequencies. The amount in dispute
as of December 31, 2009 is approximately NIS 73 million (including interest and
CPI linkage differences). Until a final decision on this matter, we
deposited about half of the principal amount with the Ministry of
Communications. We have applied to the courts regarding this issue. In November
2009, the matter was brought before the Supreme Court and the parties accepted
the court's recommendation to attempt to reach an agreed solution outside the
court, but did not reach an agreement and are now awaiting the
court's ruling on the matter.
Dividend
Policy
In
February 2006, our board of directors adopted a dividend policy to distribute
each year at least 75% of our annual net income determined (in accordance with
Israeli GAAP for periods until December 31, 2007 and in accordance with IFRS for
periods commencing on or after January 1, 2008), subject to applicable law, our
license and our contractual obligations and provided that such distribution
would not be detrimental to our cash needs or to any plans approved by our Board
of Directors. In March 2007, our Board of Directors resolved to distribute
dividends within the boundaries of the February 2006 dividend policy and until
resolved otherwise, on a quarterly basis. Our Board of Directors will consider,
among other factors, our expected results of operation, including changes in
pricing and competition, planned capital expenditure for technological upgrades
and changes in debt service needs, including due to changes in interest rates or
currency exchange rates, in order to reach its conclusion that a distribution of
dividends will not prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable
obligations as they become due. In addition, there is an agreement among the
controlling shareholders of IDB, our ultimate parent company, to target a
dividend distribution of at least 50% of its distributable gains each year.
Dividend payments are not guaranteed and our Board of Directors may decide, in
its absolute discretion, at any time and for any reason, not to pay dividends or
to pay dividends at a ratio to net income that is less than that paid in the
past. For example, our Board of Directors may determine that our cash
needs for debt service, capital expenditures or operations may increase and that
it would not be prudent to distribute dividends. Accordingly, shareholders
should not expect that any particular amount will be distributed by us as
dividends at any time, even if we have previously made dividend payments in such
amount.
Our
ability to pay dividends is subject to the following limitations under Israeli
law: (1) dividends may only be paid out of cumulative retained earnings or out
of retained
earnings
over the prior two years, provided that there is no reasonable concern that the
payment of the dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and
foreseeable obligations as they become due; and (2) our license
requires that we and our 10% or more shareholders maintain at least $200 million
of combined shareholders’ equity. DIC’s shareholders’ equity was over NIS 6
billion (over $1.6 billion) at December 31, 2009.
We intend
to declare dividends in NIS and convert them for payment in US$ (where
applicable) based upon the daily representative rate of exchange as published by
the Bank of Israel prior to the distribution date.
Prior to
2006, we had not distributed dividends. In 2006, we distributed
dividends in the amount of NIS 3.83 billion ($1.01 billion), constituting
substantially all of our retained earnings from inception to December 31, 2005.
In 2007, we distributed dividends in the amount of NIS 655 million ($174
million). In 2008 we distributed dividends in the amount of NIS 1,530 million
($405 million). In March 2009, we distributed a dividend in the amount of
approximately NIS 270 million ($72 million). In June 2009 we distributed a
dividend in the amount of approximately NIS 330 million ($87
million). In September 2009 we distributed a dividend in the amount of
approximately NIS 300 million ($79 million). In December 2009 we distributed a
dividend in the amount of approximately NIS 287 million ($76 million).
The dividends distributed in respect of 2007, 2008 and the first nine
months of 2009 constituted approximately 95% of our net income (in accordance
with Israeli GAAP for periods until December 31, 2007 and in accordance with
IFRS for periods commencing on or after January 1, 2008) for the respective
period and part of our retained earnings from earlier periods.
On March
2, 2010 our board of directors declared a cash dividend for the fourth quarter
of 2009 of NIS 2.60 per share, or approximately NIS 257 million in the
aggregate. The dividend for the fourth quarter of 2009 constitutes approximately
95% of our net income (in accordance with IFRS) for the quarter. The
dividend per share that we will pay for the fourth quarter of 2009 does not
reflect the level of dividends that may be paid for future quarterly periods,
which can change at any time in accordance with the policy set out
above.
B. SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES
No
significant change has occurred since December 31, 2009, except as otherwise
disclosed in this annual report.
ITEM
9. THE OFFER AND LISTING
A. OFFER
AND LISTING DETAILS
Trading
in Israel
Our
ordinary shares have traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol CEL
since July 1, 2007. Our ordinary shares do not trade on any other
trading market in Israel.
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the reported high and low
prices in NIS for our ordinary shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, as
retroactively adjusted by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to reflect the payment of
dividends.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
|
|
|
NIS
|
|
Annually
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
106.5 |
|
|
|
75.8 |
|
2008
|
|
|
|
103.6 |
|
|
|
70.0 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
124.1 |
|
|
|
71.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarterly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
|
88.2 |
|
|
|
75.8 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
|
106.5 |
|
|
|
76.0 |
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Quarter
|
|
|
|
100.5 |
|
|
|
82.7 |
|
Second
Quarter
|
|
|
|
101.8 |
|
|
|
90.7 |
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
|
103.6 |
|
|
|
85.9 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
|
95.0 |
|
|
|
70.0 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Quarter
|
|
|
|
83.3 |
|
|
|
71.5 |
|
Second
Quarter
|
|
|
|
101.1 |
|
|
|
80.5 |
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
|
113.8 |
|
|
|
96.1 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
|
124.1 |
|
|
|
107.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monthly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
|
|
|
|
97.7 |
|
|
|
85.9 |
|
October
|
|
|
|
94.9 |
|
|
|
85.1 |
|
November
|
|
|
|
95.0 |
|
|
|
74.7 |
|
December
|
|
|
|
81.6 |
|
|
|
70.0 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
|
|
|
|
113.8 |
|
|
|
105.0 |
|
October
|
|
|
|
115.7 |
|
|
|
109.6 |
|
November
|
|
|
|
119.7 |
|
|
|
107.9 |
|
December
|
|
|
|
124.1 |
|
|
|
117.2 |
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
|
|
|
|
123.5 |
|
|
|
117.3 |
|
February
|
|
|
128.0
|
|
|
118.9
|
|
* No
information is provided regarding the first two quarters of 2007 since trading
in our Ordinary Shares on the TASE commenced only on July 1,
2007.
On
February 26, 2010, the closing price per share of our Ordinary Shares on the
TASE was NIS 126.7.
Trading
in the United States
Our
ordinary shares have traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CEL
since February 6, 2007.
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low prices
in $ for our ordinary shares on The New York Stock Exchange, as retroactively
adjusted by the New York Stock Exchange to reflect the payment of
dividends.
|
|
|
|
|
|
High
$
|
|
|
Low
$
|
|
Annually
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
26.28 |
|
|
|
12.95 |
|
2008
|
|
|
30.62 |
|
|
|
18.18 |
|
2009
|
|
|
32.87 |
|
|
|
17.82 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarterly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Quarter
|
|
|
14.16 |
|
|
|
12.98 |
|
Second
Quarter
|
|
|
19.52 |
|
|
|
12.95 |
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
19.64 |
|
|
|
17.41 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
26.28 |
|
|
|
18.12 |
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Quarter
|
|
|
26.83 |
|
|
|
22.31 |
|
Second
Quarter
|
|
|
30.04 |
|
|
|
24.58 |
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
30.62 |
|
|
|
24.61 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
26.16 |
|
|
|
18.18 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Quarter
|
|
|
20.16 |
|
|
|
17.82 |
|
Second
Quarter
|
|
|
25.58 |
|
|
|
19.37 |
|
Third
Quarter
|
|
|
30.65 |
|
|
|
24.66 |
|
Fourth
Quarter
|
|
|
32.87 |
|
|
|
28.49 |
|
Monthly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
|
|
|
26.91 |
|
|
|
24.61 |
|
October
|
|
|
26.16 |
|
|
|
22.81 |
|
November
|
|
|
24.56 |
|
|
|
19.43 |
|
December
|
|
|
20.83 |
|
|
|
18.18 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
|
|
|
30.65 |
|
|
|
27.87 |
|
October
|
|
|
31.51 |
|
|
|
29.27 |
|
November
|
|
|
31.48 |
|
|
|
28.49 |
|
December
|
|
|
32.87 |
|
|
|
31.33 |
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
|
|
|
33.37 |
|
|
|
31.92 |
|
February
|
|
34.25
|
|
|
|
|
On
February 26, 2010, the closing price per share of our Ordinary Shares on the
NSYE was $34.08.
B. PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
Not
applicable.
C. MARKETS
Our
ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange under the symbol “CEL”
D. SELLING
SHAREHOLDERS
Not
applicable.
E. DILUTION
Not
applicable.
F. EXPENSES
OF THE ISSUE
Not
applicable.
ITEM
10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A. SHARE
CAPITAL
Not
applicable.
B. MEMORANDUM
AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
Objects
and Purposes
Our
registration number with the Israeli registrar of companies is 51-1930125. Our
object is to engage, directly or indirectly, in any lawful undertaking or
business whatsoever as determined by our Board of Directors, including, without
limitation, as stipulated in our memorandum of association.
Transfer
of Shares
Fully
paid ordinary shares are issued in registered form and may be freely transferred
unless the transfer is restricted or prohibited by our articles of association,
applicable law, our licenses, the rules of the SEC or the rules of a stock
exchange on which the shares are traded. The ownership or voting of
ordinary shares by non-residents of Israel is not restricted in any way by our
articles of association or the laws of the State of Israel, except for ownership
by nationals of some countries that are, or have been, in a state of war with
Israel.
According
to our licenses, investors are prohibited from acquiring (alone or together with
relatives or with other parties who collaborate on a regular basis) or
transferring our shares, directly or indirectly (including by way of creating a
pledge which if foreclosed, will result in the transfer of shares), in one
transaction or a series of transactions, if such acquisition or transfer will
result in a holding or transfer of 10% or more of any of our means of control,
or from transferring any of our means of control if as a result of such
transfer, control over our company will be transferred from one party to
another, without the prior approval of the Ministry of Communications. Our
specific licenses also require approval of the Minister of Communications before
acquiring the ability to effect a significant influence over us. In this
context, holding 25% of our means of control is presumed to confer significant
influence. In addition, according to our licenses, if you hold more than 5% of
our means of control, you may not hold, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of
the means of control in Bezeq or another cellular operator in Israel (subject to
certain exceptions) and may not serve as an office holder of one of our
competitors, other than in specific circumstances and subject to the approval of
the Ministry of Communications. For more details relating to these restrictions,
please see “Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview –
Government Regulations - Our Principal License” and our principal license, a
convenience translation of which has been filed with the SEC. See "Item 19 –
Exhibits". The holding and transfer restrictions under our licenses are posted
on our website at www.cellcom.co.il
under “Investor Relations – Corporate Governance –
Company Profile - Legal & Corporate”
Voting
Holders
of our ordinary shares have one vote for each ordinary share held on all matters
submitted to a vote of shareholders at a shareholder
meeting. Shareholders may vote at shareholder meetings either in
person, by proxy or by written ballot. Shareholder voting rights may be affected
by the grant of special voting rights to the holders of a class of shares with
preferential rights that may be authorized in the future. The Companies Law
provides
that a
shareholder, in exercising his or her rights and performing his or her
obligations toward the company and its other shareholders, must act in good
faith and in a customary manner, and avoid abusing his or her power. This is
required when voting at general meetings on matters such as changes to the
articles of association, increasing the company’s registered capital, mergers
and approval of related party transactions. A shareholder also has a general
duty to refrain from depriving any other shareholder of their rights as a
shareholder. In addition, any controlling shareholder, any shareholder who knows
that its vote can determine the outcome of a shareholder vote and any
shareholder who, under the company’s articles of association, can appoint or
prevent the appointment of an office holder, is required to act with fairness
towards the company. The Companies Law does not describe the substance of this
duty, except to state that the remedies generally available upon a breach of
contract will apply also in the event of a breach of the duty to act with
fairness, and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no binding case law that
addresses this subject directly. As required under our license, our articles of
association provide that any holdings of our ordinary shares that contravene the
holding or transfer restrictions contained in our license, which are summarized
under “—Transfer of Shares” and “Item 4. Information on the Company – B.
Business Overview - Government Regulations—Our Principal License,” will not be
entitled to voting rights. In addition, our license requires that as a condition
to voting at any meeting of shareholders, in person or by proxy, each
shareholder must certify that its holdings of our shares do not contravene the
restrictions contained in our license.
Election
of Directors
Our
ordinary shares do not have cumulative voting rights for the election of
directors. Rather, under our articles of association our directors
(other than external directors and directors appointed by Israeli citizens and
residents from among our founding shareholders) are elected at a shareholders
meeting by a simple majority of our ordinary shares. As a result, the
holders of our ordinary shares that represent more than 50% of the voting power
represented at a shareholders meeting, have the power to elect any or all of our
directors whose positions are being filled at that meeting, subject to the
special approval requirements for external directors described under “Item 6.A –
Directors and Senior Management—External Directors” and the right of DIC to
directly appoint 20% of our directors described under “Item 6.A – Directors and
Senior Management—Israeli Appointed Directors.” Directors may also be appointed
for office by our Board of Directors until the next annual general meeting of
shareholders.
Dividend
and Liquidation Rights
Our board
of directors may declare a dividend to be paid to the holders of ordinary shares
on a pro rata basis. Dividends may only be paid out of our profits
and other surplus funds, as defined in the Companies Law, as of our most recent
financial statement or as accrued over the past two years, whichever is higher,
or, in the absence of such profits or surplus, with court approval. In any
event, a dividend is permitted only if there is no reasonable concern that the
payment of the dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and
foreseeable obligations as they become due. In the event of our
liquidation, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors, our assets will be
distributed to the holders of ordinary shares on a pro rata basis. This right
may be affected by the grant of preferential dividend or distribution rights to
the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized
in the future.
Shareholders
Meetings
We are
required to convene an annual general meeting of our shareholders once every
calendar year within a period of not more than 15 months following the preceding
annual general meeting. Our board of directors is required to convene a special
general meeting of our shareholders at the request of two directors or one
quarter of the members of our Board of Directors or at the request of one or
more holders of 5% or more of our share capital and 1% of our voting power or
the holder or holders of 5% or more of our voting power. All shareholders
meetings require prior notice of at least 21 days, or up to 35 days if required
by applicable law or regulation. We provide at least 40 day advance written
notice, in accordance with the NYSE’s rules. The chairperson of our Board of
Directors presides over our general meetings. Subject to the
provisions of the Companies Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
shareholders entitled to participate and vote at general meetings are the
shareholders of record on a date to be decided by the board of directors, which
may be between four and 40 days prior to the date of the meeting.
Quorum
Our
articles of association provide that the quorum required for any meeting of
shareholders shall consist of at least two shareholders present, in person or by
proxy or written ballot, who hold or represent between them at least one-third
of the voting power of our issued share capital. A meeting adjourned for lack of
a quorum generally is adjourned to the same day in the following week at the
same time and place or, if not set forth in the notice to shareholders, to a
time and place set by the chairperson of the meeting with the consent of the
holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting and voting
on the question of adjournment. At the reconvened meeting, the
required quorum consists of at least two shareholders present, in person or by
proxy or written ballot, unless the meeting was called pursuant to a request by
our shareholders in which case the quorum required is the number of shareholders
required to call the meeting as described under “—Shareholder
Meetings.”
Resolutions
An
ordinary resolution at a shareholders meeting requires approval by a simple
majority of the voting rights represented at the meeting, in person, by proxy or
written ballot, and voting on the resolution. Under the Companies Law, unless
otherwise provided in the articles of association or applicable law, all
resolutions of the shareholders require a simple majority. A resolution for the
voluntary winding up of the company requires the approval by holders of 75% of
the voting rights represented at the meeting, in person or by proxy or written
ballot, and voting on the resolution.
Modification
of Class Rights
The
rights attached to any class, such as voting, liquidation and dividend rights,
may be amended by written consent of holders of a majority of the issued shares
of that class, or by adoption of a resolution by a simple majority of the shares
of that class represented at a separate class meeting.
Indemnification
of Directors and Officers
Under the
Companies Law, an Israeli company may not exempt an office holder from liability
for breach of his duty of loyalty, but may exempt in advance an office holder
from
liability
to the company, in whole or in part, for a breach of his or her duty of care
(except in connection with distributions), provided the articles of association
of the company allow it to do so. Our articles of association allow
us to do so.
Our
articles of association provide that, subject to the provisions of the Companies
Law, we may enter into a contract for insurance against liability of any of our
office holders with respect to each of the following:
|
·
|
a
breach of his or her duty of care to us or to another
person;
|
|
·
|
a
breach of his or her duty of loyalty to us, provided that the office
holder acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to assume that his
or her act would not prejudice our
interests;
|
|
·
|
a
financial liability imposed upon him or her in favor of another person
concerning an act performed in the capacity as an office
holder.
|
We
maintain a liability insurance policy for the benefit of our officers and
directors.
Our
articles of association provide that we may indemnify an office holder
against:
|
·
|
a
financial liability imposed on or incurred by an office holder in favor of
another person by any judgment, including a settlement or an arbitrator’s
award approved by a court concerning an act performed in his or her
capacity as an office holder. Such indemnification may be approved (i)
after the liability has been incurred or (ii) in advance, provided that
the undertaking is limited to types of events which our Board of Directors
deems to be foreseeable in light of our actual operations at the time of
the undertaking and limited to an amount or criterion determined by our
Board of Directors to be reasonable under the circumstances, and further
provided that such events and amounts or criteria are set forth in the
undertaking to indemnify;
|
|
·
|
reasonable
litigation expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by the office
holder as a result of an investigation or proceeding instituted against
him or her by a competent authority, provided that such investigation or
proceeding concluded without the filing of an indictment against him or
her and either (A) concluded without the imposition of any financial
liability in lieu of criminal proceedings or (B) concluded with the
imposition of a financial liability in lieu of criminal proceedings but
relates to a criminal offense that does not require proof of criminal
intent; and
|
|
·
|
reasonable
litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by the office
holder or charged to him or her by a court, in proceedings instituted by
us or on our behalf or by another person, or in a criminal indictment from
which he or she was acquitted, or a criminal indictment in which he or she
was convicted for a criminal offense that does not require proof of
intent, in each case relating to an act performed in his or her capacity
as an office holder.
|
We have
undertaken to indemnify our directors, officers and certain other employees for
certain events listed in the indemnification letters given to
them. Excluding reasonable litigation expenses, as described above,
the aggregate amount payable to all directors and officers and other employees
who may have been or will be given such indemnification
letters
is limited to the amounts we receive from our insurance policy plus 30% of our
shareholders’ equity as of December 31, 2001, or NIS 486 million, and to be
adjusted by the Israeli CPI.
The
Companies Law provides that a company may not exempt or indemnify an office
holder, or enter into an insurance contract, which would provide coverage for
any monetary liability incurred as a result of any of the
following:
|
·
|
a
breach by the office holder of his or her duty of loyalty unless, with
respect to insurance coverage or indemnification, the office holder acted
in good faith and had a reasonable basis to believe that the act would not
prejudice the company;
|
|
·
|
a
breach by the office holder of his or her duty of care if the breach was
done intentionally or recklessly;
|
|
·
|
any
act or omission done with the intent to derive an illegal personal
benefit; or
|
|
·
|
any
fine or penalty levied against the office
holder.
|
Under the
Companies Law, any exemption of, indemnification of, or procurement of insurance
coverage for, our office holders must be approved by our audit committee and our
Board of Directors and, if the beneficiary is a director, by our
shareholders.
Mergers
and Acquisitions under Israeli Law
The
Companies Law includes provisions that allow a merger transaction and requires
that each company that is a party to a merger have the transaction approved by
its board of directors and a vote of the majority of its shares at a
shareholders meeting. For purposes of the shareholder vote, unless a court rules
otherwise, the merger will not be deemed approved if a majority of the shares
represented at the shareholders meeting that are held by parties other than the
other party to the merger, or by any person who holds 25% or more of the shares
or the right to appoint 25% or more of the directors of the other party, vote
against the merger. Upon the request of a creditor of either party of the
proposed merger, the court may delay or prevent the merger if it concludes that
there exists a reasonable concern that as a result of the merger, the surviving
company will be unable to satisfy the obligations of any of the parties to the
merger. In addition, a merger may not be completed unless at least
(i) 50 days have passed from the time that the requisite proposal for the merger
has been filed by each party with the Israeli Registrar of Companies and (ii) 30
days have passed since the merger was approved by the shareholders of each
party.
The
Companies Law also provides that an acquisition of shares of a public company
must be made by means of a special tender offer if as a result of the
acquisition the purchaser would become a 25% or greater shareholder of the
company and there is no existing 25% or greater shareholder in the company. An
acquisition of shares of a public company must also be made by means of a tender
offer if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser would become a 45% or
greater shareholder of the company and there is no existing 45% or greater
shareholder in the company. These requirements do not apply if the acquisition
(i) occurs in the context of a private placement by the company that received
shareholder approval, (ii) was from a 25% shareholder of the company and
resulted in the acquirer becoming a 25% shareholder of the company or (iii) was
from a 45% shareholder of the company and resulted
in the
acquirer becoming a 45% shareholder of the company. The special
tender offer must be extended to all shareholders but the offeror is not
required to purchase shares representing more than 5% of the voting power
attached to the company’s outstanding shares, regardless of how many shares are
tendered by shareholders. The special tender offer may be consummated
only if (i) at least 5% of the voting power attached to the company’s
outstanding shares will be acquired by the offeror and (ii) the number of shares
tendered in the offer exceeds the number of shares whose holders objected to the
offer.
If, as a
result of an acquisition of shares, the acquirer will hold more than 90% of a
company’s outstanding shares, the acquisition must be made by means of a tender
offer for all of the outstanding shares. If less than 5% of the
outstanding shares are not tendered in the tender offer, all the shares that the
acquirer offered to purchase will be transferred to it. The law provides for
appraisal rights if any shareholder files a request in court within three months
following the consummation of a full tender offer. If more than 5% of the
outstanding shares are not tendered in the tender offer, then the acquirer may
not acquire shares in the tender offer that will cause his shareholding to
exceed 90% of the outstanding shares.
Furthermore,
Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions unappealing to us or
to our shareholders who are not exempt from Israeli income tax under Israeli law
or an applicable tax treaty. For example, Israeli tax law does not recognize
tax-free share exchanges to the same extent as U.S. tax law. With respect to
mergers, Israeli tax law allows for tax deferral in certain circumstances but
makes the deferral contingent on the fulfillment of numerous conditions,
including a holding period of two years from the date of the transaction during
which sales and dispositions of shares of the participating companies by certain
shareholders are restricted. Moreover, with respect to certain share
swap transactions, the tax deferral is limited in time, and when such time
expires, tax then becomes payable even if no actual disposition of the shares
has occurred. For information regarding Israeli tax on the sale of
our shares, please see “Item 10.E - Taxation—Israeli Tax Considerations—Capital
Gains Tax on Sales of Our Ordinary Shares.”
Anti-Takeover
Measures under Israeli Law
The
Companies Law allows us to create and issue shares having rights different from
those attached to our ordinary shares, including shares providing certain
preferred or additional rights to voting, distributions or other matters and
shares having preemptive rights. We do not have any authorized or
issued shares other than ordinary shares. In the future, if we do
create and issue a class of shares other than ordinary shares, such class of
shares, depending on the specific rights that may be attached to them, may delay
or prevent a takeover or otherwise prevent our shareholders from realizing a
potential premium over the market value of their ordinary shares. The
authorization of a new class of shares will require an amendment to our articles
of association and to our memorandum, which requires the prior approval of a
simple majority of our shares represented and voting at a shareholders meeting.
Our articles of association provide that our Board of Directors may, at any time
in its sole discretion, adopt protective measures to prevent or delay a coercive
takeover of us, including, without limitation, the adoption of a shareholder
rights plan.
C. MATERIAL
CONTRACTS
For a
description of our material suppliers, see “Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview – Network and Technology”, “Item 4. Information on the
Company
–
B. Business Overview – Customer Care” and “Item 4. Information on the Company –
B. Business Overview - Services and Products.”
For a
description of our debt agreements, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review
and Prospects – B. Liquidity and Capital Resources – Debt Service – Public
Debentures.”
Registration
Rights Agreement
Upon the
sale of shares by DIC to Goldman Sachs International on March 15, 2006, we
entered into a registration rights agreement with Goldman Sachs International,
DIC and two other shareholders who are subsidiaries of DIC on customary terms
and conditions. Upon the subsequent sales of shares by DIC to Migdal
Insurance Company Ltd. and two of its affiliates, to Leumi & Co. Investment
House Ltd. (an affiliate of Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd), and to Stocofin (Israel)
Ltd. (an affiliate of the First International Bank of Israel Ltd.), these
shareholders also joined the registration rights agreement. We refer to DIC, its
two subsidiaries and the additional shareholders who are parties to the
registration rights agreement as the registration rights holders. The shares
eligible for registration under the agreement are ordinary shares held by the
registration rights holders as of the respective dates they entered into the
registration rights agreement and any additional ordinary shares such holders
may thereafter acquire, so long as they are held by a registration rights holder
or a “permitted transferee” (a person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with such registration rights holder)
thereof. As of December 31, 2009, 48,037,500 ordinary shares, held by DIC
directly and through its wholly owned subsidiaries, are entitled to registration
rights as well as any additional shares still held, if held, by the other
shareholders who joined the agreement.
Commencing
August 9, 2008, the registration rights holders are entitled to one demand
registration per 12-month period, so long as such request is initiated by
registration rights holders of at least 3.25% of the then outstanding
registrable securities and the demand refers to a minimum of 3% of our then
outstanding share capital, subject to customary deferral rights. In addition, in
connection with any public offerings that we initiate in the future, if we
propose to register any of our securities for our own account or for the account
of any of our shareholders other than in a demand registration or in a
registration relating solely to an incentive plan, the registration rights
holders have piggyback rights to include their shares subject to customary
underwriters’ cutback rights. In the case of a cut back, each
registration rights holder that is not a member of the IDB group will be
entitled to register registrable shares in an amount equal to its percentage
holding of the aggregate number of registrable shares held by all registration
rights holders wishing to participate in such registration, or, if such
registration rights holder then holds more than 20% of its holdings as of the
date it signed the registration rights agreement, registrable shares in an
amount equal to twice its percentage holding of the aggregate number of
registrable shares held by all registration rights holders wishing to
participate in such registration. Members of the IDB group will be entitled to
register a number of registrable shares equal to the aggregate number of
registrable shares to be included in the registration, less the registrable
shares of all the other registration rights holders being registered pursuant to
the foregoing calculation.
All
registration rights terminate, with respect to any individual registration
rights holder, at such time as all registrable shares of such holder may be sold
without registration pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act during any
three-month period. We are required to pay all expenses incurred in carrying out
the above registrations, as well as the
reasonable
fees and expenses of one legal counsel for the selling registration rights
holders, except for underwriter discounts and commissions with respect to the
shares of such holders. The agreement provides for customary indemnification and
contribution provisions. Our initial public offering on February 2007 was
effected in accordance with the registration rights agreement, except that the
selling shareholders agreed to bear the expenses of the offering.
Underwriting
agreement
We
entered into an underwriting agreement among Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citigroup
Global Markets, Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., as the representatives
of the underwriters, and DIC and Goldman Sachs International, as the selling
shareholders, on February 5, 2007, with respect to the ordinary shares sold in
our initial public offering.
We have
agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including
liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments the
underwriters may be required to make in respect of such
liabilities.
D. EXCHANGE
CONTROLS
There are
currently no Israeli currency control restrictions on payments of dividends or
other distributions with respect to our ordinary shares or the proceeds from the
sale of the shares, except for the obligation of Israeli residents to file
reports with the Bank of Israel regarding certain transactions. However,
legislation remains in effect pursuant to which currency controls can be imposed
by administrative action at any time.
E. TAXATION
U.S.
Federal Income Tax Considerations
The
following is a general discussion of certain material U.S. federal income tax
consequences of ownership and disposition of the Company’s shares by a “U.S.
holder” (as defined below). This discussion does not purport to be a
comprehensive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant
to a holder in light of the holder’s particular circumstances and does not
address U.S. state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences. The
discussion applies only to U.S. holders (as defined below) that hold the shares
as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes and it does not describe
all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to holders subject to special
rules, such as certain financial institutions, insurance companies, dealers and
traders in securities or foreign currencies, persons holding the shares as part
of a hedge, straddle, conversion transaction or other integrated transaction,
persons whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not
the U.S. dollar, partnerships or other entities classified as partnerships for
U.S. federal income tax purposes, persons liable for the alternative minimum
tax, tax-exempt organizations, or shareholders that own or are deemed to own 10%
or more of the Company’s voting power.
This
discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and
proposed Treasury regulations, all as of the date hereof. These laws
are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis. Shareholders
are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state,
local and foreign tax consequences of purchasing, owning and disposing of shares
in light of their particular circumstances.
The
discussion below applies only to U.S. holders. As used herein, a
“U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of the Company’s shares that is, for U.S.
federal income tax purposes:
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a
citizen or resident of the United
States;
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a
corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or
organized in or under the laws of the United States or any political
subdivision thereof; or
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·
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an
estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income
taxation regardless of its source.
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If an
entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes
holds the shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will
generally depend on the status of the partner and upon the activities of the
entity. Partners or members of such entities should consult their tax
advisors regarding the tax consequences of investments in the Company’s
shares.
Taxation
of Distributions
Subject
to the discussion in "- Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules" below,
distributions paid on the Company’s shares, other than certain pro rata
distributions of ordinary shares, will be treated as a dividend to the extent
paid out of current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under
U.S. federal income tax principles). Since the Company does not
maintain calculations of its earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax
principles, U.S. holders will generally be required to treat such distributions
as taxable dividends and include them in income on the date of
receipt. Subject to applicable limitations, dividends paid to certain
non-corporate U.S. holders in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011,
will be taxable at a maximum rate of 15%. The amount of a dividend
will include any amounts withheld by the Company or its paying agent in respect
of Israeli taxes. The amount of the dividend will be treated as foreign source
dividend income and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction
generally allowed to U.S. corporations under the Code.
Dividends
paid in NIS will be included in a U.S. holder’s income in a U.S. dollar amount
calculated by reference to the exchange rate in effect on the date of receipt of
the dividend, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S.
dollars. If the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars on the date
of receipt, a U.S. holder generally should not be required to recognize foreign
currency gain or loss in respect of the dividend income. A U.S.
holder may have foreign currency gain or loss if the holder does not convert the
amount of such dividend into U.S. dollars on the date of its
receipt. Such gain or loss would generally be treated as U.S. source
ordinary income or loss.
Subject
to applicable limitations that may vary depending upon a U.S. holder’s
particular circumstances, Israeli taxes withheld from dividends at a rate not
exceeding the rate provided by the U.S.-Israel income tax treaty will be
creditable against the holder’s U.S. federal income tax
liability. Israeli taxes withheld in excess of the rate allowed by
the treaty will not be eligible for credit against a U.S. holder’s federal
income tax liability. The limitation on foreign taxes eligible for
credit is calculated separately with respect to specific classes of
income. Instead of claiming a credit, a U.S. holder may, at the
holder’s election, deduct the otherwise creditable foreign taxes in computing
the taxable income for the year, subject to generally applicable limitations
under U.S. law. An election to deduct foreign taxes instead of claiming foreign
tax credits applies to all foreign taxes paid or accrued in the
taxable
year. The rules governing foreign tax credits are complex and holders should
consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of foreign tax credits
and the deductibility of foreign taxes in their particular
circumstances.
Sale
and Other Disposition of the Company’s Shares
Subject
to the discussion in "- Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules" below , gain
or loss realized on the sale or other disposition of shares will be capital gain
or loss, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder held the
shares for more than one year. The amount of gain or loss will be
equal to the difference between the tax basis in the shares disposed of and the
amount realized on the disposition. Such gain or loss will generally
be U.S. source gain or loss for foreign tax credit purposes. The deductibility
of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Passive
Foreign Investment Company Rules
The
Company believes that it was not a “passive foreign investment company” for U.S.
federal income tax purposes, or PFIC, for the taxable year of
2009. However, since PFIC status depends upon the composition of a
company’s income and assets and the market value of its assets (including, among
others, equity investments in less than 25%-owned entities) from time to time,
there can be no assurance that the Company will not be considered a PFIC for any
taxable year. If the Company were to be treated as a PFIC for any
taxable year during which a U.S. holder held a share in the Company, certain
adverse consequences could apply to the U.S. holder. Specifically, gain
recognized by a U.S. holder on a sale or other disposition of a share would be
allocated ratably over the U.S. holder’s holding period for the
share. The amounts allocated to the taxable year of the sale or other
exchange and to any year before the Company became a PFIC would be taxed as
ordinary income in the current year. The amount allocated to each
other taxable year would be subject to tax at the highest rate in effect for
individuals or corporations, as appropriate, and an interest charge would be
imposed on the resulting tax liability. Further, any distribution in
excess of 125% of the average of the annual distributions received by the U.S.
holder during the preceding three years or the U.S. holder’s holding period,
whichever if shorter, would be subject to taxation as described
above. Certain elections may be available (including a mark-to-market
election) to U.S. holders that may mitigate the adverse consequences resulting
from PFIC status. In addition, if we were to be treated as a PFIC in
a taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the prior taxable year, the 15%
dividend rate discussed above with respect to dividends paid to certain
non-corporate holders would not apply.
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payment
of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or
through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries generally are subject to
information reporting and to backup withholding unless (i) the U.S. holder is a
corporation or other exempt recipient or (ii) in the case of backup withholding,
the U.S. holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies
that the U.S. holder is not subject to backup withholding. The amount
of any backup withholding from a payment to a U.S. holder will be allowed as a
credit against the U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may
entitle the U.S. holder to a refund, provided that the required information is
furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
Israeli
Tax Considerations
The
following is a discussion of certain material Israeli tax consequences to
purchasers of our ordinary shares. The discussion also contains a
description of certain relevant material provisions of the current Israeli
income tax structure applicable to companies in Israel, with special reference
to its effect on us. To the extent that the discussion is based on new tax
legislation that has not been subject to judicial or administrative
interpretation, we cannot assure you that the appropriate tax authorities or the
courts will accept the views expressed in this discussion.
This
discussion applies to purchasers that will hold our ordinary shares as capital
assets and does not address all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to
purchasers of our ordinary shares in light of their particular circumstances or
certain types of purchasers of our ordinary shares subject to special tax
treatment. Because individual circumstances may differ, purchasers
should consult their tax advisor to determine the applicability of the rules
discussed below to them, including the application of Israeli or other tax
laws. The discussion below is not intended, and should not be
construed, as legal or professional tax advice and is not exhaustive of all
possible tax considerations.
Taxation
of Israeli Companies
General
Corporate Tax Structure
Generally,
Israeli companies are subject to corporate tax at the rate of 26% for the 2009
tax year and at the rate of 25% for the 2010 tax year. Israeli companies are
generally subject to capital gains tax at a rate of 25% on capital gains derived
between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2010, other than capital gains from the
sale of listed securities, which are generally subject to the corporate tax rate
in effect (unless a company was not subject to the Israeli Inflationary
Adjustments Law or certain regulations prior to the time of publication of a
certain amendment to the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance in which case the tax rate
is 25%). Capital Gains tax on capital gains (including from the sale of listed
securities) derived by Israeli companies after the 2010 tax year will generally
be at the rate of the Corporate Tax in effect. Following an amendment
to the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance enacted in July 2009, which provides for an
additional gradual reduction of the corporate tax rate, the corporate tax rate
will decrease as follows: to 24% for the 2011 tax year, 23% for the
2012 tax year, 22% for the 2013 tax year, 21% for the 2014 tax year, 20% for the
2015 tax year and to 18% for the 2016 tax year and onward.
Amendment
No. 174 to the Income Tax Ordinance, enacted in January 2010, provides that
Israeli Accounting Standard No. 29 will not apply with respect to the tax years
2007, 2008 and 2009, and as a result the International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) will not apply for purposes of determining taxable income for
such tax years. The affect of this amendment on our financial statements,
included elsewhere in this annual report, is not material.
Capital
Gains Tax on Sales of Our Ordinary Shares
Israeli
law generally imposes a capital gains tax on the sale of any capital assets by
residents of Israel, as defined for Israeli tax purposes, and on the sale of
assets located in Israel, including shares in Israeli resident companies, by
non-residents of Israel, unless a specific exemption is available or unless a
tax treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence provides
otherwise. In calculating capital gain, the law distinguishes
between
real gain and inflationary surplus. The inflationary surplus is the
portion of the total capital gain equal to the increase in the relevant asset’s
value that is attributable to the increase in the Israeli CPI between the date
of purchase and the date of sale. The real gain is the excess of the
total capital gain over the inflationary surplus. A non-resident that
invests in taxable assets with foreign currency, or any individual that holds
securities the price of which is stated in foreign currency, may elect to
calculate the amount of inflationary surplus in that foreign
currency.
Taxation
of Israeli Residents
The tax
rate applicable to real capital gains derived from the sale of shares, whether
listed on a stock market or not, is 20% for Israeli individuals, unless such
shareholder claims a deduction for financing expenses in connection with such
shares, in which case the gain will generally be taxed at a rate of
25%. Additionally, if such shareholder is considered to be a
significant shareholder at any time during the 12-month period preceding such
sale, the tax rate will be 25%. For this purpose, a significant
shareholder is one that holds, directly or indirectly, including with others, at
least 10% of certain means of control in a company.
Israeli
companies are generally subject to the corporate tax rate (see above) on capital
gains derived from the sale of shares listed on a stock market.
Taxation
of Non-Israeli Residents
Non-Israeli
residents are generally exempt from Israeli capital gains tax on any gains
derived from the sale of shares of Israeli companies publicly traded on the Tel
Aviv Stock Exchange or a recognized stock exchange outside of Israel (including
the New York Stock Exchange), provided that such shareholders did not acquire
their shares prior to the issuer’s initial public offering (in which
case a partial exemption may be available) and that the gains were not derived
from a permanent establishment maintained by such shareholders in
Israel. Shareholders that do not engage in activity in Israel
generally should not be subject to such law. However, a non-Israeli
corporation will not be entitled to the exemption from capital gains tax if
Israeli residents (i) have a controlling interest of 25% or more in such
non-Israeli corporation or (ii) are the beneficiaries of or are entitled to 25%
or more of the revenues or profits of such non-Israeli corporation, whether
directly or indirectly.
In
addition, under the Convention between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of Israel with respect to Taxes on Income, as
amended, referred to as the U.S.-Israel tax treaty, the sale of our ordinary
shares by a shareholder who qualifies as a resident of the United States within
the meaning of the U.S.-Israel tax treaty and who is entitled to claim the
benefits afforded to such person by the U.S.-Israel tax treaty, referred to as a
treaty U.S. resident, and who holds its ordinary shares as a capital asset is
also exempt from Israeli capital gains tax unless either (i) the treaty U.S.
resident holds, directly or indirectly, shares representing 10% or more of our
voting power during any part of the 12-month period preceding such sale or (ii)
the capital gains arising from such sale are attributable to a permanent
establishment of the treaty U.S. resident that is located in
Israel. However, under the U.S.-Israel tax treaty, a treaty U.S.
resident would be permitted to claim a credit for taxes paid in Israel against
the U.S. federal income tax imposed on the sale, subject to the limitations in
U.S. laws applicable to foreign tax credits. The U.S.-Israel tax
treaty does not relate to U.S. state or local taxes.
Taxation
of Dividends Paid on Our Ordinary Shares
Taxation
of Israeli Residents
Individuals
who are Israeli residents are generally subject to Israeli income tax on the
receipt of dividends paid on our ordinary shares at the rate of 20%, unless the
recipient is a significant shareholder (as defined above) at any time during the
12-month period preceding the distribution in which case the applicable tax rate
will be 25%. The company distributing the dividend is required to
withhold tax at the rate of 20% (a different rate may apply to dividends paid on
shares deriving from the exercise of stock options or other equity based awards
granted as compensation to employees or office holders of the
company). Companies which are Israeli residents are generally exempt
from income tax on the receipt of dividends from another Israeli company, unless
the source of such dividends is located outside of Israel in which case tax will
generally apply at a rate of 25%.
Taxation
of Non-Israeli Residents
Non-residents
of Israel are generally subject to Israeli income tax on the receipt of
dividends paid on our ordinary shares at the rate of 20% unless the recipient is
a significant shareholder at any time during the 12-month period preceding the
distribution in which case the applicable tax rate will be 25%. The
company distributing the dividend is required to withhold tax at the source at
the rate of 20%.
Under the
U.S.-Israel tax treaty, the maximum rate of tax withheld in Israel on dividends
paid to a holder of our ordinary shares who is a treaty U.S. resident is
25%. Furthermore, the maximum rate of withholding tax on dividends
that are paid in certain circumstances to a U.S. corporation holding 10% or more
of our outstanding voting power throughout the tax year in which the dividend is
distributed as well as the previous tax year, is 12.5%.
A
non-resident of Israel who has dividend income derived from or accrued in
Israel, from which tax was withheld at source, is generally exempt from the duty
to file tax returns in Israel in respect of such income, provided such income
was not derived from a business conducted in Israel by such non-Israeli
resident.
F. DIVIDENDS
AND PAYING AGENTS
Not
applicable.
G. STATEMENT
BY EXPERTS
Not
applicable.
H. DOCUMENTS
ON DISPLAY
We are
subject to the information
reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
referred to as the Exchange Act, applicable to foreign private issuers. As a
foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules and regulations under
the Exchange Act prescribing the content of proxy statements, and our officers,
directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and
short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the
Exchange Act, with respect to their purchase and sale of our ordinary shares. In
addition, we are not required to file reports and financial
statements with the SEC as frequently or
as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are
registered under the Exchange Act. However, we file annual reports with the SEC
on Form 20-F containing financial statements audited by an independent
accounting firm. We also furnish reports to the SEC on Form 6-K
containing unaudited
financial information for the first three quarters of each fiscal year and other
material information, in accordance with the reporting requirements applicable
to us as a dual listed company and as required due to our controlling
shareholder's reporting obligations with respect to us. You
may read and copy any document we file, including any exhibits, with the SEC
without charge at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material may be obtained by mail
from the Public Reference Branch of the SEC at such address, at prescribed
rates. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the
public reference room. Substantially all of our SEC filings are also
available to the public at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov
and as of July 2007 also at the TASE's website at http://maya.tase.co.il
and at the Israeli Securities Authority's website at http://www.magna.isa.gov.il.
I. SUBSIDIARY
INFORMATION
Not
applicable.
ITEM
11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES
ABOUT MARKET RISK
In the
course of our normal operations, we are exposed to market risks including
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and the Israeli
CPI. We are exposed to currency risks primarily as a result of
purchasing inventory and fixed assets mainly in U.S. dollars while almost all of
our cash receipts are in NIS. A substantial amount of our cash payments are
incurred in, or linked to foreign currencies. In particular, in 2008 and 2009,
such payments represented approximately 33% and 36%, respectively, of total cash
outflows (including payments of principal and interest on our debentures). Also,
we are exposed to interest rate risks through our hedging instruments and to
possible fluctuations in the Israeli CPI through our Series A, B , C and D
debentures.
In order
to protect ourselves from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, we
have established a foreign currency hedging program. Under this program, we
currently hedge part of our U.S. dollar liabilities, firm commitments and
budgeted expenditures for the next 6 to 12 months using foreign currency forward
exchange contracts and currency options. A foreign currency forward
exchange contract is a contract whereby we agree to buy or sell a foreign
currency at a predetermined exchange rate at a future date. A currency option is
an option to buy or sell a foreign currency at a predetermined exchange rate at
a future date. The exchange rate fluctuations that impact our foreign
currency denominated financial liabilities, firm commitments and budgeted
expenditures are intended to be offset by gains and losses on these hedging
instruments.
The goal
of our hedging program is to limit the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on
our transactions denominated in U.S. dollars. We do not hold derivative
financial instruments for trading purposes. Nevertheless, under IFRS, we are
required to treat our hedges of budgeted expenditures for which there is no
contractual commitment as though they were speculative investments. As a result,
we are required to value these hedge positions at the end of each fiscal quarter
and record a gain or loss equal to the difference in their market value from the
last balance sheet date, without any reference to the change in value to
the
related budgeted expenditures. Accordingly, these differences could result in
significant fluctuations in our reported net income.
As of
December 31, 2009, we had four outstanding series of debentures, which are
linked to the Israeli CPI, in an aggregate principal amount of approximately NIS
3.4 billion. As of December 31, 2009, we had forward Israeli CPI /
NIS transactions, in a total amount of NIS 1.7 billion, with an average maturity
period of 9 months, in order to hedge our exposure to fluctuations in the
Israeli CPI. We periodically review the possibility of entering into additional
transactions in order to lower the exposure in respect of the
debentures.
Set forth
below is the composition of the derivative financial instruments at the
following dates:
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(In
NIS millions)
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Forward
contracts on exchange rate
(mainly
US$– NIS)
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537 |
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(28 |
) |
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763 |
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23 |
|
|
|
586 |
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
Forward
contracts on Israeli CPI rate
|
|
|
1,800 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
1,850 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1,700 |
|
|
|
51 |
|
Options
on the exchange rate
(mainly
US$– NIS)
|
|
|
530 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1,226 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
868 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Compounded
foreign currency and interest swap
|
|
|
792 |
|
|
|
(61 |
) |
|
|
320 |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
240 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
|
3,659 |
|
|
|
(64 |
) |
|
|
4,159 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
3,394 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
Sensitivity
information
Without
taking into account our hedging instruments and based upon our debt outstanding
as at December 31, 2009, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates,
interest rates or the Israeli CPI would affect us as follows:
|
·
|
an
increase of 0.1% of the Israeli CPI would result in an increase
of approximately NIS 3.7 million in our financial
expenses;
|
|
·
|
a
devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar of 1.0% would increase our
financial expenses by approximately NIS 1.6
million.
|
ITEM
12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER
THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
Not
applicable.
PART
II
ITEM
13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND
DELINQUENCIES
None.
ITEM
14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF
SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not
applicable.
ITEM
15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and
Procedures
Our chief
executive officer and chief financial officer, after evaluating the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of
December 31, 2009, have concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure
controls and procedures were effective and ensured that information required to
be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Securities
Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our
chief executive officer and chief financial officer, to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure and is recorded, processed, summarized and
reported within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and
forms.
Management
Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over our financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting
is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the
company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by
the company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
IFRS and includes those policies and procedures that:
·
|
Pertain
to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and
fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the
company;
|
·
|
Provide
reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company
are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and
directors of the company; and
|
·
|
Provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use of disposition of the company’s assets that
could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
|
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness
to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate
because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our
management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting, as of December 31, 2009. In making this assessment, our
management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated
Framework.
Based on
our assessment, management believes that as of December 31, 2009 our internal
control over financial reporting is effective based on this
criteria.
The
effectiveness of management's internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2009 has been audited by the Company's independent registered
public accounting firm, Somekh Chaikin, a member of KPMG International and their
report as of March 2, 2010, herein expresses an unqualified opinion on the
Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Attestation
Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm
Our
independent registered public accounting firm have issued an audit report on the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This report is
included in page F-1 of this Form 20-F.
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There
were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the period covered by this annual report that have materially affected,
or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over
financial reporting.
ITEM
16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL
EXPERT
Our board
of directors has determined that Ms. Baytel qualifies as “audit committee
financial expert” as defined in Item 16A of Form 20-F. Ms. Baytel qualifies as
an independent director under the independence standards applicable to listed
company audit committee members, pursuant to Rule 10A-3 under the Securities
Exchange Act. See Item 16D below.
ITEM
16B. CODE OF ETHICS
Our Code
of Ethics applies to all of our officers, directors and employees. We have
posted a copy of our Code of Ethics on our website at www.cellcom.co.il
under “Investor Relations – Corporate Governance –Code of Ethics.”
ITEM
16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND
SERVICES
Somekh Chaikin, a member of KPMG
International, has served as our independent registered public accounting
firm for 2008 and 2009. These accountants billed the following
fees to us for professional services in each of those fiscal
years:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NIS
in thousands)
|
|
Audit Fees
|
|
|
2,635 |
|
|
|
2,445 |
|
Audit-Related
Fees
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
– |
|
Tax Fees
|
|
|
98 |
|
|
|
90 |
|
Total
|
|
|
2,733 |
|
|
|
2,535 |
|
“Audit Fees” are the aggregate fees
billed for the audit of our annual financial statements. This category also
includes services that generally the independent accountant provides, such as
consents and assistance with and review of documents filed with the SEC.
“Audit-Related Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for assurance and related
services that are
reasonably related to the performance of
the audit and are not reported under Audit Fees. These fees include mainly
accounting consultations regarding the accounting treatment of matters that
occur in the regular course of business, implications of new accounting
pronouncements and other accounting issues that occur from time to time. “Tax
Fees” are the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered for tax
compliance, tax advice, other than in connection with the audit. Tax compliance
involves preparation of original and amended tax returns, tax planning and tax
advice.
Our Audit Committee has adopted a
pre-approval policy for the engagement of our independent accountant to perform
certain audit and non-audit services. Pursuant to this policy, which is designed
to assure that such engagements do not impair the independence of our auditors,
the audit committee pre-approves annually a catalog of specific audit and
non-audit services in the categories of audit service, audit-related service and
tax services that may be performed by our independent accountants, and the
maximum pre-approved fees that may be paid as compensation for each pre-approved
service in those categories. Any proposed services exceeding the maximum
pre-approved fees require specific approval by the Audit
Committee.
The Audit Committee has delegated part
of its pre-approval authority to the chairman of the Audit Committee, subject to
ratification by the entire Audit Committee.
ITEM
16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS
FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
None.
ITEM
16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE
ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
None.
ITEM
16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING
ACCOUNTANT
Not
applicable.
ITEM
16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The
following are the significant ways in which our corporate governance practices
differ from those followed by domestic companies under the listing standards of
the NYSE:
Majority of Independent
Directors - Under Section 303A.01 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, or
LCM, U.S. domestic listed companies, other than controlled companies (i.e.
companies with a person or group owning more than 50% of the voting power), must
have a majority of independent directors. We would not be subject to this
requirement even if we were a U.S. company as we are a controlled company, and
do not have a similar requirement under Israeli practice or the Israeli
Companies Law.
Nominating/Corporate Governance
Committee -Under Section 303A.04 of the LCM, a U.S. domestic listed
company, other than a controlled company, must have a nominating/corporate
governance committee composed entirely of independent directors. We would not be
subject to this requirement even if we were a U.S. company as we are a
controlled company, and are not required to have such a committee under the
Israeli Companies Law.
Compensation Committee -
Under Section 303A.05 of the LCM, a U.S. domestic listed company, other than a
controlled company, must have a compensation committee composed entirely of
independent directors. We would not be subject to this requirement even if we
were a U.S. company as we are a controlled company, and do not have a
compensation committee, as we do not have a requirement for a compensation
committee under the Israeli Companies Law.
Separate Meetings of Non-Management
Directors - Under Section 303A.03 of the LCM, the
non-management directors of each U.S. domestic listed company must meet at
regularly scheduled executive sessions without management. We do not have a
similar requirement under the Israeli Companies Law, and our independent
directors do not meet separately from directors who are not independent, other
than in the context of audit committee meetings.
Audit Committee - Under
Section 303A.06 of the LCM, domestic listed companies are required to have an
audit committee that complies with the requirements of Rule 10A-3 of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Rule 10A-3 requires the audit committee of
a U.S. company to be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation,
retention and oversight of the work of any registered public accounting firm
engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing
other audit, review, or attest services, and that each such firm must report
directly to the audit committee. However, Rule 10A-3 provides that foreign
private issuers may comply with applicable home country law that (i) requires or
permits shareholders to appoint the registered public accounting firm or (ii)
prohibits the delegation of responsibility to the issuer’s audit committee
without being in conflict with Rule 10A-3. Pursuant to the Israeli Companies
Law, our registered public accounting firm is appointed by the shareholders at
the annual meeting of shareholders. Our audit committee is responsible for
recommending to the shareholders the appointment of our registered public
accounting firm and to pre-approve the amounts to be paid to our registered
public accounting firm. In addition, pursuant to the Israeli Companies Law, our
financial statements must be approved by our board of directors. Such approval
is given only after the review and recommendation of our audit committee.
Pursuant to our audit committee charter, our audit committee is responsible for
overseeing the work of our registered public accounting firm.
Equity Compensation Plans -
Under Section 303A.08 of the LCM, shareholders must be given the opportunity to
vote on all equity-compensation plans and material revisions thereto, with
certain limited exemptions as described in the Rule. We follow the requirements
of the Israeli Companies Law under which approval of equity-compensation plans
and material revisions thereto is within the authority of the board of
directors. However, under the Israeli Companies Law, any compensation to
directors, including equity based compensation, requires the approval of the
audit committee, the board of directors and the shareholders, in that
order.
Corporate Governance Guidelines -
Under Section 303A.09 of the LCM, domestic listed companies must adopt
and disclose their corporate governance guidelines. We do not have a similar
requirement under the Israeli Companies Law and therefore, other than as
disclosed in this annual report on Form 20-F, we do not disclose our corporate
governance guidelines.
PART
III
ITEM
17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
See pages F-1 through F-60 of this
annual report.
ITEM
18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Not
applicable
ITEM
19. EXHIBITS
|
|
|
|
|
1.1
|
Articles
of Association and Memorandum of Association †
|
2.1
|
Form
of Ordinary Share Certificate†
|
4.1
|
Series
A Indenture dated December 21, 2005 and an addendum dated February 27,
2006 between Cellcom and Aurora Fidelity Trust Ltd.
†
|
4.1.1
|
Series
A Debentures Trustee Replacement Agreement dated June 11, 2009.
*
|
4.2
|
Series
B Indenture dated December 21, 2005 and an addendum dated February 27,
2006 between Cellcom and Hermetic Trust (1975) Ltd.
†
|
4.3
|
Series
C Indenture dated September 20, 2007, between Cellcom and Aurora Fidelity
Trust Ltd.
††
|
4.3.1
|
Series
C Debentures Trustee Replacement Agreement dated June 11, 2009.
*
|
4.4
|
Series
D Indenture dated September 20, 2007, between Cellcom and Hermetic Trust
(1975) Ltd.
††
|
4.5
|
Series
E Indenture dated March 31, 2009, between Cellcom and Hermetic Trust
(1975) Ltd.*
|
4.6
|
Amended
2006 Share Incentive Plan††
|
4.7
|
Registration
Rights Agreement dated March 15, 2006 among Cellcom, Goldman Sachs
International, DIC, DIC Communication and Technology Ltd. and PEC Israel
Economic Corporation†
|
4.8
|
Amended
Non-Exclusive General License for the Provision of Mobile Radio Telephone
Services in the Cellular Method dated June 27, 1994*
|
8.1
|
Subsidiaries
of the Registrant†
|
12.1
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a), as
adopted pursuant to §302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act *
|
12.2
|
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a), as
adopted pursuant to §302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act *
|
13.1
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to
18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to §906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
*
|
15
|
Consent
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm *
|
†
|
Incorporated
by reference to our registration statement on Form F-1 (registration no.
333-140030) filed with the SEC on January 17,
2007.
|
††
|
Incorporated by reference to our annual report on
Form 20-F for the year 2007 filed with the SEC on March 18,
2008.
|
SIGNATURES
The
registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on
Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign
this annual report on its behalf.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd.
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Amos
Shapira |
|
Name:
|
Amos
Shapira
|
|
Title:
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
Date:
March 2, 2010
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
The Shareholders of
Cellcom
Israel Ltd.
We have
audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of
Cellcom Israel Ltd. and subsidiaries (hereinafter – “the Company”) as of
December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 and the consolidated statements of income, the
consolidated statements of comprehensive income and the consolidated statements
of cash flows, for the years then ended. We also have audited the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009,
based on criteria established in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)”.
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial
statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting,
and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting, included in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company's internal
control over financial reporting based on our audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in
the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting
included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial
reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and
evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on
the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as
we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide
a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A
company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over
financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of
the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's
assets that could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our
opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December
31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows, for the years then ended, in conformity with International Financial
Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards
Board (“IASB”). Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31,
2009, based on criteria established in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission”.
As
discussed in Note 2H to the financial statements, the Company changed its
accounting policy with respect to recognizing losses from subsidized equipment
sold together with a fixed-term service contract that include minimum guaranteed
revenue.
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2009 have been translated into United States dollars (“dollars”)
solely for the convenience of the reader. We have audited the
translation and, in our opinion, the consolidated financial statements expressed
in New Israeli Shekels have been translated into dollars on the basis set forth
in Note 2D to the consolidated financial statements.
/s/ Somekh
Chaikin
Somekh
Chaikin
Certified
Public Accountants (Isr.)
Member
Firm of KPMG International
Tel Aviv,
Israel
March 2,
2010
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Financial Position
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
US$
millions
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
903 |
|
|
|
239 |
|
Current
investments, including derivatives
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
**44 |
|
|
|
**68 |
|
|
|
272 |
|
|
|
72 |
|
Trade
receivables
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
1,385 |
|
|
|
1,478 |
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
|
|
418 |
|
Other
receivables
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
**52 |
|
|
|
**44 |
|
|
|
63 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
Inventory
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
245 |
|
|
|
119 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,637 |
|
|
|
1,984 |
|
|
|
2,966 |
|
|
|
786 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade
and other receivables
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
575 |
|
|
|
602 |
|
|
|
606 |
|
|
|
161 |
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
2,335 |
|
|
|
2,159 |
|
|
|
2,096 |
|
|
|
555 |
|
Intangible
assets, net
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
747 |
|
|
|
743 |
|
|
|
711 |
|
|
|
188 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
non- current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,657 |
|
|
|
3,504 |
|
|
|
3,413 |
|
|
|
904 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,294 |
|
|
|
5,488 |
|
|
|
6,379 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short
term borrowings
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
353 |
|
|
|
329 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
|
|
93 |
|
Trade
payables and accrued expenses
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
953 |
|
|
|
677 |
|
|
|
806 |
|
|
|
214 |
|
Current
tax liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
85 |
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
Provisions
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
91 |
|
|
|
47 |
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Other
current liabilities, including derivatives
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
384 |
|
|
|
385 |
|
|
|
405 |
|
|
|
107 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,921 |
|
|
|
1,523 |
|
|
|
1,712 |
|
|
|
454 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-
term borrowings
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
343 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Debentures
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
2,983 |
|
|
|
3,401 |
|
|
|
4,185 |
|
|
|
1,109 |
|
Provisions
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Other
long-term liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Deferred
taxes
|
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
156 |
|
|
|
91 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
non- current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,492 |
|
|
|
3,575 |
|
|
|
4,293 |
|
|
|
1,137 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,413 |
|
|
|
5,098 |
|
|
|
6,005 |
|
|
|
1,591 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shareholders’
equity
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share
capital
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Cash
flow hedge reserve
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(33 |
) |
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
(23 |
) |
|
|
(6 |
) |
Retained
earnings
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
913 |
|
|
|
400 |
|
|
|
396 |
|
|
|
105 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
shareholders’ equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
881 |
|
|
|
390 |
|
|
|
374 |
|
|
|
99 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities and shareholders’ equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,294 |
|
|
|
5,488 |
|
|
|
6,379 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
(**)
Reclassified – see note 2F.
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*2007
|
|
|
|
*2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
Note
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
US$
millions
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
|
|
1,717 |
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
|
|
883 |
|
Gross
profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,735 |
|
|
|
3,021 |
|
|
|
3,150 |
|
|
|
834 |
|
Selling
and marketing expenses
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
685 |
|
|
|
701 |
|
|
|
716 |
|
|
|
189 |
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
653 |
|
|
|
659 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
|
|
175 |
|
Other
(income) expenses, net
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,394 |
|
|
|
1,690 |
|
|
|
1,768 |
|
|
|
468 |
|
Financing
income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
83 |
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
40 |
|
Financing
expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(287 |
) |
|
|
(393 |
) |
|
|
(370 |
) |
|
|
(98 |
) |
Financing
expenses, net
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
|
|
(310 |
) |
|
|
(219 |
) |
|
|
(58 |
) |
Income
before income tax
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,247 |
|
|
|
1,380 |
|
|
|
1,549 |
|
|
|
410 |
|
Income
tax
|
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
97 |
|
Net
income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
313 |
|
Earnings
per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
earnings per share in NIS
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
9.42 |
|
|
|
10.12 |
|
|
|
12.01 |
|
|
|
3.18 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share in NIS
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
9.34 |
|
|
|
9.96 |
|
|
|
11.90 |
|
|
|
3.15 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Comprehensive Income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*2007
|
|
|
|
*2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
US$
millions
|
|
Net
change in fair value of cash flow hedges transferred to profit and
loss
|
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(4 |
) |
Changes
in fair value of cash flows hedges
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Income
tax on other comprehensive income
|
|
|
(8 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Other
comprehensive income, net of income tax
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
Net
income for the year
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
313 |
|
Total
comprehensive income for the year
|
|
|
910 |
|
|
|
1,011 |
|
|
|
1,170 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Changes in Equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retained
|
|
|
|
|
|
Convenience
translation into U.S. dollar
(Note
2D)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
as of January 1, 2007
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(24 |
) |
|
|
620 |
|
|
|
597 |
|
|
|
158 |
|
Comprehensive
income for the year *
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
910 |
|
|
|
241 |
|
Share
based payments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
Cash
dividend paid
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(655 |
) |
|
|
(655 |
) |
|
|
(174 |
) |
Balance
as of December 31, 2007
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(33 |
) |
|
|
913 |
|
|
|
881 |
|
|
|
233 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comprehensive
income for the year *
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,011 |
|
|
|
268 |
|
Share
based payments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Cash
dividend paid
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,530 |
) |
|
|
(1,530 |
) |
|
|
(405 |
) |
Balance
as of December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
400 |
|
|
|
390 |
|
|
|
103 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comprehensive
income for the year *
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
1,170 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
Share
based payments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Cash
dividend paid
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,187 |
) |
|
|
(1,187 |
) |
|
|
(314 |
) |
Balance
as of December 31, 2009
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(23 |
) |
|
|
396 |
|
|
|
374 |
|
|
|
99 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
Year
ended
December
31
|
|
|
|
*2007
|
|
|
*2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
US$
millions
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
313 |
|
Adjustments
for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
and Amortization
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
821 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
|
|
200 |
|
Share
based payments
|
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Reversal
of provision allowance
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Capital
gain on sale of land
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Loss
(gain) on sale of assets
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Income
tax expense
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
97 |
|
Financing
expenses, net
|
|
|
147 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
|
|
219 |
|
|
|
58 |
|
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Changes
in inventories
|
|
|
(191 |
) |
|
|
36 |
|
|
|
(105 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
Changes
in trade receivables (including long-term amounts)
|
|
|
(99 |
) |
|
|
(117 |
) |
|
|
(69 |
) |
|
|
(18 |
) |
Changes
in other receivables (including long-term amounts)
|
|
|
(24 |
) |
|
|
(34 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Changes
in trade payables and accrued expenses
|
|
|
188 |
|
|
|
(271 |
) |
|
|
152 |
|
|
|
41 |
|
Changes
in other liabilities (including long-term amounts)
|
|
|
92 |
|
|
|
99 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
Proceeds
(Payments) for derivative hedging contracts, net
|
|
|
(24 |
) |
|
|
(38 |
) |
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Proceeds
(payments) for other derivative contracts, net
|
|
|
(16 |
) |
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Income
tax paid
|
|
|
(313 |
) |
|
|
(451 |
) |
|
|
(447 |
) |
|
|
(119 |
) |
Net
cash from operating activities
|
|
|
1,820 |
|
|
|
1,763 |
|
|
|
2,088 |
|
|
|
553 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from investing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition
of property, plant, and equipment
|
|
|
(466 |
) |
|
|
(429 |
) |
|
|
(404 |
) |
|
|
(107 |
) |
Acquisition
of intangible assets
|
|
|
(97 |
) |
|
|
(175 |
) |
|
|
(173 |
) |
|
|
(46 |
) |
Change
in current investments, net
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(212 |
) |
|
|
(56 |
) |
Payments
for derivative hedging contracts, net
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds
from sales of property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Interest
received
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Proceed
from sale of long term assets
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(560 |
) |
|
|
(546 |
) |
|
|
(782 |
) |
|
|
(207 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from financing activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from (payment for) derivative contracts, net
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
31 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
Proceeds
from short term borrowings
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Repayments
of long-term loans from banks
|
|
|
(645 |
) |
|
|
(648 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Repayments
of debentures
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(125 |
) |
|
|
(332 |
) |
|
|
(88 |
) |
Proceeds
from issuance of debentures, net of issuance costs
|
|
|
1,066 |
|
|
|
589 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
261 |
|
Dividend
paid
|
|
|
(639 |
) |
|
|
(1,525 |
) |
|
|
(1,186 |
) |
|
|
(314 |
) |
Interest
paid
|
|
|
(177 |
) |
|
|
(175 |
) |
|
|
(190 |
) |
|
|
(50 |
) |
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
|
|
(405 |
) |
|
|
(1,853 |
) |
|
|
(678 |
) |
|
|
(180 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Changes
in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
855 |
|
|
|
(636 |
) |
|
|
628 |
|
|
|
166 |
|
Balance
of cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
Balance
of cash and cash equivalents at end of the period
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
903 |
|
|
|
239 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
1 – Reporting Entity
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and its subsidiaries ("the Company") is a company incorporated and
domiciled in Israel and its official address is 10 Hagavish street, Netanya
42140, Israel. The consolidated financial statements of the Company as at and
for the year ended December 31, 2009 comprise of Cellcom Israel Ltd. and its
subsidiaries. The Company operates and maintains a cellular mobile telephone
system and provides cellular mobile telephone services in Israel. The Company is
a consolidated subsidiary of Discount Investment Corporation (the parent company
"DIC"), part of the IDB group.
Note
2 – Basis of Preparation
A.
|
Statement
of compliance
|
The
consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The Company adopted IFRSs
for the first time in 2008, with the date of transition to IFRSs being January
1, 2007 (hereinafter – “the date of transition”).
These
consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on
March 2, 2010.
B.
|
Functional
and presentation currency
|
These
consolidated financial statements are presented in New Israeli Shekels ("NIS"),
which is the Company's functional currency, and are rounded to the nearest
million. NIS is the currency that represents the primary economic environment
where the Company operates in.
These
consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of historical
cost except for current investments and derivative financial instruments that
are measured at their fair value.
The value
of non monetary assets and equity items that were measured on the basis of
historical cost were adjusted for changes in the general purchasing power of the
Israeli currency - NIS, based upon changes in the Israeli Consumer Price Index
(“CPI”) until December 31, 2003, as until that date the Israeli economy was
considered hyperinflationary.
D.
|
Convenience
translation into U.S. dollars (“dollars” or
“$”)
|
For the
convenience of the reader, the reported NIS figures as of December 31, 2009,
have been presented in dollars, translated at the representative rate of
exchange as of December 31, 2009 (NIS 3.775 = US$ 1.00). The dollar amounts
presented in these financial statements should not be construed as representing
amounts that are receivable or payable in dollars or convertible into dollars,
unless otherwise indicated.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
2 – Basis of Preparation (cont'd)
E.
|
Use
of estimates and judgments
|
The
preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRSs
requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the
application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets,
liabilities, income and expenses. Management determines estimates based upon
past experience, various factors, external sources and reasonable assumptions
according to the circumstances appropriate to each estimate. Actual results may
differ from these estimates.
Estimates
and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to
accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimates are
revised and in any future periods affected. Information about estimates,
uncertainty and critical judgments about provisions and contingencies are
described in notes 12 and 28. In addition, information about critical estimates,
made while applying accounting policies and that have the most significant
effect on the consolidated financial statements are described
below:
Trade
receivables
The
financial statements include an impairment loss in trade and other receivables
which properly reflects, according to management’s estimation, the potential
loss from non recoverable amounts. The Company provides for impairment loss
based on its experience in collecting past debts, as well as on information on
specific debtors. The main components of this allowance are a specific loss
component that relates to individually significant exposures, and a collective
loss component established for groups of similar assets in respect of losses
that have been incurred but not yet identified. The collective loss allowance is
determined based on historical data of payment statistics for similar financial
assets. See also note 18.
Impairment
loss and useful life of assets
The
Company regularly reviews the carrying amounts of its assets to determine
whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment
loss. See also note 3G.
The
useful economic life of the Company's assets is determined by management at the
time the asset is acquired and regularly reviewed for appropriateness. The
Company defines useful life of its assets in terms of the assets' expected
utility to the Company. This judgment is based on the experience of the Company
with similar assets. The useful life of licenses is based on the duration of the
license agreement. See also notes 3D and 3E.
Share
based payments
Options
granted to employees are measured using a Black-Sholes model. The expected life
used on the model has been adjusted, based on management's best estimate, for
the effects of non-transferability, exercise restrictions and behavioral
considerations. The amount recognized as an expense is adjusted to reflect the
actual number of share options that vest. See also note 17.
F.
|
Change
in classification
|
The
company reclassified investments in derivatives in the amount of NIS 44 million
and NIS 68 million for December 31, 2007 and 2008, respectively, from
"Other receivables" to "Current investments including derivatives".
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
2 – Basis of Preparation (cont'd)
G.
|
Newly
adopted accounting standards
|
Financial
statements presentation
As from
January 1, 2009 the Company implements revised IAS 1, Presentation of Financial
Statements (hereinafter – the Standard). The Standard allows the
presentation of one statement of comprehensive income (a combined statement of
income and of other comprehensive income) or two statements – a statement of
income and a separate statement of comprehensive income.
The
Company elected to present income and expense items and components of other
comprehensive income in two separate statements – a statement of income followed
by a statement of comprehensive income. Furthermore, the Company presents a
statement of changes in equity immediately after the statement of comprehensive
income instead of in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. The
Standard is applied on a retrospective basis. Since the change only impacts the
presentation of the financial statements, there is no impact on the Company’s
results of operations.
Segment
reporting
As from
January 1, 2009 the Company implements IFRS 8, Operating Segments
(hereinafter – the Standard). The Standard determines that the “management
approach” should be used in segment reporting, meaning in accordance with the
format of the internal reports provided to the chief operating decision maker of
the Company. Currently, the Company has one operating segment.
Customer
loyalty programs
Commencing
January 1, 2009, the Company applies IFRIC 13 which addresses how companies,
that grant their customers loyalty award credits (often called ‘points’) when
buying goods or services, should account for their obligation to provide free or
discounted goods or services if and when the customers redeem the points. The
interpretation is based on a view that customers are implicitly paying for the
points they receive when they buy other goods or services, and hence that some
revenue should be allocated to the points. IFRIC 13 requires companies to
estimate the value of the points to the customer and defer this amount of
revenue as a liability until they have fulfilled their obligations to supply
awards. IFRIC 13 had no material impact on the Company's financial
statement.
H.
|
Change
in accounting policy
|
In 2009,
the Company changed its accounting policy with respect to recognizing losses
from subsidized equipment sold together with a fixed-term service contract that
include minimum guaranteed revenue. The Company’s accounting policy prior to the
adoption of the accounting policy change was to recognize losses from the sale
of equipment upon delivery of the equipment to the subscriber. The Company’s new
accounting policy with respect to such transactions is to capitalize such losses
as long as the flow of the economic benefits from the fixed-term service
contract is considered enforceable. Such losses are capitalized as intangible
assets and amortized using the straight line method over an 18 month period that
represents the expected life of the relationship with the subscriber which is
not longer than their minimum enforceable period. The Company believes that the
new accounting policy better reflects the subscriber acquisition cost and the
benefits derived from the subscriber and providing more relevant information
regarding the results of operations of the Company. The accounting policy
change
was
retroactively applied to all reported periods, starting in 2007 when the
relevant criteria for capitalizing these costs was first met, as result of this
accounting policy change, the Company included a statement of financial position
as of December 31, 2007 in its consolidated financial statements .
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
2 – Basis of Preparation (cont'd)
Presented
hereunder is the effect of the retrospective application on the relevant
items:
(1) Effect
on the consolidated statement of financial position
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intangible
assets, net prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
685 |
|
|
|
675 |
|
|
|
648 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
62 |
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
63 |
|
Intangible
assets,net after retrospective application
|
|
|
747 |
|
|
|
743 |
|
|
|
711 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
tax liabilities prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
122 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
|
|
48 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
Current
tax liabilities after retrospective application
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
85 |
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retained
earnings prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
869 |
|
|
|
352 |
|
|
|
352 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
48 |
|
|
|
44 |
|
Retained
earnings after retrospective application
|
|
|
913 |
|
|
|
400 |
|
|
|
396 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
2 – Basis of Preparation (cont'd)
(2) Effect
on consolidated statement of income and on consolidated statement of
comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
3,377 |
|
|
|
3,402 |
|
|
|
3,328 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
(62 |
) |
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
Cost
of revenues after retrospective application
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
310 |
|
|
|
389 |
|
|
|
368 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Income
tax after retrospective application
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income prior to the accounting policy change
|
|
|
875 |
|
|
|
985 |
|
|
|
1,186 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
Net
income for the period after retrospective application
|
|
|
919 |
|
|
|
989 |
|
|
|
1,182 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
earnings (loss) per share (in NIS) prior to the accounting policy
change
|
|
|
8.97 |
|
|
|
10.08 |
|
|
|
12.05 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
0.45 |
|
|
|
0.04 |
|
|
|
(0.04 |
) |
Basic
earnings (loss) per share (in NIS) after retrospective
application
|
|
|
9.42 |
|
|
|
10.12 |
|
|
|
12.01 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
earnings (loss) per share (in NIS) prior to the accounting policy
change
|
|
|
8.89 |
|
|
|
9.92 |
|
|
|
11.94 |
|
Effect
of retrospective application
|
|
|
0.45 |
|
|
|
0.04 |
|
|
|
(0.04 |
) |
Diluted
earnings (loss) per share (in NIS ) after retrospective
application
|
|
|
9.34 |
|
|
|
9.96 |
|
|
|
11.90 |
|
(3)
|
The
accounting policy change had a zero net effect on the cash flows from
operating activities, and no effect on cash flows used in investing and
financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows for the
years ended December 31, 2007, 2008 and
2009.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies
These
consolidated financial statements have been prepared according to International
Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the IASB and their related
interpretations (IFRSs), that are in effect or otherwise available for early
adoption at December 31, 2009.
The
accounting policies set out below have been applied consistently to all periods
presented in these consolidated financial statements.
A.
|
Basis
of consolidation
|
These
consolidated financial statements include consolidation of the financial
statements of the Company and entities controlled by the Company. Control exists
when a Group has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an
entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities. In assessing control,
potential voting rights that are currently exercisable are taken into account.
The financial statements of these entities are included in the consolidated
financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that
control ceases. All inter-company transactions and balances were eliminated upon
consolidation.
B.
|
Foreign
currency transactions
|
Transactions
in foreign currencies are translated to NIS at the prevailing foreign exchange
rate at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated
in foreign currencies as of the reporting date are translated to NIS at the
prevailing foreign exchange rate at that date. Foreign exchange differences
arising on translation are recognized in profit and loss. Non-monetary assets
and liabilities that are measured in terms of historical cost in foreign
currency are translated using the exchange rate at the date of the transaction.
Non-monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency that are
stated at fair value are translated to NIS at the prevailing foreign exchange
rates at the date the fair value was determined.
Financial
instruments are recognized when the Company enters into the contractual terms of
the instrument. Financial instruments are initially measured at fair value.
Financial assets are derecognized when the contractual rights of the Company to
the cash flows deriving from the financial asset expire, or when the Company
transfers the financial asset to others without retaining control in the asset,
or transfers all the risks and rewards deriving from the asset. Sales and
acquisitions of financial instruments are recognized on the transaction date,
that is the date in which the Company is obligated to sell or purchase the
asset. Financial liabilities are derecognized when the Company's contractual
obligations expire, or when it is settled or cancelled.
1.
|
Non
derivative financial instruments
|
Non
derivative financial instruments are comprised of cash and cash equivalents,
investments in debt securities, trade receivables, other receivables, loans and
borrowings, debentures, trade payables and other payables. Non derivative
financial instruments other than investments in debt securities are measured
after initial recognition at amortized cost using the effective interest method
if applicable, less any impairment loss. Investments in debt securities held for
trading are measured at fair value through profit and loss.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
C.
|
Financial
instruments (cont'd)
|
2.
|
Derivative
financial instruments
|
The
Company holds derivative financial instruments to hedge its foreign currency and
interest rate risks exposures. Embedded derivatives are separated from the host
contract and carried at fair value when (1) the embedded derivative possesses
economic characteristics that are not clearly and closely related to the
economic characteristics of the host contract, (2) a separate, stand-alone
instrument with the same terms would meet the definition of a derivative, and
(3) the combined instrument is not measured at fair value through profit and
loss.
Derivatives
are initially recognized at fair value; transaction costs that can be attributed
are recognized to profit and loss when incurred. Subsequent to initial
recognition, derivatives are measured at fair value. Changes in fair value are
accounted for as follows:
Cash
and cash equivalents
Cash and
cash equivalents comprise cash balances available for immediate use and call
deposits. Cash equivalents comprise short-term highly liquid investments (with
original maturities of three months or less) that are readily convertible into
known amounts of cash and are exposed to insignificant risks of change in value.
Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral part of the
Company’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash
equivalents for the purpose of the statement of cash flows.
Cash
flow hedges
Changes
in the fair value of the derivative hedging instrument designated as a cash flow
hedge are recognized directly in comprehensive income to the extent that the
hedge is effective. To the extent that the hedge is ineffective, changes in fair
value are recognized in profit and loss.
If the
hedging instrument no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting, expires or
is sold, terminated or exercised, then hedge accounting is discontinued
prospectively. The cumulative gain or loss previously recognized in
comprehensive income remains there until the forecasted transaction occurs or is
no longer expected to occur. The amount recognized in comprehensive income is
transferred to profit and loss in the same period that the hedged item affects
profit and loss.
Economic
Hedges
Hedge
accounting is not applied to derivative instruments that economically hedge
monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in
the fair value of such derivatives are recognized in profit and loss as part of
foreign currency gains and losses.
Separable
embedded derivatives
Changes
in fair value of separable embedded derivatives are recognized immediately in
profit and loss.
3.
|
Financial
instruments linked to the Israeli CPI that are not measured at fair
value.
|
The
carrying amount of a financial instrument and the payments derived from it are
revalued in each period according to the actual rate of change in the
CPI.
Ordinary
shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the
issue of ordinary shares and share options are recognized as a deduction from
equity, net of any tax effects.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
D.
|
Property,
plant and equipment
|
Items of
property, plant and equipment are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation
and accumulated impairment losses.
Cost
includes expenditures that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the
asset. The cost of self-constructed assets includes the cost of materials and
direct labor, any other costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to a
working condition for its intended use, and the costs of dismantling and
removing the items and restoring the site on which they are located. Purchased
software that is integral to the functionality of the related equipment is
capitalized as part of that equipment.
When
parts of an item of property, plant and equipment have different useful lives,
they are accounted for as separate items (major components) of property, plant
and equipment.
Changes
in the obligation to dismantle and remove the items and to restore the site on
which they are located, other than changes deriving from the passing of time,
are added or deducted from the cost of the asset in the period in which they
occur. The amount deducted from the cost of the asset shall not exceed the
balance of the carrying amount on the date of change, and any balance is
recognized immediately in profit or loss.
Gains and
losses on disposal of an item of property, plant and equipment are determined by
comparing the proceeds from disposal with the carrying amount of property, plant
and equipment and are recognized net within “other (income) expenses” in profit
and loss.
Depreciation
is calculated using the straight-line method. If the property, plant and
equipment consists of several components with different estimated useful lives,
the individual significant components are depreciated over their individual
useful lives. The annual depreciation rates are as follows:
|
|
|
%
|
|
Network
and transmission equipment
|
|
|
5-20 |
|
Control
and testing equipment
|
|
|
15-25 |
|
Vehicles
|
|
|
15 |
|
Computers
and hardware
|
|
|
15-33 |
|
Furniture
and office equipment
|
|
|
6-15 |
|
Leasehold
improvements are depreciated over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or
the expected lease terms.
Intangible
assets consist of licenses, computer software costs and deferred
expenses.
(1)
|
Intangible
assets are stated at cost, including direct costs necessary to prepare the
asset for its intended use. A group of similar intangible assets are
measured at cost net of accumulated amortization and accumulated
impairment losses.
|
(2)
|
Certain
direct and indirect development costs associated with internally developed
information system software, and payroll costs for employees devoting time
to the software projects, incurred during the application development
stage, are capitalized. The costs are amortized using the
straight-
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
E.
|
Intangible
assets (cont'd)
|
line
method beginning when the asset is substantially ready for use. Costs incurred
during the research stage and after the asset is substantially ready for use are
expensed as incurred.
(3)
|
Deferred
expenses in respect of commissions and handset subsidies regarding the
acquisition of new subscribers are recognized as intangible assets, if the
costs can be measured reliably, incremental to the contract and directly
attributable to obtaining a specific subscriber. If the costs do not meet
the aforementioned criteria, they are recognized immediately as
expenses. See
also note 2H
regarding change in accounting
policy.
|
(4)
|
Amortization
is calculated using the straight-line method. If the intangible assets
consist of several components with different estimated useful lives, the
individual significant components are amortized over their individual
useful lives. The annual amortization rates are as
follows:
|
|
|
%
|
|
|
Licenses
|
|
5-6
|
|
(mainly
6%)
|
Information
systems
|
|
25
|
|
|
Software
|
|
25
|
|
|
Deferred
expenses are amortized over 18 months period that represents the expected life
of the contractual relationship with the subscriber.
Inventory
of cellular phone equipment, accessories and spare-parts are stated at the lower
of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined by the moving average
method.
A
financial asset is reviewed for impairment when objective evidence indicates
that one or more events have had a negative effect on the estimated future cash
flows of that asset. An impairment loss in respect of a financial asset measured
at amortized cost is calculated as the difference between its carrying amount,
and the present value of the estimated future cash flows discounted at the
original effective interest rate. All impairment losses are recognized in profit
and loss.
An
impairment loss is reversed if the reversal can be related objectively to an
event occurring after the impairment loss was recognized. For financial assets
measured at amortized cost, the reversal is recognized in profit and
loss.
|
2.
|
Property,
plant and equipment and intangible
assets
|
At each
balance sheet date, the Company reviews the carrying amounts of its
property,
plant and equipment and finite lived intangible assets to determine whether
there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If
any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in
order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not
possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the Company
estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset
belongs.
If the
recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less
than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating
unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognized
immediately in profit and loss.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
|
2.
|
Property,
plant and equipment and intangible assets
(cont'd)
|
Impairment
losses recognized in prior periods are assessed at each reporting date for any
indications that the loss has decreased or no longer exists.
Where an
impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or
cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable
amount, not to exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no
impairment loss been recognized for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior
years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognized immediately in profit and
loss.
|
1.
|
Post
employment benefits
|
Substantially
all of the Company's liability for post employment benefits is covered by a
defined contribution plan financed by deposits with insurance companies or with
funds managed by a trustee. Obligations of contributions to defined contribution
pension plans are recognized as an expense in profit and loss in the periods
during which services are rendered by employees.
Short
term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are
expensed as the related service is provided. A liability is recognized for the
amount expected to be paid if the Company has a present legal or constructive
obligation to pay this amount as a result of a past service provided by the
employee and the obligation can be estimated.
The grant
date fair value of options granted to employees is recognized as salaries and
related expenses, with a corresponding increase in retained earnings, over the
period that the employees become unconditionally entitled to the options. The
amount recognized as an expense is adjusted to reflect the actual number of
share options that vest.
Fair
value is measured using a Black-Scholes model. The expected life used in the
model has been adjusted, based on management’s best estimate, for the effects of
non-transferability, exercise restrictions and behavioral
considerations.
A
provision is recognized if, as a result of a past event, the Company has a
present legal or constructive obligation that can be estimated reliably, and it
is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the
obligation. Provisions are measured at management's best estimate of the
expenditure required to settle the obligation at the reporting
date.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
Revenues
derived from usage of the Company’s networks, including airtime, interconnect
and roaming revenues are recognized when the services are provided, and all
other revenue recognition criteria are met.
Sale of
handsets with accompanying services constitutes a revenue arrangement with
multiple deliverables. Accordingly, consideration received for handsets, up to
their fair value, that is not contingent upon delivery of additional items (such
as the service), is recognized as equipment revenues upon the delivery of the
equipment to the subscriber, when all revenue recognition criteria are met.
Consideration for services is recognized as service revenues, when
earned.
Revenue
is recognized when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been
transferred to the buyer, recovery of the consideration is probable, the
associated costs and possible return of goods can be estimated reliably, there
is no continuing management involvement in regards to the goods, and the amount
of revenue can be measured reliably.
In
revenue arrangements including more than one deliverable, the arrangement
consideration is allocated to each deliverable based on the fair value of the
individual element. The Company determines the fair value of the individual
elements based on prices at which the deliverable is regularly sold on a stand
alone basis, after considering volume discounts where appropriate.
The
Company offers value added services including voice mail, text and multimedia
messaging, as well as downloadable wireless data applications, including ring
tones, music, games, and other informational content. Generally, these enhanced
features and data applications generate additional service revenues through
monthly subscription fees or increased usage through utilization of the features
and applications. Other optional services, such as equipment extended warranty
plans are also provided for a monthly fee and are either sold separately or
bundled and included in packaged rate plans. Revenues from enhanced features and
optional services are recognized when earned.
Revenues
from long-term credit arrangements are recognized on the basis of the present
value of future cash flows, discounted according to market interest rates at the
time of the transaction. The difference between the original credit and its
present value is recorded as interest income over the credit
period.
Prepaid
wireless airtime sold to customers is recorded as deferred revenue prior to the
commencement of services and is recognized when the airtime is used or
expires.
When the
Company acts as an agent or an intermediary without bearing the risks and
rewards resulting from the transaction, revenues are presented on a net basis
(as a profit or a commission). However, when the Company acts as a principal
supplier and bears the risks and rewards resulting from the transaction,
revenues are presented on a gross basis, distinguishing the revenue from the
related expenses.
Costs of
revenues mainly include ongoing license fees, interconnection and roaming
expenses, cell site leases, depreciation and amortization charges and technical
repair and maintenance expenses directly related to services
rendered.
Payments
made under operating leases are recognized in profit or loss on a straight-line
basis over the term of the lease.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
L.
|
Finance
income and expenses
|
Finance
income is comprised of interest income on cash deposits and interest income on
installment sales. Interest income is recognized as it accrues in profit and
loss.
Finance
expenses are comprised of interest and indexing expenses on loans and debentures
and unwinding of the discount on provisions. All borrowing costs are recognized
in profit and loss using the effective interest method.
Foreign
currency and hedging instruments gain and losses that are recognized in profit
or loss are reported on a net basis.
Income
tax expense is comprised of current and deferred tax. Income tax expense is
recognized in profit and loss except to the extent that it relates to items
recognized directly in equity, in which case it is recognized in
equity.
Current
tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for the year, using tax
rates enacted at the reporting date, and any adjustment to tax payable in
respect of previous years.
Deferred
tax is recognized using the balance sheet method, providing for temporary
differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial
reporting purposes and the amounts used for taxation purposes. Deferred tax is
measured at the tax rates that are expected to be applied to the temporary
differences when they reverse, based on the laws that have been enacted by the
reporting date. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset if there is a
legally enforceable right to offset current tax liabilities and assets, and they
relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority on the same taxable
entity, or on different tax entities, but they intend to settle current tax
liabilities and assets on a net basis or their tax assets and liabilities will
be realized simultaneously.
A
deferred tax asset is recognized to the extent that it is probable that future
taxable profits will be available against which the temporary difference can be
utilized. Deferred tax assets are reviewed at each reporting date and are
reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that the related tax benefit
will be realized.
The
Company presents basic and diluted earnings per share ("EPS") data for its
ordinary shares. Basic EPS is calculated by dividing the profit and loss
attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Company by the weighted average
number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS is
determined by adjusting the profit and loss attributable to ordinary
shareholders and the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for
the effects of all dilutive potential ordinary shares, which comprise share
options granted to employees.
Advertising
costs are expensed as incurred.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
P.
|
New
standards and interpretations not yet
adopted
|
A number
of new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations are not yet
effective, and have not been applied in preparing these consolidated financial
statements:
|
1.
|
IFRS
9, Financial
Instruments (hereinafter – the Standard). This standard is the
first part of a comprehensive project to replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments:
Recognition and Measurement (hereinafter – IAS 39) and it replaces
the requirements included in IAS 39 regarding the classification and
measurement of financial assets. In accordance with the Standard, there
are two principal categories for measuring financial assets: amortized
cost and fair value, with the basis of classification for debt instruments
being the entity’s business model for managing financial assets and the
contractual cash flow characteristics of the financial asset. In
accordance with the Standard, an investment in a debt instrument will be
measured at amortized cost if the objective of the entity’s business model
is to hold assets in order to collect contractual cash flows and the
contractual terms give rise, on specific dates, to cash flows that are
solely payments of principal and interest. All other financial assets are
measured at fair value through profit or loss. Furthermore, embedded
derivatives are no longer separated from hybrid contracts that have a
financial asset host. Instead, the entire hybrid contract is assessed for
classification using the principles above. In addition, investments in
equity instruments are measured at fair value with changes in fair value
being recognized in profit or loss. Nevertheless, the Standard allows an
entity on the initial recognition of an equity instrument not held for
trading, to elect irrevocably to present fair value changes in the equity
instrument in other comprehensive income where no amount so recognized is
ever classified to profit or loss at a later date. Dividends on equity
instruments measured through other comprehensive income are recognized in
profit or loss unless they clearly constitute a return on an initial
investment. The Standard removes financial liabilities from its
scope.
|
The
Standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013
but may be applied earlier, subject to providing disclosure and at the same time
adopting other IFRS amendments as specified in the Standard. The Standard is to
be applied retrospectively other than in a number of exceptions as indicated in
the transitional provisions included in the Standard. In particular, if an
entity adopts the Standard for reporting periods beginning before January 1,
2012 it is not required to restate prior periods. The Company is evaluating
potential impacts on its consolidated financial statements.
|
2.
|
IFRS
3 Business Combinations and IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial
Statements, revised (hereinafter - the Standards). The main revisions to
the new Standards are: a revised definition of business and business
combinations, a change in the measurement method of carried forward items
in business combinations, providing two measurement options regarding
non-controlling rights, a change in the accounting treatment of
transaction costs, the accounting treatment regarding piece by piece
acquisitions, the allocation of comprehensive income between shareholders,
the accounting for acquisitions or sales of equity rights while
maintaining control as equity transactions, the accounting for
transactions that result in gain or loss of control in full fair value, so
that the subsequent holdings after the loss of control
are recognized through profit and loss, and the original
investment in obtaining control is also recognized in fair value through
profit and loss, and a broadening of disclosure requirements. The
Standards shall be applied on annual reporting periods beginning on, or
after, January 1, 2010. The principal revisions of these Standards shall
be applied prospectively, meaning in respect of transactions as from the
initial date of
implementation.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
3 - Significant Accounting Policies (cont'd)
|
3.
|
Amendment
to IAS 17, Leases – Classification of leases of land and buildings
(hereinafter – the Amendment) – In accordance with the Amendment, a lease
of land does not have to be classified as an operating lease in every case
that ownership is not expected to pass to the lessee at the end of the
lease period. In accordance with the amended standard, a land lease is to
be examined according to the regular criteria for classifying a lease as a
finance lease or as an operating
lease.
|
The
Amendment also provides that when a lease includes both a land component and a
buildings component, the classification of each component should be based on the
criteria of the standard, with the principal consideration regarding the
classification of land being the fact that land normally has an indefinite
useful life.
The
Amendment applies to financial statements for annual periods beginning on or
after January 1, 2010. The Amendment is to be implemented retrospectively, which
means that the classification of land leases is to be examined on the basis of
the information that was available on the date of the lease agreement, and that
in the event of reclassification of the lease, the provisions of IAS 17 are to
be implemented retrospectively as from the date of the lease
agreement. Nevertheless, if the entity does not have the information
necessary to apply the Amendment retrospectively, it should use the information
available on the adoption date of the Amendment and recognize the asset and
liability related to a land lease that was classified as a result of the
Amendment as a finance lease according to their fair value as at that date. Any
difference between the fair value of the asset and the fair value of the
liability shall be recognized in retained earnings. The Company is evaluating
potential impacts on its consolidated financial statements.
Note
4 - Determination of fair values
A number
of the Company’s accounting policies and disclosures require the determination
of fair value, for both financial and non-financial assets and liabilities. Fair
values have been determined for measurement and / or disclosure purposes based
on the following methods. When applicable, further information about the
assumptions made in determining fair values is disclosed in the notes specific
to that asset or liability.
A.
|
Trade
and other receivables
|
The fair
value of trade and other receivables is estimated as the present value of future
cash flows, discounted at the market rate of interest at the reporting
date.
B.
|
Current
investments and derivatives
|
The fair
value of forward exchange contracts is estimated by discounting the difference
between the contractual forward price and the current forward price for the
residual maturity of the contract using a risk-free interest rate (based on
government bonds).
The fair
value of interest rate swaps is based on broker quotes. Those quotes are tested
for reasonableness by discounting estimated future cash flows based on the terms
and maturity of each contract and using market interest rates for a similar
instrument at the measurement date. The fair value of
investments in debt securities is based on quoted market prices.
C.
|
Non-derivative
financial liabilities
|
Fair
value, which is determined for disclosure purposes, is calculated based on the
present value of future principal and interest cash flows, discounted at the
market rate of interest at the reporting date.
D.
|
Share-
based payment transactions
|
Fair
value of employee stock options is measured using the Black-Scholes formula.
Measurement inputs include share price on measurement date, exercise price of
the instrument, expected volatility (based on weighted average historic
volatility adjusted for changes expected due to publicly available information),
weighted average expected life of the instruments (based on historical
experience and general option
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
4 - Determination of fair values (cont'd)
D.
|
Share-
based payment transactions (cont'd)
|
holder
behavior), expected dividends, and the risk-free interest rate (based on
government bonds). Service and non-market performance conditions attached to the
transactions are not taken into account in determining fair value.
Note
5 - Financial Risk Management
The
Company is exposed to credit, liquidity and market risks as part of its normal
course of business. The Company's risk management objective is to monitor risks
and minimize the possible influence that results from this exposure, according
to its evaluations and expectations of the parameters that affect the risks. The
Company uses derivative instruments in order to partially hedge its exposure to
foreign currency exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations. See also note
18.
Credit
risk
Credit
risk is the risk of financial loss to the Company if a customer or counterparty
to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations, and arises
principally from the Company's receivables from customers. Management has a
credit policy in place and the exposure to credit risk is monitored on an
ongoing basis. The Company conducts credit evaluations on receivables over a
certain amount, and requires financial guaranties against them. Management
monitors outstanding receivable balances and the financial statements include
appropriate allowances for estimated irrecoverable amounts.
The Company’s cash and cash equivalents
are maintained with major banking institutions in Israel.
At the
reporting date, there were no significant concentrations of credit risk. The
maximum exposure to credit risk is represented by the carrying amount of each
financial asset, including derivatives, in the Consolidated statement of
financial position. Financial instruments that could potentially subject the
Company to credit risks consist primarily of trade receivables. Credit risk with
respect to these receivables is limited due to the composition of the subscriber
base, which includes a large number of individuals and businesses.
Liquidity
risk
Liquidity
risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial
obligations as they fall due. The Company's approach to managing liquidity is to
ensure, as far as possible, that it will always have sufficient liquidity to
meet its liabilities when due, under both normal and extreme conditions, without
incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the Company's reputation. The
Company's policy is to ensure that it has sufficient cash and cash equivalents
to meet expected operational expenses, including financial
obligations.
Market
risk
Market
risk is the risk that changes in market prices, such as foreign exchange rates
and interest rates will affect the Company's income or the value of its holdings
of financial instruments. The objective of market risk management is to manage
and control market risk exposures within acceptable parameters, while optimizing
the return on risk.
Interest rate
risk
The
Company is exposed to fluctuations in the interest rate, including changes in
the CPI, as the majority of its borrowings are linked to the CPI. As part of its
risk management policy the Company has entered into forward contracts that
partially hedge the exposure to changes in the CPI.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
5 - Financial Risk Management (cont'd)
Market
risk (cont'd)
Currency
risk
The
Company's operating income and cash flows are exposed to currency risk, mainly
due to handset and network related acquisitions and its roaming activity. The
Company also manages bank accounts that are denominated in a currency other than
its respective functional currency, primarily USD and Euro. As
part of its risk management policy the Company uses forward and option contracts
to partially hedge the exposure to fluctuations in foreign exchange
rates.
Capital
management
The
Company's capital management aim is to ensure a sound and efficient capital
structure which takes into consideration, among others, the following
factors:
A gearing
ratio that supports the Company's cash flow needs with respect to its potential
cash flow generation, supporting its dividend policy, while maintaining a net
debt to EBITDA ratio that meets the industry standards. The Company considers
net debt to EBIDTA ratio to be an important measure for investors, analysts, and
rating agencies. This ratio is a non-GAAP figure not governed by International
Financial Reporting Standards and its definition and calculation may vary from
one company to another. The Company's debt consists of short and long term
debentures traded publicly in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and rated AA by
Maalot, an S&P subsidiary.
Note
6 - Cash and Cash Equivalents
Composition
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Bank
balances
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
Call
deposits
|
|
|
901 |
|
|
|
257 |
|
|
|
875 |
|
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
903 |
|
The
Company's exposure to interest rate risk and sensitivity analysis for financial
assets and liabilities are disclosed in note 18.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
7 - Trade and Other Receivables
Composition
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Trade
Receivables
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Open
accounts
|
|
|
387 |
|
|
|
423 |
|
|
|
514 |
|
Checks
and credit cards receivables
|
|
|
158 |
|
|
|
187 |
|
|
|
199 |
|
Accrued
income
|
|
|
214 |
|
|
|
202 |
|
|
|
171 |
|
Current
maturity of long-term receivables
|
|
|
626 |
|
|
|
666 |
|
|
|
695 |
|
|
|
|
1,385 |
|
|
|
1,478 |
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
Other
Receivables
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepaid
expenses
|
|
|
49 |
|
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
Other
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
63 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
|
|
|
1,437 |
|
|
|
1,522 |
|
|
|
1,642 |
|
Non-current
|
|
|
575 |
|
|
|
602 |
|
|
|
606 |
|
|
|
|
2,012 |
|
|
|
2,124 |
|
|
|
2,248 |
|
The
Company's exposure to credit risks and impairment losses related to trade and
other receivables are disclosed in note 18.
Note
8 - Inventory
|
|
|
December
31,
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Handsets
|
|
|
195 |
|
|
|
83 |
|
|
|
110 |
|
Accessories
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Spare
parts
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
|
245 |
|
|
|
119 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
B.
|
Inventories
of handsets, accessories and spare-parts as at December 31, 2009, are
presented net of a provision for decline in value in the amount of NIS 1
million (December 31, 2007 and 2008 – NIS 2 million and NIS 6
million, respectively).
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
9 - Property, Plant and Equipment, Net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vehicles
|
|
|
Computers
furniture and
office equipment
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
7,454 |
|
|
|
261 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
1,173 |
|
|
|
176 |
|
|
|
9,080 |
|
Additions
|
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
63 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
427 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
(33 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(285 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(321 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
7,745 |
|
|
|
283 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
951 |
|
|
|
191 |
|
|
|
9,186 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additions
|
|
|
291 |
|
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
66 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
399 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
*(2,364) |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(197 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2,563 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
5,672 |
|
|
|
310 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
820 |
|
|
|
206 |
|
|
|
7,022 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additions
|
|
|
296 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
55 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
412 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
(41 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(54 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2009
|
|
|
5,927 |
|
|
|
342 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
863 |
|
|
|
216 |
|
|
|
7,380 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
5,347 |
|
|
|
210 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
881 |
|
|
|
104 |
|
|
|
6,548 |
|
Depreciation
for the year
|
|
|
473 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
108 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
616 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(284 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(313 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
5,792 |
|
|
|
228 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
705 |
|
|
|
119 |
|
|
|
6,851 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
for the year
|
|
|
444 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
87 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
565 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
*(2,356) |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(195 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2,553 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
3,880 |
|
|
|
244 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
597 |
|
|
|
135 |
|
|
|
4,863 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
for the year
|
|
|
358 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
74 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
467 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
(36 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(46 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2009
|
|
|
4,202 |
|
|
|
261 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
661 |
|
|
|
150 |
|
|
|
5,284 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carrying
amounts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At
January 1, 2007
|
|
|
2,107 |
|
|
|
51 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
292 |
|
|
|
72 |
|
|
|
2,532 |
|
At
December 31, 2007
|
|
|
1,953 |
|
|
|
55 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
246 |
|
|
|
72 |
|
|
|
2,335 |
|
At
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,792 |
|
|
|
66 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
223 |
|
|
|
71 |
|
|
|
2,159 |
|
At
December 31, 2009
|
|
|
1,725 |
|
|
|
81 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
202 |
|
|
|
66 |
|
|
|
2,096 |
|
|
*
|
In
2008, the Company wrote off certain network and transmission equipment
that was no longer in use.
|
The gross
carrying amount of fully depreciated property, plant and equipment still in use
as of December 31, 2009 is NIS 3,754 million.
In the
ordinary course of business, the Company acquires property, plant and equipment
on credit. The cost of acquisition, which has not yet been paid at the reporting
date, amounted to NIS 128 million.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
10 - Intangible Assets, Net
|
|
Licenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
Software
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
550 |
|
|
|
459 |
|
|
|
221 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
1,239 |
|
Additions
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
87 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
98 |
|
|
|
223 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(16 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
550 |
|
|
|
539 |
|
|
|
259 |
|
|
|
98 |
|
|
|
1,446 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additions
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
248 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
550 |
|
|
|
606 |
|
|
|
303 |
|
|
|
235 |
|
|
|
1,694 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additions
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
78 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
251 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(25 |
) |
|
|
(25 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2009
|
|
|
550 |
|
|
|
684 |
|
|
|
336 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
|
|
1,920 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated
Amortization
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
92 |
|
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
135 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
544 |
|
Amortization
for the year
|
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
42 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
171 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(16 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
131 |
|
|
|
374 |
|
|
|
177 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
699 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization
for the year
|
|
|
35 |
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
42 |
|
|
|
107 |
|
|
|
252 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
166 |
|
|
|
442 |
|
|
|
219 |
|
|
|
124 |
|
|
|
951 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization
for the year
|
|
|
31 |
|
|
|
70 |
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
141 |
|
|
|
283 |
|
Disposals
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(25 |
) |
|
|
(25 |
) |
Balance
at December 31, 2009
|
|
|
197 |
|
|
|
512 |
|
|
|
260 |
|
|
|
240 |
|
|
|
1,209 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carrying
amounts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At
January 1, 2007
|
|
|
458 |
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
86 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
695 |
|
At
December 31, 2007
|
|
|
419 |
|
|
|
165 |
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
81 |
|
|
|
747 |
|
At
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
384 |
|
|
|
164 |
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
111 |
|
|
|
743 |
|
At
December 31, 2009
|
|
|
353 |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
76 |
|
|
|
110 |
|
|
|
711 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
11 - Trade Payables and accrued expenses
Composition
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Trade
payables
|
|
|
443 |
|
|
|
277 |
|
|
|
376 |
|
Accrued
expenses
|
|
|
510 |
|
|
|
400 |
|
|
|
430 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
953 |
|
|
|
677 |
|
|
|
806 |
|
Note 12 – Provisions
|
|
|
|
|
Litigations
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Balance
as at January 1, 2009
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
64 |
|
Provisions
made during the period
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
39 |
|
Provisions
reversed during the period
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
Unwind
of discount
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Balance
as at December 31, 2009
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
100 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
16 |
|
Current
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
100 |
|
Dismantling
and restoring sites
The
Company is required to incur certain costs in respect of a liability to
dismantle and remove assets and to restore sites on which the assets were
located. These dismantling costs are calculated on the basis of the identified
costs for the current financial year, extrapolated for future years using the
best estimate of future trends in prices, inflation, etc, and are discounted at
a risk-free rate. Forecasts of estimated site departures or asset returns are
revised in light of future changes in regulations or technological
requirements.
Litigations
The
Company is involved in a number of legal and other disputes with third parties.
The Company's management after taking legal advice, has established provisions
after taking into account the facts of each case. The timing of cash outflows
associated with legal claims cannot be reasonably determined. For detailed
information regarding legal proceedings against the Company, refer to note
28.
Other
legal obligations
Provisions
for other legal obligations include various obligations that are derived either
from a constructive obligation or legislation for which there is a high
uncertainty regarding the timing and amount of future expenditure required for
settlement.
Other
Include
provisions for warranties, as well as a variety of other items for which the
individually recognized amounts are largely not material.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 13 - Other Current Liabilities, including
derivatives
Composition
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Employees
and related liabilities
|
|
|
126 |
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
142 |
|
Government
institutions
|
|
|
34 |
|
|
|
45 |
|
|
|
37 |
|
Accrued
expenses
|
|
|
91 |
|
|
|
118 |
|
|
|
156 |
|
Deferred
revenue
|
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
47 |
|
|
|
48 |
|
Derivative
financial instruments
|
|
|
94 |
|
|
|
54 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
384 |
|
|
|
385 |
|
|
|
405 |
|
Note
14 – Loans and borrowings
This note
provides information about the contractual terms of the Company's
interest-bearing loans and borrowings, which are measured at amortized cost. For
more information about the Company’s exposure to interest rate, foreign currency
and liquidity risk, see note 18.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-
current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Secured
bank loans
|
|
|
343 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Debentures
|
|
|
2,983 |
|
|
|
3,401 |
|
|
|
4,185 |
|
|
|
|
3,326 |
|
|
|
3,401 |
|
|
|
4,185 |
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short
term borrowings
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8 |
|
Current
maturities of secured bank loans
|
|
|
232 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Current
maturities of debentures
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
329 |
|
|
|
342 |
|
|
|
|
353 |
|
|
|
329 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
Terms
and debt repayment schedule
Terms and
conditions of outstanding loans were as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short
term borrowings
|
ILS
|
|
PRIME
+ 2.5%
|
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
8 |
|
8 |
|
Secured
bank loan
|
ILS
|
|
TELBOR
+ 0.8%
|
|
2010
|
|
253 |
|
251 |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
Secured
bank loan
|
USD
|
|
LIBOR
+ 0.8%
|
|
2010
|
|
327 |
|
324 |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
Debentures
(Series A) - linked to the Israeli CPI
|
ILS
|
|
5.00%
|
|
2012
|
|
1,065 |
|
1,090 |
|
947 |
|
1,012 |
|
710 |
|
789 |
|
Debentures
(Series B) - linked to the Israeli CPI
|
ILS
|
|
5.30%
|
|
2017
|
|
925 |
|
949 |
|
925 |
|
992 |
|
925 |
|
1,029 |
|
Debentures
(Series C) - linked to the Israeli CPI
|
ILS
|
|
4.60%
|
|
2013
|
|
245 |
|
243 |
|
326 |
|
341 |
|
254 |
|
275 |
|
Debentures
(Series D) - linked to the Israeli CPI
|
ILS
|
|
5.19%
|
|
2017
|
|
827 |
|
822 |
|
1,321 |
|
1,385 |
|
1,507 |
|
1,651 |
|
Debentures
(Series E) - unlinked
|
ILS
|
|
6.25%
|
|
2017
|
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
- |
|
789 |
|
783 |
|
Total
interest- bearing liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,642 |
|
3,679 |
|
3,519 |
|
3,730 |
|
4,193 |
|
4,535 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
14 – Loans and borrowings (cont'd)
Credit
facility agreement
In March
2006, the Company entered into an unsecured syndicated facility agreement with a
number of Israeli and international banks arranged by Citibank N.A. and Citibank
International plc, which provided for a term loan of $280 million and a
revolving credit facility of up to $70 million. On April 10, 2006, the Company
converted part of the outstanding dollar loan into a NIS loan. The Company
repaid an amount of $137.5 million (comprised of $110 million on account of the
term loan and $27.5 million on account of the revolving credit facility) and the
Company received in exchange an amount of NIS 633 million (comprised of a term
loan in the amount of NIS 506 million and a revolving credit facility in the
amount of NIS 127 million). In November 2007, the Company performed a voluntary
partial prepayment of 50% of the outstanding term loan, in a principal amount of
US$ 140 million (comprising of approximately US$ 85 million principal amount
denominated in US$ and approximately NIS 253 million principal amount
denominated in NIS). As of December 31, 2007 the outstanding principal amount of
the term loan is US$ 140 million (comprising of approximately US$ 85 million
denominated in US$ and approximately NIS 253 million denominated in
NIS).
As of
December 31, 2007, the average interest rate on the outstanding dollar loans was
three-month LIBOR + 0.80% per year and the average interest rate on the
outstanding NIS loans was three month TELBOR + 0.80% + 0.20% per
year.
On March
10, 2008 the Company voluntarily prepaid the balance of the outstanding amounts
under its credit facility, following which, the credit facility and all covenant
restrictions were terminated.
Debentures
In
December 2005, the Company issued NIS 1,037 millions principle amount
debentures (Series A) to institutional investors at par value. The debentures
are payable in nine equal semi-annual installments, on July 5 of each of the
years 2008 through 2012 and on January 5 of each of the years 2009 through 2012.
The debentures bear an annual interest of 5.00%. The interest is to be paid on
January 5 of each of the years 2007 through 2012 and on July 5 of each of the
years 2006 through 2012 for the six-month period ended on the day prior to each
date as stated. Both the principal amount and interest are linked to the CPI for
November 2005.
In
December 2005, the Company issued NIS 715 million principle amount
debentures (Series B) to institutional investors at par value. The debentures
are payable in five equal annual installments, on January 5 of each of the years
2013 through 2017. The debentures bear an annual interest of 5.30%. The interest
is to be paid on January 5 of each of the years 2007 through 2017 for the
twelve-month period ended on the day prior to each date as stated. Both the
principal amount and interest are linked to the CPI for November
2005.
On May,
2006, the Company issued to institutional investors additional Series A
debentures in the aggregate principle amount of NIS 28 million, in exchange for
consideration of NIS 29 million, and additional Series B debentures in the
aggregate principle amount of NIS 210 million in exchange for consideration of
NIS 221 million.
In
October 2007, the Company issued debentures Series C to the public in the
aggregate principle amount of NIS 245 million in exchange for a net
consideration of NIS 244 million. The debentures are payable in nine semi-annual
installments, on March 1 and September 1 of each of the years 2009 through 2012,
and on March 1, 2013. The debentures bear an annual interest of 4.60%. The
interest is to be paid in semi- annual installments on March 1 and September 1
of each of the years 2008 through
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
14 – Loans and borrowings (cont'd)
Debentures
(cont'd)
2012 and
on March 1, 2013. Both the principal amount and interest are linked to the CPI
for August 2007.
In
October 2007, the Company issued new debentures Series D to the public investors
in the aggregate principle amount of NIS 827 million in exchange for
a net consideration of NIS 823 million. The debentures are payable in five equal
annual installments, on July 1 of each of the years 2013 through 2017. The
debentures bear an annual interest of 5.19%. The interest is to be paid in
annual installments on July 1 of each of the years 2008 through 2017. Both the
principal amount and interest are linked to the CPI for August
2007.
In
February 2008, the Company issued, in a private placement to institutional
investors, additional debentures of Series C, in a principal amount of NIS 81
million and additional debentures of Series D, in a principal amount of
approximately NIS 494 million, in exchange for a total consideration of NIS 600
million.
In April
2009, the Company issued additional debentures of Series D to the public in
Israel in the aggregate principal amount of approximately NIS 186 million in
exchange for a total consideration of approximately NIS 215
million.
In April
2009, the Company issued debentures of a new Series E to the public in Israel in
the aggregate principal amount of approximately NIS 789 million in exchange for
a total consideration of approximately NIS 785 million. The debentures of series
E are payable in six equal annual installments on January 5 of each of the years
2012 through 2017. The debentures bear an annual interest of 6.25%. The interest
is to be paid in annual installments on January 5 of each of the years 2010
through 2017. Both the principal amount and interest are without any
linkage.
The
debentures were offered and sold in 2009 pursuant to a shelf prospectus that the
Company filed in March 2009 with the Israeli Securities Authority and the Tel
Aviv Stock Exchange. The shelf prospectus will allow the Company, to offer and
sell debt, equity and warrants in Israel, from time to time, subject to a supplemental
shelf offering report describing the terms of the securities offered and the
specific details of the offering.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
15 - Post employment benefits
|
A.
|
The
Company’s liability for severance pay for its Israeli employees is
calculated pursuant to Israeli severance pay law. The Company’s liability
is fully provided by monthly deposits with severance pay funds, insurance
policies and by an accrual. For the majority of the Company employees the
payments to the pension funds and insurance companies discharge the
Company’s obligation to the employees as required by the Severance Pay Law
in connection with Section 14. Accumulated amounts in the pension funds
and with the insurance companies are not under the control or
administration of the Company, and accordingly, neither those amounts nor
the corresponding accrual for severance pay are reflected in the balance
sheet, this plan for employees that are under section 14 is accounted for
as defined contribution plan. The obligation of the Company, under law and
labor agreements, for termination benefits to employees not covered by the
aforementioned pension or insurance plans is NIS 1 million, NIS 1 million
and NIS 3 million as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, as
included in the consolidated statement of financial position, under other
long term liabilities. The calculation for this liability is based on
salary components that according to management estimation creates a
liability for severance pay.
|
|
B.
|
The
severance pay expenses for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008
and 2007 were approximately NIS 32 million, NIS 29 million and NIS 28
million, respectively.
|
|
C.
|
In
January 2008, under an order issued by the Israeli Ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Labor, all Israeli employers are obligated to contribute to a
pension plan amounts equal to a certain percentage of the employee's
wages, for all employees, after a certain minimum period of employment.
The Company is complying with this obligation. Under the new order,
additional employees are entitled to contribution to a pension plan, which
shall increase gradually until 2013 and up to 5% of the employee’s wages,
with additional identical contribution for severance pay. The Company does
not expect that the new order will have a material impact on the financial
statements.
|
Note
16 - Capital and reserves
Share
capital
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
|
|
On
issue at 1 January
|
|
|
975,000 |
|
|
|
975,047 |
|
|
|
983,493 |
|
Exercise
of share options
|
|
|
47 |
|
|
|
8,446 |
|
|
|
5,464 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On
issue at 31 December
|
|
|
975,047 |
|
|
|
983,493 |
|
|
|
988,957 |
|
Ordinary
shares of NIS 0.01 par value each
At
December 31, 2009, the authorized share capital comprised of 300 million
ordinary shares (December 31, 2008, 2007- 300 millions each). The holders of
ordinary shares are entitled to receive dividends as declared.
The
calculation of basic earnings per share was based on the profit attributable to
ordinary share holders and weighted average number
of ordinary shares during the year. The calculations of diluted
earnings per share was based on the profit attributable to ordinary shares in
addition to 9,408, 15,586 and 8,726 incremental shares (NIS 0.01 par value
each) that would be issued resulting from the exercises of
all options for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2008, 2009,
respectively.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
16 - Capital and reserves (cont'd)
Dividends
Dividends
declared and paid during the reported period are as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.75
NIS per share paid in March 2009
|
|
|
270 |
|
3.36
NIS per share paid in June 2009
|
|
|
330 |
|
3.05
NIS per share paid in September 2009
|
|
|
300 |
|
2.90
NIS per share paid in December 2009
|
|
|
287 |
|
|
|
|
1,187 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7.18
NIS per share paid in April 2008
|
|
|
700 |
|
2.65
NIS per share paid in June 2008
|
|
|
258 |
|
2.76
NIS per share paid in September 2008
|
|
|
270 |
|
3.07
NIS per share paid in November 2008
|
|
|
302 |
|
|
|
|
1,530 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.03
NIS per share paid in June, 2007
|
|
|
198 |
|
2.06
NIS per share paid in September, 2007
|
|
|
201 |
|
2.63
NIS per share paid in November, 2007
|
|
|
256 |
|
|
|
|
655 |
|
On March
2, 2010, subsequent to the balance sheet date, the Company’s Board of Directors
declared a cash dividend in the amount of NIS 2.60 per share, totaling
approximately NIS 257 million, to be paid on March 31, 2010, to the shareholders
of the Company of record at the end of the trading day in the NYSE on March 15,
2010.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
17 – Share-based payments
|
A.
|
In
September 2006, the Company's Board of Directors approved a share based
incentive plan ("the plan") for employees, directors, consultants and
sub-contractors of the Company and the Company’s affiliates. The plan has
an initial pool of 2,500,000 shares over which options and restricted
stock units could be granted.
|
|
B.
|
In
October and November 2006, the Company granted options to purchase an
aggregate of 2,414,143 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $12.60 per
share. Among those grants were options to purchase up to
450,000 ordinary shares granted to the Chairman of the Company’s Board of
Directors and an additional 450,000 options to the Company’s Chief
Executive Officer. The remainder of the option grants was made
to other Company senior employees. Options not exercised within 6 years of
the grant date, will expire.
|
In March
2007, the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of 30,786 ordinary
shares at an exercise price of $12.60 per share to senior employees of the
Company, under the terms of the Plan.
As a
result of a dividend adjustment mechanism, the exercise price for all these
options was adjusted to $3.42 per share as of December 31, 2009 ($10.93, $6.49
per share as of December 31, 2007, 2008, respectively).
|
C.
|
In
August 2008, the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of
27,500 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $25 per share to senior
employees of the Company, under the terms of the Plan. As a result of a
dividend adjustment mechanism, the exercise price for these options was
adjusted to $20.36 per share as of December 31, 2009 ($23.43 as of
December 31, 2008).
|
|
D.
|
In
August 2009, the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of
74,164 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $24.65 per share to senior
employees of the Company, under the terms of the plan. As a result of a
dividend adjustment mechanism, the exercise price for these options was
adjusted to $23.08 per share as of December 31,
2009.
|
Options
granted under the Plan are to be vested over a period of four years. The Plan
includes an acceleration clause of the vesting schedule. The original
acceleration clause stated that upon DIC’s share ownership of the Company’s
outstanding share capital decreasing to less than 50.01% all non-vested options
will vest immediately. In 2008 the Company amended the terms of the plan and
revised the 50.01% threshold to a trigger when DIC ceases to control (as such
term is defined in the Israeli Securities Law, 1968). The Company modified the
vesting conditions in a manner that was considered not beneficial to the
employee. According to the original plan, DIC’s holdings decreasing to
approximately 46.90% in 2008, caused the Company to accelerate the recognition
of the remaining expenses related to all the options granted prior to the
amendment, during 2008.
Grant
date/employees entitled
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share
options granted at October-November 2006 to managers and senior
employees
|
|
2,414
|
|
Four
equal installments over four years of employment
|
|
6
years
|
Share
options granted at March 2007 to senior employees
|
|
31
|
|
Four
equal installments over four years of employment
|
|
6
years
|
Share
options granted at August 2008 to senior employees
|
|
27
|
|
Four
equal installments over four years of employment
|
|
6
years
|
Share
options granted at August 2009 to senior employees
|
|
74
|
|
Four
equal installments over four years of employment
|
|
6
years
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
17 – Share-based payments (cont’d)
The total
compensation expenses during the year ended December 31, 2009, related to the
options granted is NIS 1 million (2008 – NIS 28 million, 2007 – NIS 29
million).
|
The
changes in the balance of the options were as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average
|
|
|
|
Number
of
|
|
|
of exercise
price
|
|
|
Number
of
|
|
|
of exercise
price
|
|
|
Number
of
|
|
|
of exercise
price
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
as at January 1
|
|
|
2,414,143 |
|
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
2,396,896 |
|
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
1,274,863 |
|
|
|
6.86 |
|
Granted
during the year
|
|
|
30,786 |
|
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
27,500 |
|
|
|
24.09 |
|
|
|
74,164 |
|
|
|
23.86 |
|
Forfeited
during the year
|
|
|
(40,078 |
) |
|
|
12.02 |
|
|
|
(4,125 |
) |
|
|
7.78 |
|
|
|
(7,759 |
) |
|
|
5.59 |
|
Exercised
during the year
|
|
|
(7,955 |
) |
|
|
30.18 |
|
|
|
(1,145,408 |
) |
|
|
7.29 |
|
|
|
(636,594 |
) |
|
|
4.26 |
|
Total
options outstanding as at December 31
|
|
|
2,396,896 |
|
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
1,274,863 |
|
|
|
6.86 |
|
|
|
704,674 |
|
|
|
6.19 |
|
Total
of exercisable options as at December 31
|
|
|
588,270 |
|
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
42,282 |
|
|
|
6.49 |
|
|
|
11,450 |
|
|
|
12.59 |
|
|
The
weighted average of the remaining contractual life of options outstanding
as at December 31, 2009, is 3 years and 2 months (as at December 31, 2008
– 3 years and 10 months, as at December 31, 2007 – 2 years and 10
months).
|
|
The
weighted average share price at the date of exercise for share options
exercised in 2009 was $30.44 (2008 - $28.19, 2007 -
$29.17).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair value
of share options and assumptions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair
value at grant date
|
|
|
$5.76 |
|
|
|
$11.76 |
|
|
|
$8.82 |
|
Fair value
assumptions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share
price at grant date
|
|
|
$18.35 |
|
|
|
$33.69 |
|
|
|
$27.88 |
|
Exercise
price
|
|
|
$12.6 |
|
|
|
$25 |
|
|
|
$24.65 |
|
Expected
volatility (weighted average life)
|
|
|
26.69% |
|
|
|
24% |
|
|
|
30.28% |
|
Option
life (expected weighted average life)
|
|
4.25
years
|
|
|
4
years
|
|
|
4.25
years
|
|
Risk
free interest rate
|
|
|
5.01% |
|
|
|
3.06% |
|
|
|
2.5% |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
18 - Financial Instruments
Credit
risk
Exposure to credit
risk
The
carrying amount of financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure. The
maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date was:
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade
receivables including long term amounts
|
|
|
1,862 |
|
|
|
2,019 |
|
|
|
2,113 |
|
Loans
and other receivables including long term amounts
|
|
|
59 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
|
|
72 |
|
Investment
in debt securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
212 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
903 |
|
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on foreign currencies
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on CPI
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
54 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,876 |
|
|
|
2,412 |
|
|
|
3,360 |
|
The
maximum exposure to credit risk for loans, trade and other receivables including
investments in debt securities at the reporting date by type of counterparty
is:
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Receivable
from subscribers
|
|
|
1,734 |
|
|
|
1,970 |
|
|
|
2,069 |
|
Receivables
from distributors and other operators
|
|
|
184 |
|
|
|
98 |
|
|
|
101 |
|
Investment
in government debt securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
146 |
|
Investment
in institutional debt securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
66 |
|
Other
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,921 |
|
|
|
2,069 |
|
|
|
2,397 |
|
Impairment
losses
The aging
of loans, trade and other receivables including investments in debt securities
at the reporting date was as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not
past due
|
|
|
1,814 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
1,888 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
2,172 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Past
due less than one year
|
|
|
114 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
180 |
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
251 |
|
|
|
75 |
|
Past
due more than one year
|
|
|
163 |
|
|
|
127 |
|
|
|
189 |
|
|
|
124 |
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
|
138 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,091 |
|
|
|
170 |
|
|
|
2,257 |
|
|
|
188 |
|
|
|
2,615 |
|
|
|
218 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
18 - Financial Instruments (cont'd)
Impairment
losses (cont'd)
The
movement in the allowance for impairment in respect to trade receivables during
the year was as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1
|
|
|
182 |
|
|
|
170 |
|
|
|
188 |
|
Impairment
loss recognized
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(32 |
) |
|
|
(64 |
) |
Additions
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
|
|
94 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at December 31
|
|
|
170 |
|
|
|
188 |
|
|
|
218 |
|
The
impairment loss recognized of NIS 28 million, NIS 32 million and NIS 64 million
for the year ended December 31 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively, relates to the
Company's estimate of incurred losses in respect of receivables from
subscribers.
The
allowance accounts in respect of trade receivables is used to record impairment
losses unless the Company is satisfied that no recovery of the amount owing is
possible; at that point the amount considered irrecoverable is written off
against the trade receivable directly.
Liquidity
risk
The
following are the maturities of contractual financial liabilities and other
non-contractual liabilities, including estimated interest payments and
excluding the impact of netting agreements:
December 31, 2009
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Contractual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More
than
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Debentures
|
|
|
(4,683 |
) |
|
|
(5,706 |
) |
|
|
(566 |
) |
|
|
(562 |
) |
|
|
(676 |
) |
|
|
(1,693 |
) |
|
|
(2,209 |
) |
Trade
and other payables
|
|
|
(993 |
) |
|
|
(993 |
) |
|
|
(993 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on foreign currencies
|
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on CPI
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(5,698 |
) |
|
|
(6,721 |
) |
|
|
(1,581 |
) |
|
|
(562 |
) |
|
|
(676 |
) |
|
|
(1,693 |
) |
|
|
(2,209 |
) |
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Liquidity
risk (cont'd)
December
31, 2008
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Contractual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More
than
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Debentures
|
|
|
(3,848 |
) |
|
|
(4,749 |
) |
|
|
(516 |
) |
|
|
(500 |
) |
|
|
(483 |
) |
|
|
(1,105 |
) |
|
|
(2,145 |
) |
|
|
|
(843 |
) |
|
|
(843 |
) |
|
|
(843 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on foreign currencies
|
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on CPI
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(4,745 |
) |
|
|
(5,646 |
) |
|
|
(1,406 |
) |
|
|
(507 |
) |
|
|
(483 |
) |
|
|
(1,105 |
) |
|
|
(2,145 |
) |
December
31, 2007
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Contractual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More
than
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bank
loans
|
|
|
(577 |
) |
|
|
(637 |
) |
|
|
(270 |
) |
|
|
(249 |
) |
|
|
(118 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Debentures
|
|
|
(3,193 |
) |
|
|
(4,048 |
) |
|
|
(268 |
) |
|
|
(446 |
) |
|
|
(432 |
) |
|
|
(819 |
) |
|
|
(2,083 |
) |
|
|
|
(1,113 |
) |
|
|
(1,113 |
) |
|
|
(1,113 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
(66 |
) |
|
|
(66 |
) |
|
|
(26 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(13 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Forward
exchange contracts on foreign currencies
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(4,977 |
) |
|
|
(5,892 |
) |
|
|
(1,705 |
) |
|
|
(722 |
) |
|
|
(563 |
) |
|
|
(819 |
) |
|
|
(2,083 |
) |
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Liquidity
risk (cont'd)
The
following table indicates the periods in which the cash flows associated with
derivatives that are cash flow hedges are expected to occur:
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Contractual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More
than
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Liquidity
risk (cont'd)
The
following table indicates the periods in which the cash flows associated with
derivatives that are cash flow hedges are expected to impact profit or
loss:
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Contractual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More
than
|
|
|
|
amount
|
|
|
Cash
flows
|
|
|
1st
year
|
|
|
2nd
year
|
|
|
3rd
year
|
|
|
4-5
years
|
|
|
5
years
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forward
exchange contracts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Liabilities
|
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(17 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
Currency
risk and CPI
The
Company's exposure to foreign currency risk and CPI was as follows based on
notional amounts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In
or linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In
or linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In
or linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to
foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to
foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to
foreign
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
currencies
|
|
|
linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
currencies
|
|
|
linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
currencies
|
|
|
linked
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(mainly
USD)
|
|
to
CPI
|
|
|
unlinked
|
|
|
(mainly
USD)
|
|
to
CPI
|
|
|
unlinked
|
|
|
(mainly
USD)
|
|
to
CPI
|
|
|
unlinked
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
10 |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
901 |
|
|
6 |
|
|
- |
|
|
269 |
|
|
14 |
|
|
- |
|
|
889 |
|
Current
investments, including derivatives
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
68 |
|
|
- |
|
|
141 |
|
|
131 |
|
Trade
receivables, net
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,385 |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
1,478 |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
1,579 |
|
Other
receivables
|
|
- |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
- |
|
|
1 |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-
current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term
receivables
|
|
- |
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
515 |
|
|
- |
|
|
18 |
|
|
572 |
|
|
- |
|
|
19 |
|
|
574 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short-term
borrowings
|
|
(131 |
) |
|
(121 |
) |
|
|
(101 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
(329 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
(342 |
) |
|
(8 |
) |
Trade
payables and accrued expenses
|
|
(193 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
|
(760 |
) |
|
(108 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
(569 |
) |
|
(160 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
(646 |
) |
Other
current liabilities, including derivatives
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
(89 |
) |
|
|
(255 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
(118 |
) |
|
(220 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
(156 |
) |
|
(201 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-
current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term
loans from banks
|
|
(196 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
Debentures
|
|
- |
|
|
(2,983 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
(3,401 |
) |
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
(3,402 |
) |
|
(783 |
) |
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Currency
risk and CPI (cont'd)
Following
is data regarding the CPI and currency exchange rate:
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CPI
(in points)
|
|
|
191.2 |
|
|
|
198.4 |
|
|
|
206.2 |
|
Exchange
rate of US$ in NIS
|
|
|
3.846 |
|
|
|
3.802 |
|
|
|
3.775 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change in
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CPI
|
|
|
3.4 |
% |
|
|
3.8 |
% |
|
|
3.9 |
% |
Exchange
rate of US$ in NIS
|
|
|
(9.0 |
%) |
|
|
(1.1 |
%) |
|
|
(0.7 |
%) |
Sensitivity analysis
A change
of the CPI as at December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 would have increased
(decreased) equity and profit or loss by the amounts shown below. This analysis
assumes that all other variables, in particular interest rates, remain constant.
The analysis is performed on the same basis for 2008 and 2007.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
(31 |
) |
|
|
(31 |
) |
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
1.0 |
% |
|
|
(15 |
) |
|
|
(15 |
) |
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(1.0 |
%) |
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(2.0 |
%) |
|
|
31 |
|
|
|
31 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
(27 |
) |
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
1.0 |
% |
|
|
(14 |
) |
|
|
(14 |
) |
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(1.0 |
%) |
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(2.0 |
%) |
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
(19 |
) |
|
|
(19 |
) |
Increase
in the CPI of
|
|
|
1.0 |
% |
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(9 |
) |
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(1.0 |
%) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Decrease
in the CPI of
|
|
|
(2.0 |
%) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Sensitivity
of change in foreign exchange rate is immaterial as at December 31, 2009, 2008
and 2007.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Interest
rate risk
Profile
At the
reporting date the interest rate profile of the Company's interest-bearing
financial instruments was:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fixed
rate instruments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
assets
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
195 |
|
Financial
liabilities
|
|
|
(3,104 |
) |
|
|
(3,730 |
) |
|
|
(4,527 |
) |
|
|
|
(3,096 |
) |
|
|
(3,722 |
) |
|
|
(4,332 |
) |
Variable
rate instruments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
assets
|
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
927 |
|
Financial
liabilities
|
|
|
(575 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(8 |
) |
|
|
|
336 |
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
919 |
|
Fair value sensitivity analysis for
fixed rate instruments
A change
of interest rates at the reporting date would have increased (decreased) equity
and profit or loss by the amounts shown below. This analysis assumes that all
other variables, in particular foreign currency rates, remain constant. As of
December 31, 2008, 2007 the Company did not account for any fixed rate financial
assets and liabilities at fair value through profit and loss, and the Company
did not designate derivative (interest rate swaps) as hedging instruments under
a fair value hedge accounting model. Therefore a change in interest rates at
these reporting dates would have not affected profit or loss and
equity.
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
Profit
or loss
|
|
|
|
1.0%
increase
|
|
|
1.0%
decrease
|
|
|
0.5%
increase
|
|
|
0.5%
decrease
|
|
|
1.0%
increase
|
|
|
1.0%
decrease
|
|
|
0.5%
increase
|
|
|
0.5%
decrease
|
|
|
|
NIS
Millions
|
|
|
NIS
Millions
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fixed
rate instruments
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
Cash
flow sensitivity (net)
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Interest
rate risk (cont'd)
Cash flow sensitivity analysis for variable rate instruments
A change
of interest rates at the reporting date would have increased (decreased) equity
and profit or loss by the amounts shown below. This analysis assumes that all
other variables, in particular foreign currency rates, remain constant. The
analysis is performed on the same basis for 2008 and 2007.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variable
rate instruments
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Cash
flow sensitivity (net)
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variable
rate instruments
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Cash
flow sensitivity (net)
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variable
rate instruments
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Interest
rate swaps
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Cash
flow sensitivity (net)
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Fair
Values
Fair values versus carrying
amounts
The fair
values of financial assets and liabilities, together with the carrying amounts
shown in the balance sheet, are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
rates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
rates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
rates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
used
for
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
used
for
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
used
for
|
|
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Fair
|
|
|
determining
|
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Fair
|
|
|
determining
|
|
|
Carrying
|
|
|
Fair
|
|
|
determining
|
|
|
|
amount
|
|
|
value
|
|
|
Fair
value
|
|
|
amount
|
|
|
value
|
|
|
Fair
value
|
|
|
amount
|
|
|
value
|
|
|
Fair
value
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
911 |
|
|
911 |
|
|
|
|
|
275 |
|
|
275 |
|
|
|
|
|
903 |
|
|
903 |
|
|
|
|
Current
investments, Including derivatives
|
|
44 |
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
|
|
272 |
|
|
272 |
|
|
|
|
Trade
receivables, net
|
|
1,385 |
|
|
1,385 |
|
|
|
|
|
1,478 |
|
|
1,478 |
|
|
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
|
1,579 |
|
|
|
|
Other
receivables
|
|
3 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-
current assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term
receivables
|
|
533 |
|
|
533 |
|
|
5.0 |
% |
|
590 |
|
|
590 |
|
|
5.0 |
% |
|
593 |
|
|
593 |
|
|
3.5 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short-term
borrowings
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
(8 |
) |
|
(8 |
) |
|
|
|
Trade
payables and accrued expenses
|
|
(953 |
) |
|
(953 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(677 |
) |
|
(677 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(806 |
) |
|
(806 |
) |
|
|
|
Other
current liabilities, including derivatives
|
|
(254 |
) |
|
(254 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(220 |
) |
|
(220 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(201 |
) |
|
(201 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-
current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term
loans from banks including current maturities and accrued
interest
|
|
(577 |
) |
|
(577 |
) |
|
5.0%
- 6.0 |
% |
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
Debentures
including current maturities and accrued interest
|
|
(3,193 |
) |
|
(3,237 |
) |
|
3.3%
- 4.7 |
% |
|
(3,848 |
) |
|
(3,877 |
) |
|
3.9%
- 4.6 |
% |
|
(4,683 |
) |
|
(4,790 |
) |
|
0.66%
- 3.40 |
% |
|
|
(2,101 |
) |
|
(2,145 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(2,333 |
) |
|
(2,362 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(2,338 |
) |
|
(2,445 |
) |
|
|
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 18 - Financial
Instruments (cont'd)
Fair
Values (cont'd)
Fair value hierarchy
The table
below analyses financial instruments carried at fair value, by valuation method.
The different levels have been defined as follows:
Level
1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical
instruments.
Level
2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are
observable, either directly or
indirectly.
Level
3: inputs that are not based on observable market data (unobservable
inputs).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
assets at fair value through profit or loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
investments and debt securities
|
|
|
212 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
212 |
|
Derivatives
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
60 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
212 |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
272 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Derivatives
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(22 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(22 |
) |
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(22 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(22 |
) |
There
have been no transfers during the year between Levels 1 and 2.
Note
19 - Revenues
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Revenues
from handsets, net
|
|
|
635 |
|
|
|
745 |
|
|
|
751 |
|
Revenues
from services
|
|
|
5,415 |
|
|
|
5,672 |
|
|
|
5,732 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,050 |
|
|
|
6,417 |
|
|
|
6,483 |
|
Additional
information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
from handsets on an installments basis
|
|
|
596 |
|
|
|
725 |
|
|
|
735 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
20 - Cost of Revenues
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
*2007
|
|
|
*2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
According
to source of income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues from handsets
|
|
|
723 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
|
|
690 |
|
Cost
of revenues from services
|
|
|
2,592 |
|
|
|
2,641 |
|
|
|
2,643 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
According
to its components:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase
of handsets
|
|
|
829 |
|
|
|
614 |
|
|
|
705 |
|
Changes
in inventory
|
|
|
(113 |
) |
|
|
126 |
|
|
|
(30 |
) |
Write-down
of inventory
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
723 |
|
|
|
755 |
|
|
|
690 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rent
and related expenses
|
|
|
305 |
|
|
|
290 |
|
|
|
333 |
|
Salaries
and related expenses
|
|
|
158 |
|
|
|
163 |
|
|
|
163 |
|
Fees
to other operators and others
|
|
|
980 |
|
|
|
986 |
|
|
|
1,007 |
|
Cost
of value added services
|
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
361 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
547 |
|
|
|
571 |
|
|
|
489 |
|
Royalties
and fees (see Note 27(1)b)
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
160 |
|
|
|
154 |
|
Other
|
|
|
106 |
|
|
|
110 |
|
|
|
106 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,592 |
|
|
|
2,641 |
|
|
|
2,643 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
|
|
3,396 |
|
|
|
3,333 |
|
(*)
Retrospective application due to accounting policy change – see note
2H.
Note
21 - Selling and Marketing Expenses
Composition
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Salaries
and related expenses
|
|
|
286 |
|
|
|
321 |
|
|
|
333 |
|
Commissions
|
|
|
124 |
|
|
|
85 |
|
|
|
96 |
|
Advertising
and public relations
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
111 |
|
|
|
99 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
Other
|
|
|
147 |
|
|
|
143 |
|
|
|
123 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
685 |
|
|
|
701 |
|
|
|
716 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
22 - General and Administrative Expenses
Composition
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Salaries
and related expenses
|
|
|
160 |
|
|
|
165 |
|
|
|
145 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
236 |
|
|
|
210 |
|
|
|
200 |
|
Rent
and maintenance
|
|
|
77 |
|
|
|
79 |
|
|
|
75 |
|
Data
processing and professional services
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
59 |
|
|
|
56 |
|
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
|
|
94 |
|
Other
|
|
|
97 |
|
|
|
96 |
|
|
|
90 |
|
|
|
|
653 |
|
|
|
659 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
Note
23 - Other (income) expenses, net
Composition
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Capital
loss from sale of property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Other
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Other
expense
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital
gain from sale of property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Capital
gain from sale of land
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Other
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Other
income
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(30 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
other (income) expense recognized in profit and loss
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
Note
24 - Financial income and expenses
Composition
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Interest
income on bank deposits
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Interest
income on trade and other receivables
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
49 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
Net
foreign exchange gain
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Net
change in fair value of financial assets at fair value through profit and
loss
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
79 |
|
Net
change in embedded derivatives
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Finance
income
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
83 |
|
|
|
151 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
expenses on long term liabilities
|
|
|
(199 |
) |
|
|
(206 |
) |
|
|
(229 |
) |
Linkage
expenses to CPI on long term liabilities
|
|
|
(50 |
) |
|
|
(161 |
) |
|
|
(141 |
) |
Net
change in fair value of financial assets at fair value through profit and
loss
|
|
|
(38 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Net
change in embedded derivatives
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(26 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Finance
expense
|
|
|
(287 |
) |
|
|
(393 |
) |
|
|
(370 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
finance expense recognized in profit and loss
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
|
|
(310 |
) |
|
|
(219 |
) |
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
25 - Income Tax
A. Details
regarding the tax environment of the Company
(1) Amendments
to the Income Tax Ordinance and the Land Appreciation Tax Law
|
On
July 25, 2005 the Israeli Parliament passed the Law for the Amendment of
the Income Tax Ordinance (No. 147) – 2005, which provides, inter alia, for
a gradual reduction in the company tax rate to 25% as from the 2010 tax
year.
|
On July
14, 2009, the Israeli Parliament passed the Economic Efficiency Law (Legislative
Amendments for Implementation of the 2009 and 2010 Economic Plan) – 2009, which
provided, inter alia, an additional gradual reduction in the company tax rate to
18% as from the 2016 tax year. In accordance with the aforementioned amendments,
the company tax rates applicable as from the 2009 tax year are as follows: In
the 2009 tax year – 26%, in the 2010 tax year – 25%, in the 2011 tax
year – 24%, in the 2012 tax year – 23%, in the 2013 tax year – 22%, in the 2014
tax year – 21%, in the 2015 tax year – 20% and as from the 2016 tax
year the company tax rate will be 18%.
Current
and deferred tax balances for the periods reported in these financial statements
are calculated in accordance with the tax law enacted or substantially
enacted by the end of each of the reporting periods.
(2) Taxation
under inflation
The
Income Tax Law (Adjustments for Inflation) – 1985 (hereinafter – the Law) is
effective as from the 1985 tax year. The Law introduced the concept of
measurement of results for tax purposes on a real (net of inflation)
basis. The various adjustments required by the aforesaid Law are
designed to achieve taxation of income on a real basis. However,
since the financial statements are not adjusted to the CPI from the date Israel
is no longer considered a hyperinflationary economy, there are differences
between the profit in the financial statements and the adjusted profit for tax
purposes, and as a result also temporary differences between the values of
assets and liabilities in the financial statements and their tax
basis.
On
February 26, 2008, the Israeli Parliament enacted the Income Tax Law
(Adjustments for Inflation) (Amendment No. 20) (Restriction of Effective Period)
– 2008 (hereinafter – the Amendment). In accordance with the Amendment, the
effective period of the Adjustments Law ceased at the end of the 2007 tax year
and as from the 2008 tax year the provisions of the law no longer apply, other
than the transitional provisions intended at preventing distortions in the tax
calculations.
In
accordance with the Amendment, as from the 2008 tax year, income for tax
purposes is no longer adjusted to a real (net of inflation) measurement basis.
The effect of the Amendment to the Adjustments Law is reflected in the
calculation of current and deferred taxes as from 2008.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
25 - Income Tax (cont’d)
B. Composition
of income tax expense (income)
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Current
tax expense (income)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
period
|
|
|
314 |
|
|
|
390 |
|
|
|
423 |
|
Adjustments
for prior periods, net
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Tax
expense relating to changes in accounting policy
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Total
current tax expenses
|
|
|
332 |
|
|
|
392 |
|
|
|
428 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred
tax expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Creation
and reversal of temporary differences
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(20 |
) |
Change
in tax rate
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(41 |
) |
Total
Deferred tax expense
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(61 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax expense
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
C.
|
Reconciliation
between the theoretical tax on the pre-tax profit and the tax
expense:
|
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Profit
before taxes on income
|
|
|
1,247 |
|
|
|
1,380 |
|
|
|
1,549 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Primary
tax rate of the Company
|
|
|
29% |
|
|
|
27% |
|
|
|
26% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax
calculated according to the Company’s primary tax rate
|
|
|
362 |
|
|
|
373 |
|
|
|
403 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional
tax (tax saving) in respect of:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-deductible
financial expenses
|
|
|
(56 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Non-deductible
expenses
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Effect
of change in deferred tax rate
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(41 |
) |
Taxes
in respect of previous years
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Others
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax expenses
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
25 - Income Tax (cont’d)
D. Deferred tax assets and
liabilities
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Property,
plant and equipment and intangible assets
|
|
|
(202 |
) |
|
|
(203 |
) |
|
|
(159 |
) |
Allowance
for doubtful debts
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
47 |
|
|
|
57 |
|
Financial
instruments
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
Other
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(149 |
) |
|
|
(156 |
) |
|
|
(91 |
) |
2.
|
Recognized
deferred tax assets and liabilities
|
Deferred
taxes are calculated according to the tax rate anticipated to be in effect on
the date of reversal as stated above based on the tax law enacted or
substantially enacted by the end of each of the reporting periods.
Deferred
tax assets and liabilities are attributable to the following items:
|
|
|
|
|
Allowance
for Doubtful
debts
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
of deferred tax asset (liability) as at January 1,
2007
|
|
|
(216 |
) |
|
|
53 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(153 |
) |
Changes
recognized in profit or loss
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
Changes
recognized in equity
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Balance
of deferred tax asset (liability) as at
December 31,
2007
|
|
|
(202 |
) |
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(149 |
) |
Changes
recognized in profit or loss
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Changes
recognized in equity
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
Balance
of deferred tax asset (liability) as at
December 31,
2008
|
|
|
(203 |
) |
|
|
47 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(156 |
) |
Changes
recognized in profit or loss
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
61 |
|
Changes
recognized in equity
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Balance
of deferred tax asset (liability) as at
December 31,
2009
|
|
|
(159 |
) |
|
|
57 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
(91 |
) |
During
2009 The Company has received final tax assessments including the year ended
2007. The Company recorded an additional tax expense of NIS 6
millions regarding the tax assessments.
F.
|
Court
ruling regarding deductibility for tax purposes of financing
expenses
|
On
November 20, 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling made
by the Israeli District Court regarding the deductibility for tax purposes of
financing expenses that might be attributed by the Israeli
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
25 - Income Tax (cont’d)
F.
|
Court
ruling regarding deductibility for tax purposes of financing expenses
(cont’d)
|
tax
authorities to the financing of dividends. Following this ruling, the Company
recorded in 2006 an additional tax provision of NIS 56 million, based on the
possibility that part of the Company's financing expenses accrued in 2006 will
not be recognized as a deductible expense for tax purposes. For tax purposes, as
of the date of approval of the financial statements for the year ended December
31, 2006, the level of certainty required in order to recognize these expenses
did not exist.
In
October 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court issued two new rulings readdressing its
previous ruling of November 2006 regarding the deductibility of financing
expenses for tax purposes, that might be attributed by the Israeli Tax Authority
to a financing of dividends. As a result of these rulings and based on the
Company's legal counsels' opinion, the Company has released the aforesaid tax
provision and reduced the income tax expenses for 2007 by NIS 56
million.
Note
26 - Operating leases
Non-cancelable
operating lease rentals are payable as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Less
than one year
|
|
|
215 |
|
Between
one and five years
|
|
|
387 |
|
More
than five years
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
643 |
|
During
the year ended December 31 2009, NIS 251 million (including linkage to CPI of
NIS 5.7 million) was recognized as an expense in profit and loss in respect of
operating leases (2008 – NIS 262 million, including linkage to CPI of NIS 5
million).
Major
operating lease and service agreements:
|
a.
|
Office
buildings and warehouses – there are lease agreements for periods of up to
5 years and eleven months.
|
|
b.
|
Switching
stations – there are lease agreements for switching station locations for
periods of up to 7 years.
|
|
c.
|
Cell
sites – there are lease agreements for cell sites for periods of up to 10
years and eleven months.
|
|
d.
|
Service
centers, retail stores and stands – there are lease agreements for service
and installation centers and stands for periods of up to 8 years and six
months.
|
|
e.
|
Transmission
services for cell sites and
switches.
|
|
f.
|
Motor
vehicles lease for a period of 3
years.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
27 - Commitments
|
1.
|
The
Company has commitments regarding the license it was granted in 1994, most
of which are:
|
|
a.
|
Not
to pledge any of the assets used to execute the license without the
advance consent of the Ministry of
Communications.
|
|
b.
|
To
pay the State of Israel royalties equal to 2% of the Company’s revenues
generated from telecommunications services, less payments transferred to
other license holders for interconnect fees or roaming services, sale of
handsets and losses from bad debt. The rate of these royalties has
decreased in recent years, from 4.5% in 2002, to 4% in 2003, to 3.5% in
2004 and 2005, to 3% in 2006, to 2.5% in 2007, to 2% in 2008 and to 1.5%
in 2009. In 2010 and thereafter, the royalty rate will be
1%.
|
|
c.
|
The
Company’s shareholders’ joint equity, combined with the Company’s equity,
shall not amount to less than $200 million. Regarding this stipulation, a
shareholder holding less than 10% of the rights to the Company’s equity is
not taken into account.
|
The
Company is in compliance with the above conditions.
|
2.
|
In
September 2005, the Company signed an agreement with Ericsson Israel Ltd.
according to which the Company will acquire a UMTS radio access network
and ancillary products and services. The Company is obligated to purchase
maintenance services for 5 years from the launch of the system (until
2011) and the Company has an option to purchase maintenance services for
20 years from the launch of the Systems (until 2026), including all the
required services for establishment and maintenance of the system
(including receipt of updates and upgrades for the system). The Company
agreed to purchase 60% of cell sites the Company purchases by September
2010 from Ericsson. The aggregate scope of the agreement is $27.5 million
payable over five years. Under the agreement the parties generally have
limited liability for direct damages of up to 40% of the value of the
agreement.
|
|
3.
|
Be’eri
Printers provides the Company’s printing supplies and invoices as well as
the distribution, packaging and delivery of invoices and other mail to the
postal service distribution centers. The Company entered into an agreement
with Be’eri Printers - Limited Partnership and with Be’eri Technologies
(1977) Ltd., or together Be’eri, for printing services in August 2003.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Company committed to purchase from
Be’eri a minimum monthly quantity of production and distribution services
which may be reduced if the Company modifies its printed invoice delivery
policy. The agreement is valid until December
2010.
|
|
4.
|
In
2009, the Company has entered into a contract with Apple Sales
International, for the purchase and distribution of iPhone handsets in
Israel. In the contract, the Company has committed to purchase a minimum
quantity of handsets during a period of three years, which is expected to
represent a significant portion of the Company's expected handset purchase
amount over that period. The total amount of the purchases will
depend on the prices of the handsets purchase price at the time of
purchase.
|
|
5.
|
As
at December 31, 2009, the Company has commitments to purchase equipment
for the communications’ network and cellular telephone equipment, at an
amount estimated at
NIS 441 million.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities
|
All sums
indicated for the lawsuits below are as at the filing date thereof, unless
specifically mentioned otherwise.
In the
ordinary course of business, the Company is involved in a number of lawsuits.
The costs that may result from these lawsuits are only accrued for when it is
more likely than not that a liability, resulting from past events, will be
incurred and the amount of that liability can be quantified or estimated within
a reasonable range. The amount of the provisions recorded is based on a
case-by-case assessment of the risk level, and events arising during the course
of legal proceedings may require a reassessment of this risk. The Company’s
assessment of risk is based both on the advice of counsel and on the Company’s
estimate of the probable settlements amount that are expected to be incurred, if
such a settlement will be agreed by both parties.
The
significant litigations and claims filed against the Company are as
follow:
|
1.
|
In
September 2000, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by one of the Company’s
subscribers in connection with VAT charges in respect of insurance
premiums and the provision of insurance services that were allegedly
provided not in accordance with the law. In February 2006, the motion for
certification as a class action was denied. In March 2006, an appeal was
filed with the Supreme Court challenging the dismissal. In December 2008,
the appeal was partially allowed and the claim was returned for further
consideration by the District Court of certain issues determined by the
Supreme Court. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 402
million.
|
|
2.
|
In
August 2001, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by one of the Company’s
subscribers in connection with the Company's outgoing call tariffs on the
‘Talkman’ (pre-paid) plan and the collection of a distribution fee for
‘Talkman’ calling cards. In June 2004, the motion for certification as a
class action was denied. In September 2004, this decision was appealed to
the Israeli Supreme Court. In July 2007, pursuant to the appeal, the
Israeli Supreme Court granted a petition filed by both parties with mutual
consent, in light of the Israeli Class Action Law, 2006, to resubmit the
purported class action lawsuit for consideration in the District Court of
Tel Aviv-Jaffa. If the claim is certified as a class action, the amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be NIS 135 million. In
January 2010, subsequent to the balance sheet date, the District Court
accepted the Company's defense of limitations for the period prior to
March 1999. The Company cannot quantify which portion of the claim was
dismissed following that decision.
|
|
3.
|
In
December 2002, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company and another cellular operator in the District Court of
Tel-Aviv–Jaffa in connection with the Company’s incoming call tariff to
subscribers of other operators when calling the Company’s subscribers
during the period prior to the regulation of interconnect fees. In
December 2008, the motion for certification as a class action was
dismissed with prejudice. In January 2009, an appeal was filed with the
Supreme Court challenging the dismissal. If the lawsuit is certified as a
class action, the amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to be NIS
1.6 billion.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities (cont’d)
|
|
4.
|
In
April 2003, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against two other
cellular operators and the Company with the District Court of
Tel-Aviv–Jaffa in connection with the Company’s incoming SMS tariff to
subscribers of other operators when sending SMS messages to the Company’s
subscribers during the period before the regulation of SMS interconnect
fees. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount claimed is
estimated by the plaintiffs to be NIS 90 million, without specifying the
amount claimed from the Company
individually.
|
|
5.
|
In
August 2003, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa (and later transferred to
the District Court of Central Region) by one of the Company’s subscribers
in connection with the Company's method of rounding the rates of calls,
the Company's method of linking rates of calls to the consumer price index
and an alleged unlawful approval of a certain rate that was approved by
the Ministry of Communications in 1996. In March 2006, the plaintiff filed
an amended statement of its claim, following the amendment to the Consumer
Protection Law in December 2005, to which the Company has replied. If the
lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount claimed is estimated by
the plaintiff to be NIS 150 million. In August 2009, during preliminary
proceedings, the court rejected the claim against the alleged unlawful
approval granted by the Ministry of Communications. The Company cannot
quantify which portion of the amount claimed is represented by this aspect
of the lawsuit.
|
|
6.
|
In
August 2006, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company (and two other cellular operators) in the District Court of
Tel-Aviv–Jaffa, by plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the
defendants, in connection with sums allegedly unlawfully charged for a
segment of a call that was not actually carried out. If the lawsuit is
certified as a class action, the total amount claimed is estimated by the
plaintiffs to exceed NIS 100 million, without specifying the amount
claimed from the Company.
|
|
7.
|
In
November 2006, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company, a third party that had provided services to customers of the
Company (“the Supplier”) and other parties allegedly related to the
Supplier, in the District Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by a subscriber of the
Company. The lawsuit is in connection with sums allegedly charged by the
Company in respect of content services of the Supplier without the
subscriber’s consent. The request to certify the lawsuit as a class action
was approved in March 2009, and the claim will be tried as a class action.
The total amount claimed from the Company, the Supplier and other parties
is estimated by the plaintiffs as approximately NIS 18 million, in
addition to another NIS 10 million for mental anguish. In August 2009, the
plaintiff, the Company and two content companies submitted an agreed
request to the District Court to approve a settlement by which the two
content companies will be joined as defendants and will return the amount
charged (adjusted to changes in the Israeli Consumer Price Index for July
2006) in respect of the content services provided by the Supplier, to the
Company's subscribers. The Company will guarantee the return of the
charges by the content companies. The return sum (before index
differences) is estimated to be approximately NIS 2.35 million. Additional
18.5% of the sum returned, will be paid as a fee to the plaintiff and
plaintiff's counsel. The court appointed an expert to verify the return
amount. The settlement awaits the court's
approval.
|
|
8.
|
In
February 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company (and 2 other cellular operators) in the District Court of Tel-Aviv
by plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the three defendants, in
connection with amounts that were allegedly overcharged in breach of the
cellular operators’ licenses, based on charge units larger than the charge
units the defendants
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities (cont’d)
|
were
allegedly authorized to charge under their licenses for calls initiated or
received by subscribers while abroad. In August 2009, the motion for
certification as a class action was dismissed without prejudice and the lawsuit
was dismissed with prejudice, at the plaintiffs' request. Had the lawsuit been
certified as a class action, the total amount claimed from the defendants was
estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 449 million, of which
approximately NIS 193 million was attributed to the Company.
|
9.
|
In
May 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
in the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by two plaintiffs alleging to be
subscribers of the Company in connection with allegations that the
Company, unlawfully and in violation of its license, raised its tariffs in
pricing plans that include a commitment to purchase certain services for a
fixed period. In December 2009, the purported class action was dismissed
with prejudice, with plaintiffs' consent. Had the claim been certified as
a class action, the amount claimed was estimated by the plaintiffs to be
approximately NIS 875
million.
|
|
10.
|
In
November 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Central Region, by a plaintiff alleging
to be a subscriber of the Company in connection with allegations that the
Company charged its subscribers for content services without obtaining
their specific consent in a manner which complies with the provisions of
its general license. In April 2009, the motion for certification as a
class action was dismissed without prejudice and the lawsuit was dismissed
with prejudice, at the plaintiffs' request. Had the lawsuit been certified
as a class action, the amount claimed was estimated by the plaintiff to be
NIS 432 million.
|
|
11.
|
In
December 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company (and two other cellular operators) in the District Court of Tel
Aviv, by plaintiffs alleging to be residing next to cell sites of the
defendants which the plaintiffs claim were built in violation of the law.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants have created environmental
hazards by unlawfully building cell sites and therefore demand that the
defendants compensate the public for damages (other than personal damages,
such as depreciation of property and/or health related damages which are
excluded from the purported class action), demolish existing unlawfully
built cell sites and refrain from unlawfully building new cell sites. If
the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the compensation claimed from
the defendants (without any allocation of this amount among the
defendants) is estimated by the plaintiffs to be NIS 1
billion.
|
|
12.
|
In
December 2007, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Central Region, by plaintiffs claiming to
be the subscribers of the Company, in connection with sums the Company
allegedly overcharged, when the Company raised its tariffs in certain
calling plans. If the lawsuit is recognized as a class action, the amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 44 million.
In May 2009, following the Company notifying the court it had detected a
charging malfunction and had fully repaid the amounts wrongfully charged
to the subscribers (in a non significant amount), the court appointed an
expert to verify that a full repayment was made by the
Company.
|
|
13.
|
In
February 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Central Region, by plaintiffs claiming to
be subscribers of the Company, in connection with amounts the Company
allegedly overcharged, when the Company raised its tariffs for
SMS
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities (cont’d)
|
packages.
If the lawsuit is recognized as a class action, the amount claimed is estimated
by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 43 million. In February 2009, the
parties submitted an agreed request to the District Court to approve a
settlement by which the Company will return a non significant amount to its
subscribers. In February 2010, subsequent to the reporting date, the court's
appointed expert provided his opinion as to the settlement proposed. The
settlement awaits court's approval.
|
14.
|
In
March 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
in the District Court of Central Region, by plaintiffs alleging to be the
Company's subscribers in connection with allegations that the Company has
unlawfully charged its' subscribers for providing them with call details
records. In August 2009, the motion to certify the lawsuit as a class
action was approved and the claim will be tried as a class action in
relation to an allegation that the Company breached the agreements with
its subscribers by charging them for the service it previously provided
free of charge, without obtaining their consent. The Company appealed the
decision and requested to halt proceedings until the appeal is decided.
The total amount claimed from the Company is estimated by the plaintiffs
to be approximately NIS 440
million.
|
|
15.
|
In
April 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by plaintiffs alleging to be
subscribers of the Company in connection with allegations that the Company
overcharged certain subscribers entitled to rebates under their agreement
with the Company, by miscalculating the rebate. If the lawsuit is
certified as a class action, the amount claimed is estimated by the
plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 100
million.
|
|
16.
|
In
May 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
and two other cellular operators in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa,
by plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the defendants in connection
with allegations that the defendants have unlawfully charged their
subscribers for certain failed calls attempts made by the subscribers,
while abroad. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total
amount claimed from all three defendants is estimated by the plaintiffs to
be approximately NIS 50 million, without specifying the amount attributed
to the Company.
|
|
17.
|
In
July 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be a
subscriber of the Company in connection with allegations that the Company
misleads and overcharges certain subscribers, in relation to airtime
packages. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the amount
claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 72
million.
|
|
18.
|
In
July 2008, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company
in the District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be a
subscriber of the Company in connection with allegations that the Company
misleads and unlawfully charges its subscribers for a certain automatic
call completion service, even if not used. If the lawsuit is certified as
a class action, the amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiff to be
approximately NIS 179 million.
|
|
19.
|
In
March 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company, its chief executive officer and some of its directors, in the
District Court of Central Region, by a plaintiff alleging to be a
subscriber of the Company in connection with allegations that the Company
unlawfully sent its subscribers commercial messages. On June 2009, with
the consent of the
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
plaintiff,
the chief executive officer and the directors were removed from the list of
defendants,
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities (cont’d)
|
If the
lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total amount claimed from the
Company is estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 800
million.
|
20.
|
In
May 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the Company,
in the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging to be a
subscriber of the Company, in connection with allegations that the Company
has misled its subscribers whose calling plan includes certain reduced
tariff calls, by failing to specify certain limitations on reduced tariff
calls. The plaintiff did not specify the amount claimed if the lawsuit is
certified as a class action.
|
|
21.
|
In
May 2009, a purported class action was filed against the Company in the
District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by two plaintiffs alleging to be the
Company's subscribers, in connection with allegations that the Company
unlawfully charged its subscribers for cellular internet "surfing
packages" without obtaining their consent. In November 2009, the motion
for certification as a class action was dismissed without prejudice and
the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, at the plaintiffs' request. Had
the lawsuit been certified as a class action, the total amount claimed
from the Company was estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS
1.2 billion. A similar purported class action for a total amount of
approximately NIS 15 million, filed against the Company in August 2008 was
dismissed in July 2009, at the plaintiff's
request.
|
|
22.
|
In
August 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company, another cellular operator and a third party, in the District
Court of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by a plaintiff alleging to be a subscriber of the
Company and the other cellular operator, in connection with sums allegedly
charged by the Company and the other cellular operator in respect of SMS
messages sent to the subscribers by the third party without the
subscriber's consent. If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the
total amount claimed from the defendants is estimated by the plaintiff to
be approximately NIS 33 million, without specifying the amount claimed
from each defendant, of which approximately NIS 16.5 million is attributed
to the Company.
|
|
23.
|
In
August 2009, a purported class action was filed against the Company,
another cellular operator and two content providers, in the District Court
of Central Region, by two plaintiffs alleging to be subscribers of the
cellular operators, in connection with sums allegedly charged by the
defendants in respect of content services the subscribers allegedly did
not order or which did not comply with certain legal requirements. If the
lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total amount claimed from the
defendants is estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 347
million, of which approximately NIS 119 million is attributed to the
Company.
|
|
24.
|
In
November 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company, two other cellular operators and the Minister of Communications,
in the District Court of Jerusalem, by four plaintiffs alleging to be
subscribers of the two other cellular operators in connection with an
allegation that the defendant cellular operators unlawfully discriminated
against non orthodox customers by offering them less favorable prices and
terms. In February 2010, subsequent to the reporting date, the motion for
certification as a class action was dismissed in limine. Had the
lawsuit been certified as a class action, the total amount claimed was
estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 900 million, without
specifying the amount attributed to the Company
individually.
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
|
A.
|
Contingent
liabilities (cont’d)
|
|
25.
|
In
December 2009, a purported class action lawsuit was filed against the
Company in the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by a plaintiff alleging
to be a subscriber of the Company. in connection with allegations that the
Company unlawfully included commercial content in internet pages viewed by
its subscribers, through cellular "surfing" and unlawfully charged them
for such surfing. The plaintiff did not make an estimate of the total
amount claimed, if the lawsuit is certified as a class
action.
|
|
26.
|
The
Company was served with a number of purported class actions and other
lawsuits by different plaintiffs and for different claims. If the
purported class actions are certified as class actions, the aggregate
amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately NIS 38
million.
|
|
27.
|
A
dispute exists between the Company and the Israeli Ministry of
Communications with respect to the payment of fees for its use of the GSM
and UMTS frequencies. The amount in dispute as at December 31, 2009, is
approximately NIS 73 million (including interest and CPI linkage
differences). Until a final decision on this matter, the Company has
deposited approximately half of the principal of this amount with the
Ministry of Communications. The Company has applied to the courts
regarding this issue. In November 2009, the matter was brought before the
Supreme Court and the parties have accepted the court's recommendation
to attempt to reach an agreed solution outside the court. The
parties did not reach an agreement and are awaiting the court's ruling on
the matter.
|
|
28.
|
In
April 2005, a lawsuit was filed against the Company in the District Court
of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa by one of the Company's former dealers and importers for
the amount of NIS 28 million (reduced for court fee purposes from
approximately NIS 38 million), alleging that the Company breached an
agreement between the parties. The company rejects all claims made by the
plaintiff against the Company.
|
|
29.
|
In
December 2007, the Company was served with a petition filed with the
Israeli High Court of Justice against the Israeli Minister of
Communications and another cellular operator, seeking to retroactively
apply the amendment to cellular operators' general license, effected
September 2007, which prevents the Company from offering subscribers
calling plans using airtime charging units other than the basic airtime
charging unit, or alternatively, to retroactively cancel any charges which
may be imposed on subscribers when transferring, before the lapse of a
predetermined period, to calling plans based on the basic airtime charging
unit. The Company and one other cellular operator were joined as formal
respondents. The court has instructed only the Ministry of Communications
to submit its response. In its response, the Ministry of Communications
opposes the petition.
|
|
30.
|
In
January 2007, a lawsuit was filed against the Company in an arbitration
proceeding for the amount of approximately NIS 35 million by a company
that purchased cellular services from the Company in order to sell the
services to its customers, alleging, among other things, that the Company
has breached agreements between the parties and making claims concerning
the
|
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
28 – Contingencies (cont’d)
Company's
conduct. The Company rejects all claims made by the Plaintiff against the
Company.
B. Liens
and guarantees
As part
of issuance of the Series A and B debentures (see Note 14), the Company
committed not to create liens on its assets so long as the debentures have not
been fully repaid, except for a fixed lien on assets for purposes of securing
credit that will permit acquisition of those assets.
The
Company has given bank guarantees as follows:
|
a.
|
To
the Government of Israel (to guarantee performance of the License) – U.S.
$10 million.
|
|
|
To
the Government of Israel (to guarantee performance of the License for
Cellcom Fixed Line Communication L. P.) - NIS 10
million.
|
|
|
To
suppliers and government institutions – NIS 16
million.
|
Note
29 - Related Parties
A. Balance
sheet
|
|
|
December
31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
74 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Long-term
liability – debentures
|
|
|
142 |
|
|
|
255 |
|
|
|
286 |
|
|
B.
|
Transactions
with related and interested parties executed in the ordinary course of
business at regular commercial
terms:
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
from services
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
Expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenue
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
61 |
|
|
|
77 |
|
Other
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
In
connection with the registration of the Company's shares on the NYSE on February
9, 2007, selling shareholders (DIC and Goldman Sachs International) reimbursed
the Company for all expenses incurred in connection with the said
registration.
In the
ordinary course of business, from time to time, the Company purchases, leases,
sells and cooperates in the sale of goods and services or otherwise engages in
transactions with entities that are members of the IDB group or other interested
or related parties.
The
Company has examined said transactions and believes them to be on commercial
terms comparable to those that the Company could obtain from unaffiliated
parties.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
29 - Related Parties (cont'd)
C. Key
management personnel compensation (including directors)
In
addition to their salaries, the Company also provides non-cash benefits to
executive officers (such as a car, medical insurance, etc.), and contributes to
a post-employment defined contribution plan on their behalf.
The
Company has undertaken to indemnify the Company’s directors and officers, as
well as certain other employees for certain events listed in the
indemnifications letters given to them. The aggregate amount payable to
all directors and officers and other employees who may have been or will be
given such indemnification letters is limited to the amounts the Company
receives from the Company’s insurance policy plus 30% of the Company’s
shareholders’ equity as of December 31, 2001 or NIS 486 million, and to be
adjusted by the Israeli CPI.
Executive
officers also participate in the Company’s share option program (see note 17
regarding share-based payments).
Key
management personnel compensation (including directors) comprised:
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
|
|
NIS
millions
|
|
Short-term
employee benefits
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Share-based
payments
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
In
October 2006, the Company entered into an agreement with DIC pursuant to which
DIC provides the Company with advisory services in the areas of management,
finance, business and accountancy in consideration of NIS 2 million per year
linked to the Israeli CPI for June 2006. This agreement is for a term of one
year and is automatically renewed for one-year terms unless either party
provides 60 days' prior notice to the contrary.
|
E.
|
An
agreements with Netvision 013 Barak
|
In July
2007, the Company entered into an agreement with Netvision 013 Barak
("Netvision") pursuant to which Netvision will provide the Company with
interconnect and roaming services. In 2009, Netvision provided the Company
interconnect and roaming services in the amount of NIS 30
million. The agreement is renewed every year.
Cellcom
Israel Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Note
30 – Subsequent
events
1.
|
On
February 4, 2010, subsequent to the balance sheet date, the Israeli
parliament enacted the Law for Amendment of the Income Tax Ordinance No.
174 – temporary order for the tax years 2007, 2008 and 2009 (hereafter:
"Amendment 174"). Amendment 174 provides that Israeli Accounting Standard
No.29 – "Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards" will not
be applied for the purpose of determining the Income for the Tax purposes
for the years detailed, even if applied in the Financial Statements. The
Amendment had no material impact on the Company's financial
statements.
|
2.
|
In
January 2010, we entered an agreement with one of our dealers, to purchase
its dealership operation. The transaction will be concluded during 2010,
provided certain precedent conditions are met. The transaction is not
expected to have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial
statements.
|
F-60