By determination of 10/02/20101 (Decision of February 2010), ICP-ANACOM defined the methodology to be used for calculating the cost-of-capital rate of PT Comunicações, S. A. (PTC) for the three-year period 2009-2011.
It was decided in this determination that a cost-of-capital rate of 10.3% should be applied for 2011, and that a three-year transition period (2009-2011) should be established, to allow PTC to adjust its operations to the cost-of-capital rate resulting from this methodological change (12.3% in 2009, 11.3% in 2010 and 10.3% in 2011). This adjustment was made on the basis of a glide path, which established a linear decrement rate by a full percentage point for the value of the cost-of-capital rate in each year, having as its starting point the reference value for 2008 (13.3%).
On the other hand, this determination also provided that the risk-free interest rate, risk premium and tax rate parameters could be subject to a review in the event that, during the period in question, any extraordinary situation occurred with a significant impact on the validity of the assumptions used in the calculation of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC).This review, provided it was properly justified, could be triggered on the initiative of ICP-ANACOM or PTC.
As referred in Decision of February 2010, the review mechanism should be triggered until the end of the first quarter of the year following the year in question.
By letter 20185530 of 4 March 2011, PTC requested the review of the cost-of-capital rate for 2010, proposing a value of 12.02% for that year, based on the significant change of two parameters related to the cost-of-capital rate: the risk-free interest rate and tax rate, having ICP-ANACOM decided, by Determination of 26/08/20112 (Decision of August 2011), that the cost-of-capital to be applied to PTC for 2010 and 2011 would be respectively 11.6% and 11%.
Later, by letter 20261418 of 29 February 2012, PTC requested a new review of the cost-of-capital rate for 2011 (14.78%), claiming in particular that the risk-free interest rate required a review, proposing for this parameter a value of 7.82% instead of the 4.8% previously defined. PTC also stressed: (i) the relevance of a strict compliance with deadlines defined; (ii) the time horizon of the decision; and (iii) the simplicity and transparency of the methodology applied.
ICP-ANACOM adopted a draft decision (DD) which was submitted to public consultation on 14/05/2012. The respective hearing report is part of this decision.
1 Calculation of the cost of capital of PTChttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1014532.
2 Final decision on the Review of the calculation of the rate of the cost of capital of PT Comunicações, S.A. applicable to 2010 and 2011.
