Press release
The iliad Group keeps up its growth momentum in first-quarter 2022
financial release
The Group’s results for the first three months of 2022 followed the same robust growth trajectory as seen for several quarters now. This momentum has been propelled by the massive investments we have devoted to our 4G/5G and FTTH networks and Cloud solutions in order to offer our B2C and B2B customers best-in-class connectivity and highly innovative services. Today's inflationary pressures and energy crisis have made us more determined than ever to build a virtuous growth model.
In the first quarter of 2022, the iliad Group recorded robust growth in its subscriber bases in each of its three geographies, clearly showing how our fundamental values of freedom, simplicity, generosity, transparency and fair prices are shared by others.
Like-for-like pro forma growth1 for revenues came to 5.1% during the period, and 6.2% excluding the regulatory impacts in
The Group's overall active subscriber base increased by 872,000 units, comprising 790,000 mobile subscribers and 82,000 fixed subscribers:
- In
France , for the first time since 2013, Free ended the quarter with the market's highest number of net adds for both its Fixed (56,000 new subscribers) and Mobile (127,000 new subscribers) offerings. This performance reflects the Group’s rankings for overall subscriber satisfaction in the latest ARCEP survey: joint number one for Fixed, and number two for Mobile2.
- In
Italy , we added 320,000 new subscribers in the first quarter despite a fiercely competitive environment. iliad Italia was the only operator in the country3 to see its brand preference score improve during the period, and remains the leading recruiter of new mobile subscribers in the market. The launch of the Group's Fiber offer inItaly has also been successful and iliad Italia will continue to extend its sales reach in order to meet demand.
- In
Poland , Play saw strong growth in its prepaid mobile subscriber base following the distribution of free SIM cards to support Ukrainian refugees. The recruitment of 43,000 new subscribers on plans illustrates Play's strong positioning, with growth in both volume and value.
Consolidated EBITDAaL grew by 6.1% to €714 million on a like-for-like pro forma basis, mainly driven by higher contributions from
The Group completed the acquisition of UPC Polska on
At
Commenting on iliad’s performance,
Key operating performance indicators at
| Q1 2022 | Q4 2021 | Change over the period |
Number of mobile subscribers | 13,738k | 13,611k | +127k |
- Of which on the 4G/5G Free Mobile Plan | 9,479k | 9,259k | +220k |
- Of which on the voice-based plan | 4,258k | 4,352k | -94k |
Number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers | 6,981k | 6,925k | +56k |
- Of which Fiber | 4,012k | 3,773k | +239k |
Fiber adoption rate | 57.5% | 45.4% | +12.1 ppts |
Total number of subscribers – | 20,719k | 20,537k | +182k |
Number of connectible Fiber sockets | 27.1m | 25.5m | +1.6m |
Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | Year-on-year change | |
Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband ARPU (in €)1 | 33.5 | 32.6 | +2.8% |
Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers (in €)1 | 11.4 | 10.9 | +4.8% |
Q1 2022 | Q4 2021 | Change over the period | |
Number of mobile subscribers | 8,825k | 8,505k | +320k |
Q1 2022 | Q4 2021 | Change over the period | |
Number of active mobile subscribers1 | 12,473k | 12,129k | +344k |
- Of which on plans | 8,565k | 8,522k | +43k |
- Of which prepaid | 3,908k | 3,606k | +302k1 |
Number of Home subscribers2 | 293k | 267k | +26k |
Total number of subscribers – | 12,766k | 12,396k | +370k |
Q1 22 | Q1 21 | Year-on-year change | |
Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers (in PLN)3 | 28.3 | 27.7 | +2.4% |
1 See glossary for definitions.
2 ARPU calculated based on revenues billed to mobile subscribers.
First-quarter 2022 revenues
The table below shows the breakdown of consolidated revenues by category for the first quarters of 2022 and 2021, as well as the percentage change between the two periods:
In € millions | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | % change |
Consolidated revenues | 1,934 | 1,846 | +4.8% |
Consolidated service revenues | 1,802 | 1,719 | +4.8% |
Consolidated equipment revenues | 136 | 131 | +3.9% |
Intra-group sales | (3) | (2) | +33.6% |
Revenues – | 1,339 | 1,263 | +6.1% |
- Service revenues | 1,289 | 1,221 | +5.6% |
- Equipment revenues | 51 | 43 | +18.7% |
- Intersegment sales | (1) | (1) | -7.1% |
Revenues – | 214 | 188 | +13.9% |
- Service revenues | 212 | 187 | +13.9% |
- Equipment revenues | 2 | 1 | +22.4% |
Revenues – | 384 | 398 | -3.5% |
- Service revenues | 301 | 312 | -3.5% |
- Equipment revenues | 83 | 86 | -3.8% |
Key financial performance indicators in first-quarter 2022
In € millions | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | % change |
Consolidated revenues | 1,934 | 1,846 | +4.8% |
o/w Revenues – | 1,339 | 1,263 | +6.1% |
o/w Revenues – | 214 | 188 | +13.9% |
o/w Revenues – | 384 | 398 | -3.5% |
Intra-group sales | (3) | (2) | +33.6% |
Consolidated EBITDAaL | 714 | 677 | +5.4% |
o/w EBITDAaL – | 493 | 460 | +7.3% |
o/w EBITDAaL – | 40 | (30) | NM |
o/w EBITDAaL – | 181 | 2481 | -26.8% |
Consolidated capex2 | 465 | 713 | -34.8% |
o/w Capex – | 332 | 603 | -45.0% |
o/w Capex – | 94 | 74 | +26.1% |
o/w Capex – | 40 | 36 | +11.1% |
Consolidated OCF (OCF: EBITDAaL minus Capex) | 249 | (35) | NM |
o/w OCF – | 162 | (143) | NM |
o/w OCF – | (54) | (104) | NM |
o/w OCF – | 142 | 212 | -33.2% |
Profit for the period | 477 | 131 | NM |
Change | |||
Net debt | 8,067 | 8,012 | +€55M |
LTM3 EBITDAaL | 2,986 | 2,949 | +€37M |
Leverage ratio (LTM EBITDAaL) | 2.7x | 2.7x | Unch |
(1) including the net positive impact from the disposal of 517 sites to Cellnex (2) Excluding payments for frequencies
(2) LTM for Last Twelve Months
Glossary
Alternative operator: An operator that entered the market subsequent to the incumbent State operator losing its monopoly.
Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband ARPU: Includes revenues from the flat-rate package and value-added services but excludes one-time revenues (e.g., fees for switching from one offer to another or cancellation fees), divided by the total number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers billed for the last month of the quarter.
Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers: Subscribers who have signed up for the Group’s ADSL, VDSL or FTTH offerings.
Connectible Fiber socket: A socket for which the link between the shared access point and the optical splitter has been put in place by the building operator, which the Group can access in accordance with its co-financing commitments, and for which the connection to the Group’s network has been completed or is in progress.
EBITDAaL: Profit from ordinary activities before depreciation, amortization and impairment of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, and the impact of share-based payment expense.
Fiber take-up rate: Represents the number of Fiber subscribers as a percentage of the total number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers.
FTTH: Fiber To The Home: Data delivery technology that directly connects subscribers’ homes to an optical node (ON).
Leverage ratio: Represents the ratio between net debt (short- and long-term financial liabilities less cash and cash equivalents) and EBITDAaL.
Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers: Includes revenues billed to subscribers divided by the total number of Mobile subscribers during the period.
Net adds: Represents the difference between the total number of subscribers at the end of two different periods.
Number of active mobile subscribers –
Number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers –
Number of Home subscribers –
Number of mobile subscribers –
Number of mobile subscribers –
Number of registered mobile subscribers –
Revenues billed to subscribers: Revenues generated from services billed directly to subscribers (services included in subscribers’ mobile plans as well as additional services).
Services revenues: Revenues excluding sales of devices.
Total number of subscribers –
To read the quaterly reports please visit our website: for iliad www.iliad.fr/en and for iliad holding click here.
About the iliad Group
Created in the early 1990s, the iliad Group is the inventor of the world’s first triple-play box and has grown into a major European telecoms player, standing out for its innovative, straightforward and attractive offerings. The Group is the parent of Free in
Find out more at:
www.iliad.fr/en
Follow us on:
Twitter: @GroupeIliad
LinkedIn: Free Groupe iliad
Contacts:
Investor relations: ir@iliad.fr
Press relations: presse@iliad.fr
1 Based on a constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates.
2 2022 edition of ARCEP's customer satisfaction observatory - https://www.arcep.fr/fileadmin/cru-1651234245/user_upload/observatoire/satisfaction-client/mai_2022/Communique_j_alerte_satisfaction_client_2022.pdf
3 BVA Doxa, first-quarter 2022.
4 In terms of revenue.
Attachment
- CP_200522_Eng
© OMX, source