Iliad revenues up 8% in Q1
May 17, 2023
French telco Iliad has reported that its performance in Q1 2023 was is in line with its full-year 2022 outlook, with a strong commercial showing and an increase in revenues. Despite a much more unfavourable economic context than in first-quarter 2022 as well as higher growth capex in France, operating free cash flow generation remained high and the leverage ratio improved to 3.1x, said Iliad.
On a pro forma like-for-like basis, consolidated revenues rose 8 per cent to €2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Sales rose 7.6 per cent in France, 12.6 per cent in Italy and 7.3 per cent in Poland.
In France, the Group delivered a strong sales performance, with Free recording 172,000 net new mobile subscribers (including 207,000 4G/5G subscribers) and 42,000 net new broadband and ultra-fast broadband subscribers (including 212,000 on Fibre).
In Italy, iliad Italia added 282,000 net new Mobile subscribers and 22,000 net new Fibre subscribers in the first quarter.
In Poland, the Fiberco transaction was completed on March 31st 2023 and will enable Iliad to extend its addressable market in this country. To this end, during the first quarter, Play focused on marketing its Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband plan in UPC’s historical scope, notching up 28,000 net adds in the Fixed-line market. In the Mobile business, net adds came in at a high 69,000 for the first quarter (compared with 1,000 in the previous quarter and 68,000 in the third quarter), driven by a strong performance for postpaid plans (up 76,000) and a slower decline for prepaid plans (down 6,000).
Pro forma like-for-like EBITDAaL rose 3.8 per cent to €783 million, with each country recording a year-on-year increase. EBITDAaL growth slowed during the year, mainly due to (i) the sharp increase in energy costs, and (ii) to a lesser extent, higher network maintenance costs in line with growth capex.
The Group’s capex totalled €553 million for the first quarter of 2023, up 14 per cent year on year on a pro forma like-for-like basis. This increase was mainly driven by France, where Freebox inventories were replenished following the significant rise in new subscribers during recent quarters, most of whom are connected to Fibre and supplied with the latest generation of Freeboxes.
Despite the impact of higher energy costs on EBITDAaL and the higher level of growth capex in France and Poland, operating free cash flow remained “satisfactory” in Q1 2023, decreasing by a contained €20 million year on year to €229 million.
Thomas Reynaud, iliad’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Despite a difficult inflationary context in the first quarter, the iliad Group is reaping the benefits of its past efforts. In our three host countries, we are consolidating our leading position in the attraction of new subscribers. And we are actively preparing for the future everywhere, tapping into new markets, particularly on the B2B market, which is set to become a powerful growth driver. We are investing in infrastructure and technological excellence, as we strive to become Europe’s most innovative operator.”