The Group gains customers across all business areas - fixed-line and mobile phone services, broadband and TV -, and increases revenue and profitability following the consolidation of operators in the north of Spain
Bilbao, 3 May 2018. This morning the Euskaltel Group announced its results for the first quarter of 2018, showing 26.6% growth in revenue to reach Euros 176.6 million and a net profit of Euros 14.6 million, 10.9% up on the first quarter of the previous year.
EBITDA amounted to Euros 84.2 million, having risen 23.8%, entailing a revenue margin of 47.7%. Operating cash flow (difference between EBITDA and investments) reached Euros 50.3 million, having grown 12.3% on the previous year, with a 28.5% revenue margin that would be 31.5% setting aside the Group?s expansion plan.
In its announcement to investors, the Euskaltel Group's CEO, Francisco Arteche, emphasised that these results reflect in all respects the commitments made to the market: "We have honoured our market announcement: a net rise in new customers and growth in revenue, EBITDA and profits".
The first-quarter balance sheet shows an increase in products and services contracted by customers in all businesses, with 25,000 new contracts, which confirms the positive trend that began in 2017. Euskaltel, R and Telecable have over 2.3 million products contracted by customers. In the words of the Euskaltel Group's CEO, "the fine performance of products contracted by customers in the first quarter is the result of a successful bundling strategy and a convergent offering of high added-value products that our customers have welcomed and view as a distinctive proposal".
As regards the business segment, the performance in the first quarter of 2018 confirms the positive trend that began at the end of the previous year, with 2.5% revenue growth to reach Euros 49.3 million.
Thanks to the company's convergent strategy, the portfolio of high added-value customers with contracts for 3 and 4 products continues to grow and now accounts for 68.6% of the total customer base, representing an average of 3.6 products contracted per user.
The increase in the contracting of services and products in the residential segment has led to a record penetration rate: 85.4% of customers have broadband (44 basis points above the previous period), 78.9% have a mobile phone (up 177 basis points) and 69.3% have pay TV (up 97 basis points).
First-quarter growth is attributable a sound performance in all segments. Mobile telephony has reaffirmed its leading position with a total of 18,000 new lines to reach 933,000 lines.
As regards pay TV, over 6,000 new customers in the quarter confirm the success of initiatives and products such as the new Deco 4K Android. Nearly 400,000 users currently enjoy the additional TV services offered by Euskaltel, which will soon include a special button to access Netflix content through the TV's remote control.
Broadband products contracted grew by over 3,000 in the first three months of 2018 to reach 492,000 users, while fixed-line services again achieved a high net increase, confirming the growth trend observed in the previous quarter in all the Group's business segments.
This growth has been boosted by the expansion process in Navarre, where Euskaltel has already opened its first point of sale in the town of Ansoain and has begun to sell the latest fixed-line, mobile, broadband and television products and services, the first customers in the region having already signed up./p>
In the first quarter, the Group continued the network quality and capacity modernisation process that began in 2017, having focused on upgrading the network standard from Docsis 3.0 to Docsis 3.1. This upgrade will provide additional speed, products and services for customers in the Basque Country, Galicia and Asturias.
As regards the Group's shareholder remuneration policy, the Board of Directors proposed the payment of a final dividend to shareholders of Euros 0.278 per share out of the net profit for 2017, which has to be approved by the General Shareholders' Meeting.
This dividend of Euros 0.278 per share entails a yield of 3.9% on the average share price for the last month of 2017 and is equivalent to a 100% payout of consolidated net profit.
The Board of Directors agreed to distribute an interim dividend of Euros 0.127 per share, equivalent to Euros 22.7 million, which was paid out on 1 February. The complementary dividend of Euros 0.151 per share, proposed by the Board of Directors, has to be approved by the forthcoming General Shareholders' Meeting.
When announcing the first-quarter results, Francisco Arteche summarised the Euskaltel Group's performance as follows: "We have won new customers in all business areas (fixed-line, mobile, broadband and television services) and we have grown in revenue and profitability following the consolidation of the operators in the north of Spain, as we announced to the market".
"Our first-quarter results show that we have begun to reap the rewards of all the work and initiatives undertaken in recent months, in terms of both commercial and organisational integration. We are convinced that the transformation that we announced to the market and is in progress will make us a much more competitive operator", he highlighted.
With his sights set on upcoming challenges, the Euskaltel Group's CEO said that "they remain highly demanding as regards the net increase in customers and revenue growth, sustainable growth in the business segment, the simplification and unification of business processes and, above all, the improvement of our customers? experience, placing special emphasis on offering the best Television service and the best Broadband experience (including WiFi at home and in the street), as well as becoming the best partner to accompany businesses and institutions in their digital transformation".
Euskaltel - Communication Department
94-4011229
comunicacion@euskaltel.com