[iliad press release] Press release concerning iliad's estimated
results for the six months ended June 30, 2021
Press release
Paris, July 30, 2021, 7:45 a.m.
Acceleration in growth and successful
integration of Play
financial release
This press release includes financial
information as estimated by the iliad Group at June 30, 2021. The
estimated results and financial statements contained in this press
release were prepared by the iliad Group’s Finance Department. The
iliad Group’s final financial statements for the first half of 2021
will be approved for issue by iliad’s Board of Directors on August
4, 2021 and will be published on August 5, 2021. The Group’s
Statutory Auditors are currently carrying out their review of these
financial statements.
In the first half of 2021, the iliad
Group confirmed its unique status as a European telecom operator
with strong growth potential.
- Pro forma like-for-like1 growth for
Services revenues reached 6.3% in the second quarter, up on the
4.8% increase recorded for the first three months of the
year.
- Excluding the consolidation of
Poland-based Play, the Group’s EBITDAaL rose by 17% and operating
cash flow2 edged up by a modest €22 million, with the increase in
capex in France offsetting a large portion of the decrease in
Italy's operating losses.
In France, growth picked up pace in the
second quarter, coming in at 5.0%3, with a rise in revenues for the
Fixed business – led by the commercial and financial success of the
Freebox Pop and the launch of the B2B activity – and a good
value/volume mix for Mobile.
- The Group’s first-half 2021 sales
performance in France is a tangible result of our ambitious
investment strategy aimed at giving us the best infrastructure and
the most innovative services.
- Pursuing our investments will be
key to fueling Free’s revenue and profitability growth in the
coming years. With the largest 5G network in France4, the market's
leading position in Fixed and Fiber for an alternative operator,
and the launch of Free Pro at end-March and Free Flex in early
July, Free has many major strengths that will enable it to maintain
its growth profile.
The Group's Italian business confirmed
its ability to turn commercial achievements into financial success
in the first half of 2021. Just three years after its launch, iliad
Italia has won more than 10% market share, and has recorded
positive EBITDAaL (€6 million) for the first time.
- Thanks to the 7,800 active sites it
has rolled out over the past three years, iliad Italia can now
carry over half of its own data traffic on its own network. Going
forward, it intends to continue its investment drive in order to
reinforce the appeal of its offers;
- After building up a recognized and
highly popular brand name, the Group is currently actively
preparing for the launch of its Fixed business in Italy.
The integration of Play within the iliad
Group has proved successful, with our Polish operations reporting a
better sales performance for the first half of 2021 as a whole, a
faster pace of growth in the second quarter, and a strong increase
in EBITDAaL and operating cash flow.
- Play saw its sales performance
improve in the second quarter for its mobile business, both for
subscribers on contracts and prepaid cards, recording its best
quarter in three years in terms of net adds. Overall growth in
mobile services billed to subscribers came to 8.1%, versus 5.0% in
the first quarter.
- Adjusted for the impact of the
proceeds of the sale of mobile sites to Cellnex, the Poland segment
recorded double-digit growth in EBITDAaL.
- Thanks to the strategic partnership
with Cellnex finalized on March 31, Play has strengthened its
investment capacity, enabling it to enter a new growth cycle which
will involve (i) deploying 5G, (ii) densifying its mobile network
to support growth in usages, and (iii) pursuing its objective of
entering the fixed market.
- In line with its aim of becoming a
convergent operator in Poland, the Group is working on various
projects for growing its fixed business – both organically, with
the possibility of setting up a specific vehicle in charge of fiber
rollouts, and externally, with the possibility of acquiring a
leading fixed operator. To this end, the iliad Group has put
forward an indicative offer to Liberty Global for acquiring 100% of
the share capital of UPC Poland. This offer would give UPC Poland
an enterprise value of PLN 7,300 million based on an estimated
EBITDA for 2021 of PLN 782 million. Talks are currently under
way but the Group cannot currently give any assurance as to their
successful outcome. The Group will inform the market of this
outcome in due course.
Key operating performance indicators at June 30,
2021
FRANCE |
Q2 2021e |
Q1 2021 |
3-month change |
|
|
|
|
Number of mobile subscribers |
13,345k |
13,382k |
-36k |
- o/w on the Free Mobile
Unlimited 4G/5G Plan1 |
8,754k |
8,657k |
+97k |
- o/w on the voice-based
plan |
4,592k |
4,725k |
-133k |
|
|
|
|
Number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband subscribers |
6,812k |
6,765k |
+47k |
- o/w Fiber |
3,318k |
3,071k |
+247k |
|
|
|
|
Total number of subscribers – France |
20,157k |
20,147k |
10k |
Number of connectible Fiber sockets |
22.7m |
21.1m |
1.6m |
|
|
|
|
|
Q2 2021e |
Q2 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband ARPU (in €)2 |
32.7 |
31.9 |
+2.5% |
Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers (in €)2 |
10.9 |
10.2 |
+6.9% |
|
|
|
|
ITALY |
Q2 2021e |
Q1 2021 |
3-month change |
|
|
|
|
Number of mobile subscribers |
7,820k |
7,540k |
+280k |
|
|
|
|
POLAND |
Q2 2021e |
Q1 2021 |
3-month change |
Number of registered mobile subscribers2 |
15,464k |
15,373k |
+91k |
Number of active mobile subscribers2 |
12,310k |
12,165k |
+145k |
- o/w on plans |
8,428k |
8,392k |
+36k |
- o/w prepaid |
3,882k |
3,773k |
+108k |
|
|
|
|
Number of Home subscribers2 |
198k |
162k |
+36k |
- o/w TV Box subscribers |
176k |
149k |
+27k |
- o/w Fixed Broadband/Ultra-Fast Broadband
subscribers |
22k |
13k |
+9k |
Total number of subscribers – Poland2 |
12,508k |
12,327k |
+181k |
|
|
|
|
|
Q2 2021e |
Q2 2020 |
Year-on-year change |
Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers (in PLN)3 |
27.6 |
26.5 |
+4.0% |
1 50/100/150 GB for non-Freebox subscribers.2
See glossary for definitions. 3 ARPU calculated based on revenues
billed to mobile subscribers.
Key figures and events of first-half
2021
Group
Estimated revenues
- Consolidated revenues
totaled €3.72 billion in first-half 2021, with year-on-year growth
amounting to 33.7%, both for the full six-month period and
for the second quarter. The increase was driven by the
consolidation of Play in Poland (since November 18, 2020), as well
as by the rebound in growth in France and a strong performance in
Italy. Excluding Play, consolidated revenue growth was
slightly higher in the second quarter than the first quarter,
coming in at 4.9%.
- Revenues for France came to
€2.54 billion in first-half 2021, up 2.7% for the full six months
and 3.0% in the second quarter. The year-on-year increase
was led by a 7.2% rise in Mobile services billed to subscribers and
a strong performance from Fixed services, with 5.9%
growth.
- In Italy, revenues advanced
22.9% to €383 million in the first six months of 2021, with 20.4%
growth in the second quarter. In a complicated environment
due to the pandemic and a lower churn rate in the Italian market,
iliad Italia’s growth remained solid, with revenues billed to
subscribers up by 24.9% for the full six months – nearing the 26.7%
increase posted in the first quarter.
- In Poland, revenues totaled €801
million, representing solid pro forma growth of 3.9% (in PLN) for
the first half overall, with an acceleration in the second quarter
to 4.2%. Mobile services revenues billed to subscribers swung up
8.1% in the second quarter, versus 5.0% in the first three months
of the year.
Estimated profitability
- Consolidated
EBITDAaL rose by a steep 59.5% to €1.40
billion, propelled mainly by the consolidation of Play
(€373 million contribution, including a positive impact from the
additional sale of mobiles sites to On Tower Poland – "OTP").
Excluding Play, year-on-year growth in
consolidated EBITDAaL was still a
strong 17.0%, with Italy’s EBITDAaL
moving into positive territory for the first time and
France recording a further increase.
- Profit for the period
advanced 15% to
€239 million. This was
achieved despite the gain recorded in first-half 2020 from the sale
of 51% of IFT to InfraVia.
- The Group’s operating cash
flow surged from €31 million in first-half 2020 to
€362 million in the first six months of 2021. Excluding Play,
however, operating cash flow was only €22 million higher year on
year, as the increase in capital expenditure in France largely
offset the effect of Italy's reduced cash flow losses.
France
Operational information
- The total Fixed subscriber
base rose by 90,000 in the first half of 2021,
with a 47,000 increase in the second quarter. Fiber kept
up its solid momentum, with 513,000 new subscribers taking up the
Group’s Fiber plans in the first half of 2021 (including 245,000 in
the second quarter, more or less stable compared with
second-quarter 2020). At end-June 2021, the Fiber subscriber base
stood at 3.32 million, with the penetration rate among the overall
subscriber base rising 15 points year on year to 48.7%.
- Free was number one in France for
Fixed Internet performance in the first half of 2021, according to
nPerf5, notably thanks to its excellent Fiber
services. The nPerf survey gave Free the best average download
speed in the market (535 Mbps) and the best average upload speed
(356 Mbps).
- The Free Mobile Unlimited 4G/5G
Plan (50/100/150 GB for non-Freebox subscribers) continued to do
well, with 191,000 net new subscribers during first-half 2021,
including 97,000 in the second quarter. However, the total mobile
subscriber base decreased by 30,000 net subscribers over the
six-month period, with a 36,000 net decrease in the second quarter.
This reduction was mainly due to aggressive promotions launched by
certain competitors for entry-level plans, which impacted the
subscriber base for our €2 plan.
Estimated financial information
- Services revenues generated by the
Fixed business amounted to €1.41 billion in the first half of 2021,
up 5.1% year on year.
- At €32.7, Fixed ARPU was 80 euro
cents (2.5%) higher than in the second quarter of 2020 and
10 cents higher than in first-quarter 2021. The rise in ARPU
reflects the better subscriber mix and the effect of subscribers
switching to plans that are not part of promotional
deals.
- Revenue growth for B2B picked up
pace in the second quarter of 2021, coming in at 39.9% versus 20.1%
in the first quarter.
- Mobile services revenues increased
2.0% to €1.06 billion for the first half of 2021, with a 3.7%
increase in the second quarter to €533 million.
- The Mobile business
delivered a good showing in the second quarter, with a
7.2% increase in revenues billed
to subscribers. Mobile ARPU billed to subscribers rose
6.9% to €10.9, due to the steady stream of subscribers switching
from the Série Free Plan to the Free Unlimited 4G/5G Plan.
- Other Mobile revenues (mainly
corresponding to income from voice and SMS/MMS interconnections)
decreased by 10.6% year on year to €189 million. These revenues
(which generate very low margins) were boosted in first-half 2020
by an atypical rise in volumes of voice traffic and text messages
due to the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed in
France.
- First-half revenues from sales of
devices retreated 23.2% to €79 million. The main reason for this
decline was a 33% fall in sales of smartphones in the second
quarter, reflecting the preparation of our retail system for the
new Free Flex model.
- EBITDAaL generated in France rose
6.2% to €1,019 million, representing an EBITDAaL margin of 40.1%,
up 1.3 points on first-half 2020.
- The improvement in profitability in
France was attributable to (i) an operating
leverage effect stemming from the respective €69 million
and €43 million year-on-year increases in Fixed services revenues
and Mobile services billed to subscribers, (ii) further
openings of sites equipped for 700 MHz frequencies and
deployments of new sites, giving the Group more consistent and
higher quality mobile coverage, which is encouraging subscribers to
switch to the Free Mobile Unlimited 4G/5G Plan, and (iii) a
positive contribution from “Other income and expenses from
operations, net", notably including proceeds from the sale
of mobile sites in connection with the build-to-suit program. These
factors helped offset (i) the increase in expenses related
to the use of infrastructure (taxes, rental costs, energy
costs, maintenance charges), such as the Group’s mobile sites and
Fiber network, chiefly attributable to the creation of the joint
venture with InfraVia (“IFT”), and (ii) a 16% rise in
payroll costs as a result of new
hires to support the faster pace of Fiber rollouts and connections,
and recruitments both for the mobile and hosting businesses and for
the expansion of the retail network.
The Group continued the rollouts of its Ultra-Fast fixed
and mobile networks in the first half of 2021, in line
with its aim of becoming the alternative operator of choice for
latest-generation networks. As announced on May 18, 2021, the Group
also pursued its very intense pace of rollout for 5G on the two
frequency bands that it uses (700 MHz and 3.5 GHz). Capital
expenditure in France rose 24.0% year on year to €771
million:
- The number of connectible sockets
increased by 5.9 million over 12 months, totaling 22.7 million
at end-June 2021. The Group’s Fiber plans are now available in some
10,700 municipalities (versus 8,200 at end-2020). Topping 3.3
million, the FTTH subscriber base was 50% higher at June 30, 2021
than one year earlier. The 1.1 million year-on-year increase in
subscriber numbers represents a record high for the Group in terms
of connections.
- Over 4,000 4G sites have been newly
equipped to use 700 MHz frequencies over the past 12 months,
significantly enhancing the subscriber experience. This trend is
being recognized by an increasing number of external surveys and is
expected to continue thanks to the acquisition of additional
frequency licenses in the third quarter.
- During the first half of 2021, Free
pursued its brisk pace of 5G rollouts and consolidated its position
as France’s telco with the largest 5G network. At end-June 2021,
Free had the largest number of 5G sites (all frequencies combined)
in Metropolitan France, with nearly 17,000 authorized sites
(including some 2,500 using 3.5 GHz frequencies) and over 10,200
sites that were commercially up and running (including some 1,300
using 3.5 GHz frequencies). Our very high outlay on the 5G rollout,
combined with that of other French telecom operators, means that
France is one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of 5G
availability.
- Lastly, as explained in the
first-quarter revenue release issued on May 18, 2021, the Group’s
capex also rose during first-half 2021 as a result of expenditure
incurred to secure supplies and increase inventories of components
for its Freeboxes and electronic equipment in view of the current
market
shortages.
Italy
Estimated operating and financial
information
Despite a challenging operating context
in the first half of 2021 due to ongoing Covid restrictions,
revenues generated by iliad Italia were up 22.9% year on year to
€383 million, and advanced 20.4% in the second quarter. The main
factors underlying this first-half performance are as
follows:
- iliad Italia
delivered a good sales performance during the
period despite a less favorable operating context
for a new entrant, with almost 600,000 new subscribers
since the beginning of 2021, including 280,000 in the second
quarter. The Group had a total of 7.82 million subscribers in Italy
at June 30, 2021, representing a market share of over
10%.
- The Group continued to expand its
retail network in Italy. At June 30, 2021, it had 19 stores and
more than 1,400 Simboxes in 900 kiosks located in busy catchment
areas and more than 2,000 indirect sales outlets.
- For the first time, the Italian
business made a positive contribution to consolidated EBITDAaL,
reporting a €6 million surplus compared with an €84 million
loss in first-half 2020. This positive swing was attributable to
the revenue growth deriving from the Group’s network rollout drive,
which is reflected in the €113 million increase in gross profit
over the period.
- The Group kept up the brisk
momentum of its network rollout in the first half of 2021, and at
end-June it had some 7,800 sites switched on in Italy, versus 6,100
at the end of 2020. This figure is in line with the Group's target
of having 8,500 active sites by the end of 2021, and the higher
number of sites has enabled iliad Italia to increase the portion of
traffic carried on its own network. Capital expenditure in
Italy came to €201 million, and
operating cash flow losses
declined by €112
million.
- During the first half of 2021, the
iliad Group acquired a 12.4% stake in Unieuro – Italy’s leading
distributor of electronic products. This acquisition will
strengthen the commercial partnership that already exists between
iliad and Unieuro.
Poland
Estimated operating and financial
information
Play’s revenues in Poland totaled PLN
3.64 billion in the first half of 2021, up 3.9% year on year on a
pro forma basis (as iliad has only consolidated Play since November
18, 2020). The growth figure was higher in the second quarter than
in the first, reaching 4.2%. The main factors underlying
the Poland segment's performance in the first half of 2021 were as
follows:
- Play's sales performance
improved for the second quarter in a row, thanks to (i)
its strategy of focusing on creating value by enhancing services
and launching convergent offerings, and (ii) the ramp-up of its
Home offerings (TV Box and Fixed Internet). The base of active
subscribers on contracts (excluding M2M and free SIM cards)
increased by 37,000, fueled by a better churn rate. The prepaid
subscriber base rose by 108,000 units. Most of the increase in the
mobile subscriber base – both contract and prepaid – was due to the
Play brand.
- In the Home
segment (TV Box and Fixed Internet), the subscriber base
rose by 36,000 units in the second quarter,
on a par with first-quarter growth, highlighting Play’s significant
potential in these segments.
- Play's value-focused growth
strategy has paid off, with ARPU billed to subscribers up 4.0% year
on year in the second quarter of 2021, to PLN 27.6.
- Sales of devices rose by 3.2% for
the full six-month period and by 2.6% in the second quarter.
- EBITDAaL in Poland rose 47.1% in
the first half of 2021, notably due to a significant amount of
proceeds received on the sale of 517 further sites at the close of
the OTP deal. Even excluding these proceeds, EBITDAaL saw
double-digit growth thanks to (i) higher gross profit due to a
better revenue mix, and (ii) the initial beneficial impacts of
Play's integration within the iliad Group.
- Play’s capital expenditure amounted
to PLN 292 million in the first half of 2021, down 3.3% year on
year on a pro forma basis. This slight decrease was due to the
Covid crisis. During first-half 2021, Play switched on 295 new
active sites. We strengthened our investment capacity in Poland
during the period, thanks to the completion on March 31, 2021 of
the industrial partnership with Cellnex through the sale to Cellnex
of 60% of the company that manages the Group’s passive mobile
telecommunications infrastructure in Poland. This has enabled Play
to enter a new growth cycle which will involve (i) deploying 5G,
(ii) densifying its mobile network to support growth in usages, and
(iii) entering the fixed market.
Estimated consolidated results for first-half
2021
In € millions |
H1 2021e |
H1 2020 |
% change |
Consolidated revenues |
3,722 |
2,784 |
+33.7% |
Consolidated services revenues1 |
3,478 |
2,688 |
+29.4% |
Consolidated revenues from devices |
253 |
105 |
+140.9% |
Intra-group sales |
(5) |
(4) |
+25.0% |
|
|
|
|
Revenues – France |
2,542 |
2,475 |
+2.7% |
By segment |
|
|
|
- B2C |
2,497 |
2,440 |
+2.3% |
- B2B |
45 |
35 |
29.7% |
Revenues – Italy |
383 |
312 |
+22.9% |
Revenues – Poland |
801 |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
Consolidated EBITDAaL |
1,398 |
876 |
+59.5% |
EBITDAaL – France2 |
1,019 |
960 |
+6.2% |
- B2C |
1,017 |
956 |
+6.2% |
- B2B |
3 |
4 |
-7.7% |
EBITDAaL – Italy |
6 |
(84) |
NM |
EBITDAaL – Poland |
373 |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
Consolidated capex(3) |
1,036 |
845 |
+22.7% |
Capex – France(3) |
771 |
622 |
+24.0% |
- B2C |
741 |
612 |
+21.1% |
- B2B |
30 |
9 |
NM |
Capex– Italy(3) |
201 |
223 |
-9.9% |
Capex – Poland(3) |
64 |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
Profit from ordinary activities |
579 |
218 |
+165.2% |
Profit from ordinary activities – France2 |
432 |
432 |
0.0% |
Profit/(loss) from ordinary activities – Italy |
(139) |
(214) |
-35.1% |
Profit from ordinary activities – Poland |
286 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the period |
239 |
208 |
+14.6% |
|
|
|
|
Net debt |
7,380 |
3,733 |
+97.7% |
Leverage ratio(4) |
2.75x |
2.16x |
+0.60x |
(1) Excluding intra-group sales for the
Group and for France (2) Including intra-group sales for the Group
(3) Excluding payments for frequencies. (4)
Calculated including 12-month EBITDAaL
contribution from Poland
Estimated revenues for second-quarter 2021
The table below shows the breakdown of revenues
by category for the first and second quarters of both 2021 and
2020.
In € millions |
Q2 2021e |
Q2 2020 |
% change |
Q1 2021 |
Q1 2020 |
% change |
Consolidated revenues |
1,875 |
1,402 |
+33.7% |
1,846 |
1,382 |
+33.6% |
Consolidated services revenues1 |
1,759 |
1,348 |
+30.4% |
1,719 |
1,339 |
+28.3% |
Consolidated revenues from devices |
122 |
58 |
+109.2% |
131 |
45 |
+192.5% |
Total intra-group sales |
(3) |
(2) |
NM |
(3) |
(3) |
NM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues – France |
1,280 |
1,242 |
+3.1% |
1,263 |
1,233 |
+2.4% |
By type of revenues |
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Services |
1,246 |
1,187 |
+5.0% |
1,221 |
1,190 |
+2.6% |
Fixed services |
712 |
672 |
+6.0% |
692 |
663 |
+4.4% |
Mobile services |
533 |
514 |
+3.7% |
529 |
527 |
+0.3% |
o/w billed to subscribers |
438 |
408 |
+7.2% |
436 |
422 |
+3.4% |
o/w other2 |
96 |
106 |
-9.3% |
93 |
105 |
-11.8% |
- Devices |
36 |
58 |
-38.4% |
43 |
45 |
-3.4% |
- Intra-group sales – France |
(2) |
(3) |
NM |
(1) |
(1) |
NM |
By segment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
- B2C |
1,255 |
1,224 |
+2.5% |
1,242 |
1,216 |
+2.2% |
- B2B |
24 |
18 |
39.9% |
21 |
17 |
+20.1% |
Revenues – Italy |
195 |
162 |
+20.4% |
188 |
150 |
+25.1% |
- Mobile services |
193 |
160 |
+20.6% |
186 |
149 |
+24.2% |
o/w billed to subscribers |
150 |
120 |
+24.9% |
145 |
114 |
+26.7% |
o/w other2 |
43 |
40 |
+7.6% |
41 |
34 |
+20.2% |
Revenues – Poland3 |
404 |
- |
- |
398 |
- |
- |
- Services |
319 |
- |
- |
312 |
- |
- |
o/w Mobile services billed to subscribers |
224 |
- |
- |
218 |
- |
- |
o/w Interconnection & other services4 |
93 |
- |
- |
86 |
- |
- |
o/w Home |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
- Devices |
85 |
- |
- |
86 |
- |
- |
(1) Excluding intra-group sales for the Group
and for France (2) Mainly interconnection revenues (3) EUR/PLN:
4.54574 (4) Mainly interconnection, wholesale and B2B services
revenues
Comparison of estimated results for first-half 2021
and first-half 2020
In € millions |
H1 2021 |
H1 2020 |
% change |
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
3,722 |
2,784 |
+33.7% |
|
|
|
|
Purchases used in production |
1,293 |
1,014 |
+27.5% |
|
|
|
|
Gross profit |
2,429 |
1,771 |
+37.2% |
as a % of revenues |
65.3% |
63.6% |
+1.7 pts |
|
|
|
|
Payroll costs |
(225) |
(160) |
+41.1% |
External charges |
(447) |
(297) |
+50.5% |
Taxes other than on income |
(102) |
(79) |
+28.6% |
Additions to provisions |
(48) |
(32) |
+50.3% |
Other income and expenses from operations, net |
146 |
(11) |
NM |
Depreciation of right-of-use assets |
(355) |
(315) |
+12.6% |
|
|
|
|
EBITDAaL |
1,398 |
876 |
+59.5% |
as a % of revenues |
37.6% |
31.5% |
+6.1 pts |
|
|
|
|
Share-based payment expense |
(21) |
(18) |
+15.5% |
Depreciation, amortization and provisions for impairment |
(798) |
(640) |
+24.7% |
|
|
|
|
Profit from ordinary activities |
579 |
218 |
+165.2% |
|
|
|
|
Other operating income and expense, net |
(50) |
231 |
NM |
|
|
|
|
Operating profit |
529 |
450 |
+17.7% |
|
|
|
|
Interest expense |
(90) |
(39) |
+133.4% |
Other financial income and expense, net |
(128) |
(80) |
+60.0% |
Corporate income tax |
(85) |
(135) |
-37.2% |
|
|
|
|
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees |
12 |
13 |
-1.0% |
|
|
|
|
Profit for the period |
239 |
208 |
+14.6% |
Estimated consolidated debt
At June 30, 2021, the Group had gross debt of
€8,987 million and net debt of €7,380 million (excluding the impact
of IFRS 16). At the same date, it had sufficient liquidity to
finance its operations, with €1.6 billion in consolidated cash and
cash equivalents and €2.1 billion in undrawn revolving credit
facilities.
The Group is pursuing its strategy of investing
in major industrial projects that will generate substantial future
cash flows, while maintaining its solid financial structure and
significant access to financing. At June 30, 2021, the Group’s
leverage ratio including Play (based on a 12-month contribution to
EBITDAaL) was a contained 2.75x EBITDAaL.
On May 18, 2021, the Group announced that it
intended to sell its 30% stake in On Tower France and to dedicate
part of the sale proceeds to its capital expenditure programs. At
this stage of the talks, the Group expects this stake to be valued
at over €700 million. Firmly convinced that the rollout of 5G will
be a major growth driver for the iliad Group in the coming years,
the Group decided to dedicate a portion of the proceeds of this
sale to accelerating its capex program for 5G infrastructure in
France.
Group objectives
As well as the effect it is continuing to have
on people’s lives, the Covid-19 pandemic is still weighing heavily
on the economies of many countries. In 2020, the social and
financial impacts of the virus on the iliad Group were limited.
However, for 2021 and beyond, the pandemic could affect the iliad
Group and its objectives, just as it may affect all
telecommunications companies. Potential impacts include a shortage
of certain electronic components and a slower rollout of Fixed and
Mobile networks.
FRANCE
Long-term goal for the B2C market: 25% share of
the Mobile, Broadband and Ultra-Fast Broadband markets
- B2C
- Fixed
- More than 5 million Fiber
subscribers by 2023
- 30 million connectible Fiber
sockets by end-2022
- Mobile
- Over 80% of the subscriber base
signed up to the Free Mobile Unlimited 4G/5G Plan6 by
2024
- Over 25,000 sites by
2023
- Financial targets
- 2021: EBITDAaL less capex
(excluding B2B activities) of more than €600 million (target
revised (i) following the decision to allocate part of the future
proceeds from the sale of On Tower France to our 5G capital
expenditure program, and (ii) to secure supplies and increase
inventories of components for our Freeboxes and other electronic
equipment in view of the current market shortages and, to a lesser
extent, of fiercer competition on the mobile market in France in
second-quarter 2021)
- B2B
- B2B market share of around 4% to 5%
by 2024
- B2B revenues of between €400
million and €500 million by 2024
ITALY
- Mobile
- Have around 8,500 active sites by
end-2021
- Have rolled out between 10,000 and
12,000 sites by end-2023
- Fixed
- Launch the Fixed business after
summer 2021
- Financial targets
- Achieve positive EBITDAaL for
full-year 2021
- Generate €1.5 billion in revenues
in Italy in the long term
POLAND
- Increase EBITDAaL less capex in
2021 – on a 12-month pro forma basis
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 FTTH 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.
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 total subscribers at the end of two different
periods.
Number of active mobile subscribers –
Poland: Represents, at the end of a given period, the
total number of subscribers, identified by their telephone lines,
who have subscribed to a Play mobile offering (excluding M2M and
free SIM cards) and who have issued or received at least one
communication (voice or data) during the preceding 30 days.
Number of Broadband and Ultra-Fast
Broadband subscribers – France: Represents, at the end of
a given period, the total number of subscribers, identified by
their telephone lines, who have signed up for a Free or Alice
Broadband or Ultra-Fast Broadband offering, excluding those
recorded as having requested the termination of their
subscription.
Number of Home subscribers –
Poland: Represents, at the end of a given period, the
number of subscribers who have signed up to a TV Box plan or a
fixed Broadband or Ultra-Fast Broadband plan, excluding those
recorded as having requested the termination of their
subscription.
Number of mobile subscribers –
France: Represents, at the end of a given period, the
total number of subscribers, identified by their telephone lines,
who have subscribed to a Free mobile offering, excluding those
recorded as having requested the termination of their
subscription.
Number of mobile subscribers –
Italy: Represents, at the end of a given period, the total
number of subscribers, identified by their telephone lines, who
have subscribed to an iliad Italia mobile offering and who have
issued or received at least one communication during the preceding
three months.
Number of registered mobile subscribers
– Poland: Represents, at the end of a given period, the
total number of subscribers, identified by their telephone lines,
who have subscribed to a Play mobile offering (including M2M cards
and free SIM cards), excluding those recorded as having requested
the termination of their subscription.
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 –
Poland: Represents, at the end of a given period, the
number of active mobile subscribers in Poland and the number of
Home subscribers in Poland
.
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 France, iliad in Italy and Play in Poland,
has some 15,000 employees serving 42.7 million subscribers, and
generated €5.9 billion in revenues in 2020. In France, the Group is
an integrated Fixed and Mobile Ultra-Fast Broadband operator and
had over 20 million retail subscribers at June 30, 2021 (13.3
million mobile subscribers and 6.8 million fixed subscribers). On
March 23, 2021, it launched its B2B activity in France under the
Free Pro brand. In Italy – where the Group launched its business in
2018 under the iliad brand, becoming the country’s fourth mobile
operator – it had over 7.8 million subscribers at end-June 2021.
With the acquisition of the Polish mobile operator Play in November
2020, the iliad Group has become Europe’s sixth-largest mobile
operator by number of subscribers (excluding M2M). iliad is listed
on Euronext Paris (under the ILD ticker symbol).
Find out more at:
www.iliad.fr/en
Follow us on:
Twitter @GroupeIliadLinkedIn Free Groupe
iliad
Contacts:
Investor relations: ir@iliad.frPress relations:
presse@iliad.fr
Exchange: Euronext Paris |
Market place: Eurolist A of Euronext Paris (SRD) |
Ticker symbol: ILD |
ISIN: FR0004035913 |
FTSE classification: 974 Internet |
Member of Euro Stoxx, SBF 120, CAC Mid 100 |
1 Calculated as if Play had been consolidated as
from January 1, 20202 EBITDAaL less capex (excluding payments for
frequencies)3 Growth in Services revenues4 By number of sites5 In
the nPerf performance survey of fixed Internet connections in
Metropolitan France published on July 16, 2021, in terms of average
FTTH speeds in first-half 2021, Free was ranked number one both for
download speed (534.8 Mbps) and for upload speed (356.1 Mbps).
Survey based on 3,529,013 tests carried out between January 1, 2021
and June 30, 2021 on Ultra-Fast Broadband lines (FTTH, cable and
VDSL2) by users of the nPerf tool in Metropolitan France. See
www.nperf.com for the full survey and the methodology used.6
50/100/150 GB for non-Freebox subscribers