• Solid EBITDAaL growth on the back of strong mobile commercial momentum and continuous cost management

    Source: Nasdaq GlobeNewswire / 21 Oct 2021 00:02:00   America/Chicago

     Press release
    Embargo until 21 October 2021 at 7:00 am
    Regulated information – Inside information

    Financial information for the third quarter of 2021 and first nine months of 2021

    Solid EBITDAaL growth on the back of strong mobile commercial momentum
    and continuous cost management

    • Mobile postpaid customer base +3.9% yoy / Cable customer base +25.5% yoy
    • Q3 Revenues +3.3% yoy / Q3 Retail service revenues +4.8% yoy
    • Q3 EBITDAaL +8.1% yoy (YTD ‘21: +8.5%)
    Q3 Operational Highlights
    • Strong growth in mobile net adds. The mobile postpaid customer base grew by 37k to 2.7m subscribers supported by the attractiveness of the Go portfolio, especially after the Go Plus data boost launched in June.
    • Love and Home offers continue their steady growth trajectory. Cable customer base increased by 17k during Q3 to 382k customers (+25.5% yoy).
    • B2C convergent ARPO decreased by 3.1% yoy to €73.1, as a result of the discounts provided on mobile tariff plans in convergence.
    • Mobile only postpaid ARPO remained stable at €20.5.


    Orange Belgium: key operating figures      
      Q3 2020 Q3 2021 change
    Mobile postpaid customer base (in ‘000) 2 615 2 718 3.9%
    Net adds (in ‘000) 21 37 75.8%
    Mobile only postpaid ARPO (€ per month) 20.5 20.5 -0.3%
    Cable customer base (in ‘000) 305 382 25.5%
    Net adds (in ‘000) 17 17 -1.1%
    B2C convergent ARPO (€ per month) 75.4 73.1 -3.1%
           


    Q3 Financial Highlights
    • Revenues reached €346.3m, up 3.3% yoy, mainly explained by an increase in retail service revenues as well as in wholesale revenues. As in previous quarters, retail service revenues continued to grow (+4.8% yoy), mainly due to convergent service revenues (+14.6% yoy). Revenue growth is also driven by a significant increase in customer and visitor roaming.
    • EBITDAaL increased by 8.1% yoy to €96.7m. The increase of retail service revenues supported by continuous cost efficiencies have been the main drivers. EBITDAaL margin reached 27.9%.
    • eCapex closed at €40.2m, slightly below Q3 2020 due to seasonality effect. A catch-up is expected in Q4 driven by the implementation of the RAN sharing deal.


    Orange Belgium Group: key financial figures            
      reported   reported reported   reported
    in €m Q3 2020 Q3 2021 change 9M 2020 9M 2021 change
    Revenues 335.3 346.3 3.3% 971.9 1 002.1 3.1%
    Retail service revenues 230.6 241.7 4.8% 676.4 702.5 3.9%
               
    EBITDAaL 89.4 96.7 8.1% 237.6 257.9 8.5%
    margin as % of revenues 26.7% 27.9% 126 bp 24.4% 25.7% 129 bp
    eCapex1 -41.9 -40.2 -4.1% -106.8 -121.5 13.8%
    Operating cash flow2 47.5 56.5 18.9% 130.7 136.3 4.3%
               
    Net financial debt 135.3 63.3   135.3 63.3  
                 
    1. eCapex excluding licence fees. In Q1 and Q3 2021 Orange Belgium paid 10.9 million euros on licence fees each quarter.
    2. Operating cash flow defined as EBITDAaL – eCapex excluding licence fees

    Xavier Pichon, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

    Orange Belgium maintained solid commercial performance over the third quarter supported by the recent enhancements to the Go portfolio and the continuous growth of our convergence offers.

    In addition, Orange Belgium continues to differentiate itself in the market while extending the range of value propositions to satisfy customers' constantly changing needs.

    We successfully launched Orange TV Lite, enabling customers to stream OTT, without having to pay a full TV subscription or needing a set-top box and hey! our new 100% digital brand, targeting ultra-connected customers leading completely digitally oriented lives.

    Antoine Chouc, Chief Financial Officer, stated:

    Our positive commercial results also delivered corresponding financial performance. Our revenues have increased 3.3% in comparison to last year mainly supported by higher retail service revenues as well as growth in wholesale revenues.

    The combination of increased retail service revenues and continuous cost management has resulted in outstanding EBITDAaL for this quarter. Regarding eCapex, we expect a catch-up in the last quarter of the year.

    Given these results, and the improved health context, we expect to slightly exceed our EBITDAaL guidance. Revenue and eCapex guidance remain unchanged.


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