Results third quarter 2009 Mobistar

Transcription

1 Results third quarter 2009 Mobistar

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3 P.3 Table of contents Press release 4 Management report 10 Quarterly results 16

4 P.4 Press release Embargo until 23/10/2009 at 7 a.m. Regulated information Outlook for the 2009 financial year confirmed Brussels, 23 October 2009 Today, Mobistar publishes its financial results for the third quarter of In an unfavourable economic climate with continuous regulatory pressure, Mobistar confirms its forecasts for the 2009 financial year. Key facts: Consolidated turnover reached 1,147.7 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 0.7 % compared with the end of September The Mobistar group ended the third quarter of 2009 with an EBITDA margin of 39.2 % of service revenues, compared with 41.5 % a year earlier. This decline is mainly due to regulatory measures. The total number of active mobile customers of the Mobistar group was 3,813,836 at the end of third quarter of 2009, an increase of 1.6 % compared with the end of September The number of Mobistar postpaid customers rose by 7.5 % over a one-year period to 2,033,441 at the end of September The number of Mobistar machine-to-machine cards was 120,673 at the end of September 2009, an increase of 21.3 % compared with the previous year. The fixed and mobile broadband offering is still proving a great success. Mobistar doubled its number of customers for ADSL, Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere in a year, rising from 53,694 at the end of September 2008 to 111,015 a year later. Between the end of September 2008 and the end of September 2009, the share of mobile data in telephony revenue of Mobistar rose by 35.1 % from 21.1 % to 28.5 % in a year. On 28 October 2009, VOXmobile, Mobistar s Luxembourg subsidiary, will become operational under the Orange brand. Mobistar S.A. has signed a cooperation agreement with KPN Belgium for the deployment of their respective network infrastructure.

5 P.5 1. Consolidated figures for the Mobistar group Mobistar group s consolidated key figures 9 months to 30 September months to 30 September 2008 Variation Total active customers Mobistar S.A., VOXmobile and MVNO s (mobile telephony) 3,813,836 3,752, % Consolidated turnover (million ) 1, , % Total service revenues (million ) 1, , % EBITDA (1) (million ) % Consolidated net profit (million ) % Net profit per ordinary share (2) ( ) (2) % Net investment (million ) % Results At the end of the third quarter of 2009, the Mobistar group registered 3,813,836 active customers in mobile telephony, an increase of 1.6 % compared with the 3,752,491 active customers a year earlier. The group s consolidated turnover amounted to 1,147.7 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 0.7 % compared with the 1,139.3 million euros at the end of September The consolidated EBITDA fell by 6.6 % due to regulatory measures (MTR and roaming), down from million euros at the end of September 2008 to million euros a year later. The EBITDA margin on service revenues was 39.2 % at 30 September 2009 compared with 41,5 % a year earlier. At the end of the third quarter of 2009, the Mobistar group recorded consolidated net profit of million euros, a fall of 9.2 % in comparison with the million euros at the end of September Net profit per share fell by 7.4 %, from 3.52 euros (2) per share on 30 September 2008 to 3.26 euros a year later. Investments In the first nine months of 2009, Mobistar invested 97.9 million euros, mainly in the further deployment of its network infrastructure. These continuing investments in the network enable Mobistar to offer a mobile broadband network technology. To date, EDGE coverage has reached 99 % of the population, and 3G/HSDPA covers 87 % of the population with a total of 4,710 sites. As part of the development of its 3G network, Mobistar S.A. has signed a cooperation agreement with KPN Belgium. Thanks to this cooperation on acquisition and construction of new sites, the two operators networks will be deployed more efficiently, which will benefit end-users as well as complying with new emission standards. (1) EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation. (2) Based on the number of ordinary shares on 30/09/08, except shares held by Mobistar (61,293,387). The weighted net profit per ordinary share (IFRS) on the first nine months of the year is 3.44 euros per share.

6 P.6 2. Mobistar S.A. (activities in Belgium) Key figures Mobistar S.A. 9 months to 30 September months to 30 September 2008 Variation Total active customers (3) Mobistar S.A. (mobile telephony) 3,420,702 3,358, % Number of MVNO customers (mobile telephony) 313, , % Total number of active customers Mobistar S.A. + MVNO s (mobile telephony) 3,733,733 3,674, % ARPU (4) (euros/month/active customer) % Total turnover (million ) 1, , % Total service revenues (million ) 1, , % A strategy focused on value creation Mobistar decided not to follow some of its competitors which launched aggressive promotional campaigns on the prepaid market, but rather to focus on signing up new postpaid customers, and boosting the loyalty of its existing customers, in order to create more value for the company. This approach has paid off. The launch of innovative products such as mobile television with HD technology, and Internet Everywhere Ticket, and growing sales of smartphones also contributed to creating value for the operator. Mobistar started selling the new iphone 3GS in June 2009, and the HTC Hero in August 2009, and currently has the largest smartphone offering on the market. The share of mobile data in total service revenues rose by 35.1 %, up from 21.1 % on 30 September 2008 to 28.5 % a year later. Evolution of the customer base: more and more postpaid customers At the end of the third quarter of 2009, Mobistar registered 3,733,733 active customers for mobile telephony, an increase of 1.6 % compared with the 3,674,984 active customers a year earlier. The number of postpaid customers continues to rise, and was 2,033,441 at the end of September The proportion of postpaid customers in the customer base rose to 59.4 % at the end of September 2009, compared with 56.3 % a year earlier. The number of Tempo and MVNO customers fell, due to the aggressive summer promotions by certain competitors on the prepaid market, and the de-activation of unused SIM cards in the MVNO customer base. Sales drives to promote broadband services paid off: the number of customers opting for the fixed and mobile broadband offering increased, rising from 53,694 ADSL, Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere customers at the end of September 2008 to 111,015 a year later. The number of ADSL customers rose by 55.2 % in a year, rising from 21,520 at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to 33,397 at the end of September The number of Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere customers rose from 32,174 on 30 September 2008 to 77,618 a year later, an increase of 141 %. (3) Machine-to-machine cards and MVNO cards are not included in the number of active customers. (4) Average Revenue per User (ongoing average of the 12 previous months), excluding MVNOs.

7 P.7 On the business market, the success of the convergent approach has resulted in a growth in the number of One Office Voice Pack (OOVP) and One Office Full Pack (OOFP) customers. At the end of September 2009, a total of 27,975 businesses had signed up to Mobistar packages combining fixed and mobile telephone and the Internet. On 30 September 2009, Mobistar also had 142,097 active fixed telephone lines, which represents a growth of 24 % compared with 114,618 fixed lines recorded a year earlier. Evolution of the ARPU Average revenue per user per month decreased from euros at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to euros a year later. This fall is mainly due to the reduction in roaming tariffs in July 2009 and in the mobile termination rates in May and July Turnover At the end of the third quarter of 2009, Mobistar recorded total service revenues of 1,048.3 million euros, a decrease of 1.2 % compared with 1,061.4 million euros a year earlier. This decline is a direct consequence of the cut in roaming tariffs in July 2009 and in the MTR tariffs in May and July The reduction in total service revenues is partly adjusted by the growth in fixed line products (ADSL, OOVP and OOFP), increased usage of mobile data, and the success of machine-to-machine applications. Sales of mobile phones, with smartphones leading the way had a favourable influence on total turnover. Mobistar s total turnover was 1,118.9 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009 compared with 1,112.9 million euros at the end of September 2008, a slight increase of 0.5 %. 3. VOXmobile (activities in Luxembourg) Key figures VOXmobile S.A. 9 months to 30 September months to 30 September 2008 Variation Total active customers (mobile telephony) 80,103 77, % ARPU (4) (euros/month/active customer) % Total turnover (million ) % Total service revenues (million ) % On 30 September 2009, the Luxembourg subsidiary VOXmobile registered 80,103 active customers for mobile telephony, a 3.3 % increase on the 77,507 active customers a year earlier. The total turnover of VOXmobile was up 18.4 %, from 28.2 million euros on 30 September 2008 to 33.4 millions euros a year later. Service revenues also rose considerably, reaching 28.1 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009, compared with 25 million euros at the end of September 2008, or an increase of 12.4 %.

8 P.8 The average revenue per user per month of the Luxembourg customers rose by 9.1 %. ARPU rose from euros per month per customer at the end of September 2008 to euros on 30 September VOXmobile will adopt the Orange brand with effect on 28 October The rebranding has no impact whatever on the shareholder structure of VOXmobile. The company remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mobistar S.A. 4. Trends In an unfavourable economic climate with continuous regulatory pressure, Mobistar confirms its forecasts for the 2009 financial year. The expected negative impact of the regulation for MTR and roaming for 2009 on total revenues is approximately 35 million euros. In this context, Mobistar expects an equal level of turnover as in 2008, and an EBITDA margin of total service revenues close to 40 %. The net result is expected to be between 240 and 260 million euros and the investment level approximately 10 % of total service revenues.

9 SM P.9 Mobistar (EURONEXT BRUSSELS: MOBB) is one of the main actors in the world of telecommunications in Belgium and Luxembourg, active in mobile telephony, fixed telephony, ADSL and on other markets with a strong growth potential. The company develops innovative products and services for the residential and the business market. Mobistar is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange and is part of the France Télécom group. MOBB LISTED NYSE EURONEXT For For more more information, please contact: Patti Patti Verdoodt Verdoodt - Press: - press: +32 (0) (0) press@mail.mobistar.be - Christophe Lemaître Lemaître - Investor - Investor relations: relations: +32 (0) (0) ir@mail.mobistar.be - ir@mail.mobistar.be

10 P.10 Management report for the third quarter Highlights of the third quarter 2009 Mobility strategy In an unfavourable economic market, Mobistar is moving forward with its mobility centric strategy. During the summer months, the residential market was characterised by aggressive promotional campaigns launched by some competitors. Mobistar decided not to engage in such campaigns as the company is much more focused on value share and not on market share. Mobile data remains one of the important growthdrivers of this value strategy. Mobistar started to sell the new iphone 3GS in Belgium on 26 June 2009, of which the success is supporting the equipment sales in the 3rd quarter. In September 2009, Mobistar launched as a first operator in Belgium HD (high definition) technology for mobile television on the iphone 3G and 3GS. Mobistar also expanded its mobile television range in a partnership with public broadcasting companies VRT and RTBF. In September 2009, Mobistar launched Internet Everywhere Ticket, the first rechargeable SIM card for mobile internet on a PC. Mobistar developed mobile internet without a subscription for occasional users in Belgium or foreigners visiting Belgium. The Internet Everywhere Ticket is a prepaid sim card that is rechargeable depending on the customer s needs. Customers can only use this prepaid mobile internet service on their PC in Belgium. Thanks to this formula, customers are in full control of their mobile internet costs in Belgium anytime. The number of mobile Internet customers continues to grow. At the end of September 2009, the total number of Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere customers was 77,618. The total number of ADSL customers was 33,397 at the end of September The number of AtHome customers increased, reaching at the end of the 3rd quarter of In the professional segment, the convergent products One Office Voice Pack and One Office Full Pack continue to enjoy great success in a market suffering from the negative effects of the economic crisis. In the market for machine-to-machine applications, Mobistar is the market leader in Belgium with 120,673 SIM cards on 30 September Evolution of the customer base At the end of the third quarter of 2009, Mobistar registered 3,733,733 active customers for mobile telephony, an increase of 1.6 % compared with the 3,674,984 active customers a year earlier. The number of postpaid customers continues to rise, and was 2,033,441 at the end of September The proportion of postpaid customers in the customer base rose to 59.4 % at the end of September 2009, compared with 56.3 % a year earlier. The number of Tempo and MVNO customers fell, due to the aggressive summer promotions by certain competitors on the prepaid market, and the de-activation of unused SIM cards in the MVNO customer base. Sales drives to promote broadband services paid off: the number of customers opting for the fixed and mobile broadband offering increased, rising from 53,694 ADSL, Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere customers at the end of September 2008 to 111,015 a year later. The number of ADSL customers rose by 55.2 % in a year, rising from 21,520 at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to 33,397 at the end of September The number of

11 P.11 Internet Everywhere and Business Everywhere customers rose from 32,174 on 30 September 2008 to 77,618 a year later, an increase of 141 %. On the business market, the success of the convergent approach has resulted in a growth in the number of One Office Voice Pack (OOVP) and One Office Full Pack (OOFP) customers. At the end of September 2009, a total of 27,975 businesses had signed up to Mobistar packages combining fixed and mobile telephone and the Internet. On 30 September 2009, Mobistar also had 142,097 active fixed telephone lines, which represents a growth of 24 % compared with 114,618 fixed lines recorded a year earlier. Evolution of the average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) Average revenue per user per month decreased from euros at the end of the third quarter of 2008 to euros a year later. This fall is mainly due to the reduction in roaming tariffs in July 2009 and in the mobile termination rates in May and July VOXmobile On 30 September 2009, the Luxembourg subsidiary VOXmobile registered 80,103 active customers for mobile telephony, a 3.3 % increase on the 77,507 active customers a year earlier. The total turnover of VOXmobile was up 18.4 %, from 28.2 million euros on 30 September 2008 to 33.4 millions euros a year later. Service revenues also rose considerably, reaching 28.1 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009, compared with 25 million euros at the end of September 2008, or an increase of 12.4 %. The average revenue per user per month of the Luxembourg customers rose by 9.1 %. ARPU rose from euros per month per customer at the end of September 2008 to euros on 30 September VOXmobile will adopt the Orange brand with effect on 28 October The rebranding has no impact whatever on the shareholder structure of VOXmobile. The company remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mobistar S.A. Network development In the first nine months of 2009, Mobistar invested 97.9 million euros. The operator decided to defer a number of network investments due to (1) the negociation period regarding the decrees for the implementation of the new 3V/m-norm in the Brussels Capital Region, (2) the planned IT renewal and (3) the entry into force of a cooperation agreement for site management with KPN Belgium. On 8 October 2009, Mobistar and KPN Belgium signed indeed an agreement to seek maximum synergies in the field of acquisition, construction and operation of new sites for the future deployment of their respective mobile networks. This collaboration is expected to generate considerable cost savings for Mobistar in the next few years. The Mobistar network had sites at the end of September 2009, 579 of which were shared. This corresponds to a total of cells.

12 P Comments on the financial situation The consolidation scope did not change during the 3rd quarter of It encompasses Mobistar S.A., the Luxemburg company VOXmobile S.A. and 50 % of the temporary joint venture Irisnet. Income statement At the end of September 2009, the Mobistar group registred 3,813,836 active customers, an increase of 1,6 % compared with the 3,752,491 active customers a year earlier. The group s consolidated turnover amounted to 1.147,7 million euros at the end of the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 0.7 % compared with the 1.139,3 million euros at the end of September The consolidated EBITDA fell by 6.6 %, from 450,4 million euros at the end of September 2008 to million euros a year later. Mobistar elaborated a plan for optimising its expenditure. The EBITDA margin of total service revenues, which was still 39.0 % for the first six months ended 30 June 2009, slightly increased during the third quarter of During that period, the EBITDA margin rose to 39.4 %, which enables Mobistar to close the first nine months of 2009 with an EBITDA margin of 39,2 % of total service revenues. At the end of the first nine months of 2009, the Mobistar group recorded consolidated net profit of million euros, a fall of 9.2 % in comparison with the million euros at the end of September 2008 as a consequence of the lower EBITDA margin and an increase in the financial costs. Net profit per share fell by 7.4 %, from 3.52 euros per share on 30 September 2008 to 3.26 euros a year later. Balance sheet The consolidated balance sheet total reached 1,146.2 million euros on 30 September 2009, compared to 1,200.3 million euros recorded at the end of the previous financial year. Non-current assets were million euros at the end of September 2009, compared with million euros at the end of This slight fall results mainly from the fact that the investments made during the first nine months of 2009 were lower than the depreciation charges, at 97.9 million euros and million euros respectively. Current assets decreased from million euros at the end of 2008 to million euros at the end of September 2009, following a decrease in trade receivables. Equity fell from million euros at the end of 2008 to million euros on 30 September This reduction results from the dividend paid on the 2008 result, which was approved by the General Meeting of 6 May 2009, of a total amount of million euros, and for which the ordinary dividend was paid on 15 May 2009 and the extraordinary dividend on 14 August The net result of million euros made during the first nine months of 2009 partially compensated this fall. Non-current liabilities increased from 91.8 million euros at the end of 2008 to million euros at the end of September 2009 due to the increase of long term financial debt.

13 P.13 Current liabilities decreased from million euros on 31 December 2008 to million euros at the end of the third quarter of This decrease is mainly due to the trade payables for million euros and the short term financial debt for million euros, partially compensated by the increase of the tax payables for million euros. Financial instruments, financial risks management objectives and policy No change has occurred in comparison with the information contained in the 2008 annual report (p. 14). Disputes The disputes related information listed in the annual report 2008 and the quarterly reports related to the results of the first quarter and first semester 2009 have been modified as follows: Masts: The total receivable amount of taxes charged, plus default interest calculated at the legal rate, amounts to 33.3 million euros and is subject to a bad debt provision for the whole amount, of which 5.3 million euros corresponds to the first nine months of Mobile Terminating rates: The Court of Appeal has annulled in its decision dated 30 June 2009 the BIPT decisions adopted in August 2006 and in December 2007 mainly regarding the MTR glidepath. The appeal on the 29 April 2008 decision is still pending. Belgacom Mobile s abuse of dominant position: Mobistar intervened in a court case brought by KPN Group Belgium against Proximus in which KPN Group Belgium claims punitive damages as compensation for abuse of dominant position practices. Mobistar also accuses Proximus of abuse of dominant position practices and asks for compensation for damage incurred as the result of these practices. In May 2007, the Commercial Court of Brussels rendered a decision confirming Proximus dominant position between 1999 and 2004 and naming experts to decide on certain abuses and to calculate the damage suffered by Mobistar and KPN Group Belgium. The experts preliminary report has been communicated to the parties on 2 October It confirms the charges against Proximus and evaluates the damages suffered by KPN Group Belgium and Mobistar to be 1.18 billion. Once finalized and after having taken into account the remarks of the parties, the report will be communicated to the Commercial Court to settle the case. Belgacom Mobile s abuse of dominant position: in its decision dated 26 May 2009, the Competition Council has fined Belgacom Mobile for abuse of its dominant position by adopting squeezing prices on mobile market during the years 2004 and Mobistar has appealed that decision. Mobistar requests the Court of Appeal to annul the Council decision mainly because the Council rejected the grounds of abuse against Belgacom Mobile for loyalty discounts during the years , discrimination on net / off net for the period and squeeze for the years Belgacom Mobile and KPN Group Belgium have also appealed that decision. Belgacom s abuse of dominant position on the broadband market: Mobistar together with KPN Belgium has lodged a complaint before the European Commission against Belgacom for abuse of its dominant position on the broadband market. Access to local loop and bitstream: complaints lodged before the Competition Council to be granted reasonable

14 P.14 access, i.e. non discriminatory and cost oriented vis-à-vis the retail offer Discovery Line and access to ADSL2+ at bitstream level remain pending. Mobistar, together with KPN Belgium, has also appealed against the decisions of the BIPT dated June 11 and June 25, 2008 fixing the rates for wholesale ADSL2+ bitstream access. 2G licenses renewal: On 25 November 2008, the BIPT and the Minister of Enterprise and Simplification adopted each a decision stating that Mobistar s 2G license ending on 27 November 2010 would not be automatically renewed. A similar decision was issued vis-à-vis Proximus and Base. Mobistar appealed against the decision of the BIPT before the Court of Appeal, asking the suspension and the annulment of the decision, through an action lodged on 24 December Mobistar appealed against the decision of the Minister before the Council of State asking the suspension and the annulment of the decision, through an action lodged on 24 December After having annulled the BIPT decision regarding the 2G license of Proximus by its decision dated 20 July 2009, the Court of Appeal has also annulled the BIPT decision not to renew tacitly the 2G license of Mobistar in its decision dated 22 September The Court of Appeal indicates that the power to adopt such decision rests within the BIPT and not the Minister but that in the present case, the BIPT decision is void for lack of motivation and disrespect of procedural rules. As a consequence, the 2G license of Mobistar is renewed for 5 years, until November 2015, in the same conditions. 3. Trends In an unfavourable economic climate with continuous regulatory pressure, Mobistar confirms its forecasts for the 2009 financial year. The expected negative impact of the regulation for MTR and roaming for 2009 on total revenues is approximately 35 million euros. In this context, Mobistar expects an equal level of turnover as in 2008, and an EBITDA margin of total service revenues close to 40 %. The net result is expected to be between 240 and 260 million euros and the investment level approximately 10 % of total service revenues.

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16 P.16 Quarterly results Subscriber base evolution Quarterly figures 2008 FY 2008 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Mobistar S.A. Mobile customers (excl MVNO, MATMA) in thousand of which Postpaid in thousand of which Prepaid in thousand MVNO customers in thousand VOXmobile customers in thousand TOTAL MOBISTAR GROUP in thousand ARPU evolution Blended ARPU (rolling average of the preceding 12 months incl. visitor roaming) in EUR/month Postpaid ARPU (excl. visitor roaming and IEW) in EUR/month Prepaid ARPU (excl. visitor roaming and IEW) in EUR/month P&L Service Revenues Mobistar Mobile in Mio EUR Service Revenues Mobistar Fix/Data in Mio EUR Service Revenues VOXmobile in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated service revenues* in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated handset sales in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated turnover in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated EBITDA in Mio EUR as a % of service revenues 40.9% 42.8% 40.8% 39.4% 41% Total Mobistar consolidated net result in Mio EUR EPS calculated on the basis of the outstanding shares at the end of the quarter in EUR/share Diluted weighted average earnings per share in EUR/share Total Mobistar consolidated CAPEX in Mio EUR as a % of service revenues 9% 11% 11% 14% 11% * after elimination of intercompany transactions.

17 P.17 Subscriber base evolution Quarterly figures 2009 YTD 2009 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Mobistar S.A. Mobile customers (excl MVNO, MATMA) in thousand of which Postpaid in thousand of which Prepaid in thousand MVNO customers in thousand VOXmobile customers in thousand TOTAL MOBISTAR GROUP in thousand ARPU evolution Blended ARPU (rolling average of the preceding 12 months incl. visitor roaming) in EUR/month Postpaid ARPU (excl. visitor roaming and IEW) in EUR/month Prepaid ARPU (excl. visitor roaming and IEW) in EUR/month P&L Service Revenues Mobistar Mobile in Mio EUR Service Revenues Mobistar Fix/Data in Mio EUR Service Revenues VOXmobile in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated service revenues* in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated handset sales in Mio EUR ,9 Total Mobistar consolidated turnover in Mio EUR Total Mobistar consolidated EBITDA in Mio EUR as a % of service revenues 38.3% 39.7% 39.4% 39.2% Total Mobistar consolidated net result in Mio EUR EPS calculated on the basis of the outstanding shares at the end of the quarter in EUR/share Diluted weighted average earnings per share in EUR/share Total Mobistar consolidated CAPEX in Mio EUR as a % of service revenues 7% 10% 10% 9% * after elimination of intercompany transactions.

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