- EUR 119 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 (+6.2% yoy)
- Adjusted normalised EBITDA grows by 7.5% yoy to EUR 44.8 million in the fourth quarter; full-year EBITDA rises to EUR 193.1m
- Reported EBITDA stands at EUR 20.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023; full-year reported EBITDA in 2023 decreases to EUR 143.3 million due to costs incurred in relation with Amend & Extend financing
- Investments (capex) of EUR 74 million in the fourth quarter of 2023; full-year capex at the previous year’s level
- Shareholder contribution of EUR 300 million secures financing for strategic fibre optic expansion
- Management Board expects slight sales growth, significant increase in reported EBITDA and uptick in investments in 2024
Berlin, 26 April 2024. Tele Columbus AG (“Tele Columbus”, “the Company” or “the Group”), one of Germany’s leading fibre-optic network operators, today published its results for the fourth quarter and financial year 2023.
Tele Columbus closed 2023 with revenue of EUR 452.1 million (+2.2%), recording particularly rapid and noteworthy growth in its internet customer base. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, Tele Columbus recorded an increase of 25,000 IP customers, which corresponds to a rise of +92% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and as much as +97% for the year as a whole. The figures underline Tele Columbus’ market-leading position and extraordinary growth potential in impressive fashion. The high level of customer growth is also reflected in sales, which rose by 11.6%. Internet and telephony generated EUR 10.9 million more revenue in 2023 than in the previous year. At the same time, the number of IP-enabled households rose to 76.2% (previous year: 72.8%), further broadening the marketing base.
TV business down only slightly
The effects of the phase-out on 1 July 2024 of the rule that the costs for cable connections can be passed through to renters are being felt in the TV business. However, the impact will be offset by the rapid revenue growth with internet and telephony customers. Tele Columbus lost 81,000 TV customers in the fourth quarter of 2023, although contract migrations will still take a few months to become visible. As a result, the company expects to retain a large proportion of these customers through individual contracts in the first and second quarters of 2024. The loss of TV customers without a migration effect is at an all-time low. Business involving premium TV products (pay TV) remains stable, with 10,000 customers being gained in this area in 2023. The hybrid TV platform PŸUR TV HD was launched in the fourth quarter of 2023, allowing cable TV and streaming services to be bundled, further increasing the attractiveness of cable connections for end customers.
The average number of products (RGUs) per customer rose from 1.74 to 1.82 in financial year 2023. Average ARPU amounted to EUR 18.25 in 2023 and was therefore 3.0% higher than in the previous year (previous year: EUR 17.72).
Investments stable at a high level
As predicted, investments in network infrastructure remain high. Strong customer demand for particularly fast internet connections resulted in additional capex in the latest customer hardware in the fourth quarter of 2023. Capex amounted to EUR 74 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 – around 62% of which was attributable to forward-thinking fibre-optic expansion. At EUR 228.0 million, investments in financial year 2023 hardly changed compared to the previous year’s figure of EUR 226.6 million.
Refinancing process affecting EBITDA
EBITDA for the financial year totalled EUR 143.3 million, down on the previous year’s figure of EUR 163.3 million. This is due to the refinancing process initiated in the second quarter of 2023, which resulted in high legal and consulting costs. Adjusted normalised EBITDA, on the other hand, rose by 7.5% from EUR 41.7 million to EUR 44.8 million in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Financing
Tele Columbus successfully completed the Amend & Extend transaction on 19 March 2024. The resulting capital injection in the form of a shareholder loan of EUR 300 million means that the company can implement its strategy of gradually converting legacy infrastructure into fibre-optic networks in partnership with the housing industry.
Forecast for financial year 2024
Based on the results of the fourth quarter of 2023, which are in line with internal expectations, and in view of the visible progress in the refinancing and transformation of Tele Columbus, the Management Board expects financial year 2024 to result in:
- slight revenue growth
- a significant improvement in reported EBITDA
- increasing investment in fibre-optic conversion
