NOS turns in modest Q1 results as TV numbers slip

Portuguese pay TV operator NOS turned in modest Q1 results, with flat year-on-year revenue growth and a modest increase in EBITDA driven by increases in mobile and broadband sales and growth in its converged customer base.

On the downside the operator’s overall TV base declined slightly, with growth in fixed network TV customers failing to offset a decline in DTH subscribers.

Operating revenues grew by 0.7% to €383 million for the quarter, while EBITDA rose by 3% to €146.7 million. Net income rose sharply by 45.4% to €39.8 million.

Revenue-generating units increased by 3.3% to 9.454 million, driven by growth in mobile and broadband. Mobile customers increased by 4.8% to 4.7 million, giving NOS a 24.8% market share. Fixed broadband customers increased by 4.2% to 1.3 million.

Fixed-access pay TV customers grew from 1.292 million at the end of Q4 to 1.295 million in Q1, but DTH subscribers declined from 324,400 to 319,600, more than offsetting the increase.

NOS said the increase in its fixed pay TV base of 2,800 was a solid performance given the lack of relevant network expansion in the quarter, which had been a driver of growth in previous years. It said that pay TV churn had reduced following market wide regulatory remedies imposed last June over the ways operators communicated price increases.

Almost half of NOS’s customers now take fixed and mobile convergent bundles. The convergent base increased by 6% to 739,600, or 49% of the company’s fixed base.

Residential ARPU stood at €44.30, higher than in Q4 but down year-on-year thanks to the fact that NOS has not implement an across-the-board price increase this year.

NOS said it had now completed the upgrade of its fixed network to DOCSIS 3.1, enabling the provision of 1Gbps download speeds across its footprint.