Iliad boost revenue in Q3, with new subscriber growth across France and Italy

Source: Iliad Group

French telecommunications company Iliad Group has reported consolidated revenues rose by 10.1% to €6.80 billion in the first nine months of 2023, an increase of 9.5% in the third quarter.

In France, the Group revenue also grew by 9.5% during Q3, with a 13.0% increase in iliad Group’s Italian division. With Poland reported revenue growth of 7.8% in euros (2.2% on a pro forma organic basis).

In France, Free attracted 324,000 net new subscribers, including 274,000 net new mobile subscribers and 50,000 net new broadband and Ultra-Fast broadband subscribers. In Iliad Italia, it added 359,000 net new mobile subscribers over the quarter which the company said marks best commercial performance since Q4 2020. Iliad noted the performance was driven by the improvement in the network coverage and the extension of its distribution network.

Meanwhile Iliad’s profit was hit in the first nine months of 2023 falling by 50.1% to €377 million yet rose by 24.2% in the third quarter. The company put the decline down to the non-recurring gain of €330 million on the sale of the Group’s remaining 30% interest in On Tower France to Cellnex in Q1 2022, along with net finance costs due mainly to the impact of the acquisition of UPC Polska in Poland and refinancing operations carried out during the year.

EBITDAaL generated in France went up by 4.0% to €1.73 billion ( a 8.3% increase in the third quarter), while the margin decreased by 1.6 percentage points to 39.0%. Iliad said this was driven by a positive operating leverage effect translating into a gross margin improving by 8.6%. The positive operating leverage was partially offset a 89% increase in energy costs as the Group faced reflected across the industry, the extreme increase in electrictity prices and a 22% increase in external charges, mainly related to the use of its own infrastructure such as its mobile sites and Fiber network.

Thomas Reynaud, iliad’s chief executive officer, said: “These very good results were achieved thanks to our choices in terms of investment and defending our subscribers’ purchasing power. They ensure that we can prepare for the future with confidence. Step by step, we are continuing to build a European telecoms group at the cutting edge of connectivity, the Cloud and AI.”