United Group sees ‘record results’ in 2023

South-eastern European service provider United Group has said last year saw record financial results for the company, with 7% growth in both revenues and EBITDAaL.

The company posted revenues of €2.791 billion for the year, with EBITDAaL of €988 million. United Group said that, adjusting for the sale of its tower portfolio in August last year, it delivered 10% like-for-like organic EBITDAaL growth.

United Group attributed revenue growth to expansion in its post-paid mobile subscriber base, demand for B2 B solutions, especially in Greence, and growth in its United Media unit boosted by advertising sales.

Earnings growth also benefited from cost management, it said, enabling it to maintain margins at 35% despite inflationary pressures.

United Group reported that it served over 5.3 million homes with broadband and telecom services and that its mobile offerings reached over 7.34 million subscribers.

United Media reaches 8.2 million homes through its channels, with the group producing about 50% of the content on its pay TV and FTA channels other than sports. It said its main primetime offerings typically attract a 25-40% audience share in its main markets.

Last year the group sold its tower business for €1.2 billion, with proceeds used to de-lever the business.

“2023 was really a year of strategic integrations of our acquisitions in Greece, Bulgaria, and Croatia, with all the major initiatives, included cost synergies, completed by the year end.  Additionally, our further investments in fiber and 5G technology, as well as pivotal spectrum acquisitions, contributed to our solidified position across all major markets”, said Victoriya Boklag, CEO of the United Group.

“In a challenging environment, we continued to drive strong growth by consistently pursuing our strategy of providing superior products and services on modern and robust infrastructure.”