Revenue growth was driven by the growth in operating results, "enhanced by fixed-mobile convergence, expansion of the core telco customer base, non-telco services and growth in ARPU [average revenue per user]", justifies Altice Portugal.

In the first three months of the year, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization [EBITDA) grew by 5.6% to 259 million euros.

Investment amounted to 99 million euros in the first quarter, a value that compares with 111 million euros a year earlier. This decrease is due to the fact that the operator has already made practically all the deployment of fiber, 4G and already has advanced 5G, according to the company.

"The strategic options of recent years, which have resulted in a clear improvement in economic and financial performance, combined with the continuous commitment to expanding the fiber optic network, improving service quality, expanding the mobile network and investing in 5G, as drivers for providing excellent customer service, are the basis for maintaining positive performance in this quarter", says the company led by Ana Figueiredo.

The strategy "involves a digital transformation (...), enhancing the improvement and diversification of our products and services" and innovation using new tools, "such as artificial intelligence (AI), is one of the new pillars to continue to provide customers with high standards of quality of service and sustainable growth", the statement reads.

The results of the first quarter "showed growth in the main operating indicators, both compared to the previous quarter and to the same period last year", with the company having strengthened "its market position" and continued "to expand the unique customer base, to grow the total of RGU [revenue generating units] telco, maintaining acquisition combined with record levels of churn and diversifying services for synergistic RGUs, such as energy and insurance", says the company.

In the quarter, the total number of fixed services grew by 0.3%, totaling 6.0 million, and the customer base of the subscription television and connectivity service increased by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively, both standing at 1.9 million.

The postpaid mobile customer base exceeded five million and, "driven by convergence, grew by 1.5% (77 thousand customers)" in the quarter under analysis.

Regarding revenue, Altice Portugal emphasizes that "the positive effects in the consumer, SME and corporate segments made it possible to offset the decrease in equipment sales from Altice Labs to some particular geographies".

Revenue in the consumer segment reached 345 million euros, "revealing a year-on-year growth of 2.8%" and service revenue increased by 3.6%, "as a result of the growth in the customer base and RGU and the increase in ARPU, enhanced by the best portfolio mix through convergence and price increases", they say.

Unique customers in the consumer segment increased by 0.5%, "representing "+9 thousand net additions, and reached a total of 1.7 million customers" and RGUs of fixed and mobile services "reached 11 million and increased by +132 thousand compared to the same period last year".

Revenue from business services "stood at 359 million euros, in the first quarter of 2024, representing a reduction of -1.4%", says the company, stating that "in the SMB&SOHO, SME, corporate and wholesale segments, the growth path and pace were maintained as a result of the increase in the RGU and Business customers base, as well as the diversification of non-telco and international services".

The positive and growing performance of core telecommunications revenue in the B2B and wholesale segments "was impacted by a reduction in sales of hardware and equipment from Altice Labs".

The EBITDA result performance, he adds, was "sustained by the operational dynamics of expanding the customer and RGU base, growth in the respective ARPU, portfolio diversification, new non-telco businesses, and in the discipline of operating costs".

"Investment amounted to 99 million euros (...) with a slower pace in the expansion of the fiber optic network that has already reached 6.4 million homes, but with a clear reinforcement in the expansion of mobile network coverage and in the implementation of 5G technology, already with a coverage rate of 95.66% of the population at the end of the 1st quarter of 2024" and, "in 4G, the coverage rate of the national population (...) was 99.95%".

[News updated at 12:25 pm]

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