ELISA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 18 APRIL 2018 AT 8:30 AM
January-March 2018
- Revenue amounted to EUR 450m (416)
- EBITDA was EUR 153m (144), and EBIT was EUR 95m (89)
- Comparable EBITDA was EUR 156m (144) and EBIT EUR 97m (89)
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.47 (0.43) and comparable earnings per share EUR 0.48
- Cash flow after investments was EUR 52m (63)
- Mobile post-paid voice ARPU was EUR 20.4 (20.5 in previous quarter)
- Mobile post-paid voice churn was 19.2 per cent (19.5 in previous quarter)
- Mobile service revenue increased by 3.9 per cent to EUR 200m (192)
- The number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 900 and prepaid subscriptions decreased by 24,700 during the quarter
- The number of fixed broadband subscriptions decreased by 4,100 during the quarter
- Net debt / EBITDA was 1.6 (1.8 end 2017) and gearing 90 per cent (103 end 2017)
Key indicators
| EUR million | 1-3/2018 | 1-3/2017 | Δ % | 2017 |
| Revenue | 450 | 416 | 8.1 | 1,787 |
| EBITDA | 153 | 144 | 6.7 | 608 |
| Comparable EBITDA | 156 | 144 | 8.3 | 613 |
| EBIT 1) | 95 | 89 | 7.3 | 378 |
| Profit before tax 1) | 89 | 84 | 6.0 | 403 |
| EPS, EUR | 0.47 | 0.43 | 8.6 | 2.11 |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0,48 | 0,43 | 11.2 | 1,86 |
| Capital expenditure | 53 | 53 | -0.7 | 246 |
1) Comparable figures 1-3/2018 EBIT EUR 97m (89) and profit before tax EUR 92m (84). 1-12/2017 EBIT EUR 384m and profit before tax EUR 364m.
Financial position and cash flow
| EUR million | 31 Mar 2018 | 31 Mar 2017 | End 2017 | |
| Net debt | 1,018 | 1,062 | 1,073 | |
| Net debt / EBITDA 1) | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | |
| Gearing ratio, % | 89.6 | 101.1 | 103.2 | |
| Equity ratio, % | 42.9 | 39.4 | 40.5 |
| EUR million | 1-3/2018 | 1-3/2017 | Δ % | FY 2017 2) |
| Cash flow after investments | 52 | 63 | -17.4 | 300 |
1) (Interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ comparable EBITDA) 2) Comparable cash flow 1-12/2017 EUR 246m excluding the share investment, sale of shares and loan arrangement.
Additional key performance Indicators are available at elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xlsx)
CEO Veli-Matti Mattila: Elisa’s revenue and earnings grew again
Elisa’s competitiveness strengthened and the growth in earnings continued. Our strongercompetitiveness has been influenced by the continuous improvement of the customer experience and services. Revenue and earnings grew again from the previous year, and the period was the best first quarter in our history. Revenue growth improved particularly due to an increase in mobile revenue and investments in the productivity of Elisa’s operations, as well as recent acquisitions.
The advanced mobile use of Finnish consumers, corporate customers and organisations, as well as the convenient and worry-free usability of communication services, has facilitated the transition to increasingly fast mobile broadband subscriptions. The number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 900 and prepaid subscriptions decreased by 24,700 during the quarter. The fixed-network broadband subscription base decreased by 4,100 subscriptions. Customers value Elisa’s unique unlimited data pricing model and the quality of its network.
Elisa Kirja is Finland’s largest retailer of e-books, and its range of services now includes digital magazines as well. The selection of Elisa Viihde increased during the period, particularly with regard to sports content. Two original series from Elisa Viihde were included among the most interesting international drama projects in the foremost conference of the TV industry, held in Cannes.
Elisa became the first operator in the world to test the preliminary standard 5G network and devices. The construction work involving the mobile network with 5G readiness in Tampere and its surroundings was completed. The high-speed network enables mobile broadband connections of up to 1 Gbit/s. Elisa is also commencing the construction of a 5G-ready network in Turku. It will allow for the easy addition of the features required for 5G services in the future, such as multiple data transfer speeds, short delays and functionalities required by the Internet of Things.
For the second time, Elisa’s employees chose Elisa for Finland’s Great Place to Work list. Elisa came fourth in the large companies category. The personnel mentioned the working culture based on trust as one of Elisa’s strengths.
The continuous improvement of the customer experience and quality are an integral part of our corporate culture, and we will continue to keep a strong focus on them. Increasing productivity, internationalising our digital services, creating value with data, and our strong investment capability will continue to create a solid foundation for the creation of competitive value in the future.
Outlook and guidance for 2018
The macroeconomic environment in Finland has improved, but long-term structural challenges still remain. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market remains challenging.
Revenue is estimated to be at the same level or slightly higher than in 2017. Recent acquisitions, mobile data and digital services are expected to increase revenue. Comparable EBITDA is anticipated to be at the same level or slightly higher than in 2017. Capital expenditure is expected to be a maximum of 12 per cent of revenue.
Elisa is continuing its productivity improvement development, for example by increasingautomation and data analytics in different processes, such as customer interactions, network operations and delivery. Additionally, Elisa’s continuous quality improvement measures will increase customer satisfaction and efficiency, and reduce costs.
Elisa's transformation into a provider of exciting, new and relevant services for its customers is continuing. Long-term growth and profitability improvement will derive from the growth in the mobile data market, as well as digital online and ICT services.
Disclosure procedure
Elisa is adopting the disclosure procedure enabled by the Standard 5.2b published by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority. This is a summary of Elisa’s Interim Report Q1 2018 and the complete report is attached as a pdf-file to this release and is also available on our website at www.elisa.com/investors .
ELISA CORPORATION
Additional information:
Mr Veli-Matti Mattila, CEO, tel. +358 10 262 2635 Mr Jari Kinnunen, CFO, tel. +358 10 262 9510 Mr Vesa Sahivirta, IR Director, tel. +358 10 262 3036
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Principal media www.elisa.com
