3 Group reported higher results for 2018, helped by its takeover of full control of Italian operator Wind Tre. However, the increased competition in the Italian market from the arrival of Iliad meant a decline in 3 Group's customer base, to 51.0 million customers at the end of 2018 from 52.3 million a year earlier.
The active customer base fell to 42.9 million from 44.8 million in 2017, led by the decline in Italy as well as a small drop in the UK. Active customer numbers were stable in most other markets, with a small increase in Sweden and Ireland.
3 Group's revenues for the year rose 11 percent to HKD 78.411 billion, helped by the inclusion of 100 percent of Wind Tre from September. In local currencies, revenues rose 7 percent, and customer service revenue was also up 7 percent, to the equivalent of HKD 61.81 billion.
Tight control of customer acquisition costs helped offset increased spending on network and IT transformation, helping EBITDA increase 14 percent to HKD 28.76 billion. The EBITDA margin rose to 43 percent from 41 percent in 2017. EBIT rose a slower 3 percent to HKD 17.66 billion due to an increase in depreciation and amortisation.
The company said it improved the postpaid share of the customer base further to 40 percent, while also reducing postpaid churn to an average 1.4 percent monthly from 1.6 percent in 2017. ARPU was still down 8 percent to EUR 16.52, weighed down by the lower prices in Italy and competition across all markets, 3 said. Total data usage rose to over 3 PB from 2.32 PB in 2017, and average usage per customer increased to 71.9 GB over the full year from 53.8 GB the previous year.
