Elisa said it now expects full-year EBITDA to be "slightly higher" than in 2020 as it published its third quarter results, having previously predicted it would be at the "same level or slightly higher". Third quarter revenue rose by 6 percent to EUR 496 million, mainly because of the camLine acquisition, Elisa Viihde Viaplay cooperation and growth in mobile revenue. Post-paid mobile subscriptions surged on the back of higher M2M and IoT subscriptions.
EBITDA rose by EUR 6 million or 3 percent year on year in the third quarter to EUR 186 million. EBIT increased by EUR 9 million or 7.8 percent to EUR 121 million. Earnings per share improved by 9 percent to EUR 0.60. Comparable cash flow decreased by EUR 7 million to EUR 89 million, mainly due to a negative change in net working capital.
Third quarter mobile service revenue increased by 5.5 percent to EUR 218 million. During the quarter, the number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 53,700, of which 38,600 were M2M and IoT subscriptions. Prepaid subscriptions increased by 18,200 during the quarter. In Finland, mobile post-paid ARPU increased to EUR 20.1 from EUR 19.9 in Q2 and mobile post-paid churn decreased to 16.3 percent from 18.3 percent.
Total mobile subscriptions rose to 4.92 million on 30 September from 4.85 million in the second quarter of 2021.Of those, 3.24 million were retail subscriptions, up from 3.21 million in Q2, and 1.68 million were corporate subscriptions, up from 1.64 million. Elisa's 5G network in Finland has exceeded 60 percent population coverage in nearly 130 towns.
Fixed subscriptions increased by some 2,000 to almost 1.48 million by 30 September from. Of those, 1.39 million were retail customer subscriptions, up by around 5,000 since 30 June. Altogether, fixed broadband lines rose to 666,000 from 665,000 in the second quarter and cable-TV subscriptions grew to 647,000 from 640,000 in Q2.
In the consumer customer business, revenue grew 5.0 percent to EUR 314 million from EUR 299 million a year earlier. Mobile services, equipment sales, the Elisa Viihde Viaplay cooperation and entertainment services all affected revenue positively, but it was negatively affected by interconnection and roaming, as well as the decrease in traditional fixed telecom services. Consumer EBITDA improved by 1.6 percent to EUR 125 million thanks mainly to revenue growth and efficiency improvements.
In the corporate customer business, third quarter revenue went up by 8.4 percent to EUR 182 million thanks to the camLine acquisition, and with positive effects from mobile services, domestic digital services and equipment sales. The decrease in traditional and other fixed services affected revenue negatively. Corporate business EBITDA climbed by 7.1 percent to EUR 61 million.
The outlook for the macroeconomic environment has improved in Finland, Elisa said, although global supply chain problems could create uncertainties in volumes and prices. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market remains keen.
Elisa still expects full-year revenue to be slightly higher than in 2020. Mobile data and digital services are expected to increase their revenue. Full-year comparable EBITDA is anticipated to be slightly higher than in 2020. Capital expenditure is expected to be a maximum of 12 percent of revenue.
Elisa aims to improve productivity through methods such as more automation and data analytics in customer interaction, network operations and delivery. It intends its quality improvement measures to increase customer satisfaction and efficiency, and to reduce costs. The operator said long-term revenue growth and profitability improvement will derive from growth in the mobile data market, as well as digital, online and ICT services.
