Last week in telecoms: Q2 earnings and Spanish 5G auction drive up share prices

News General Europe 30 JUL 2018
Last week in telecoms: Q2 earnings and Spanish 5G auction drive up share prices

Last week's earnings reports were generally well received. Our European telecoms index rose 2.4 percent, versus a gain of 1.9 percent for the EuroStoxx 50 index. Other than that, 5G ruled the headlines, with Spain concluding an auction at not too high prices.

Earnings

In a week (30) when Facebook and Twitter both lost 20 percent of their values, the European telecoms sector was heavy with Q2 earnings reports. Most of the companies managed to end the week up, with just a few exceptions. Let's group them together:

With this, we captured the week's winners (Orange Poland, TIM, SES), but not all of the worst losers, which included not just Turk Telekom, but Forthnet (-20%) and Tele Columbus (-5.5%) as well. The latter two also feature in this year's worst performing stocks. Year-to-date, Intelsat at +494% (i.e. it's share price up sixfold) still leads the winners. Altice is still number two, with a YTD 122% gain, but it has been going down for five weeks in a row now. Next in the YTD view are three satellite stocks: Iridium (+52%), Sky (+50%) and SES (+33%).

5G

In other news, 5G featured prominently. It was part of a UK government report calling for increased fibre investments and in Belgium the government announced plans for a 5G auction specifically making way for a new mobile operator. As we have seen above, Proximus's share price wasn't hurt, but Telenet (-0.2%) and Orange Belgium (-4.1%) ended the week in negative territory. Telenet also was confronted with a shareholder complaining about the company's governance, being factually run by majority shareholder Liberty Global (-2.2%).  Finally, in Spain a 5G auction ended at total proceeds of EUR 1.4 billion. All four Spanish mobile network operators ended the week up, including MasMovil (+2.2%), suggesting fair prices being paid in the auction.

M&A

Contrary to the previous week, week 30 was light with M&A news. Telefonica was selling part of its Telxius stake and Cellnex is acquiring a Catalan fibre operator.

Categories:

General

Companies:

KPN,  Orange,  Proximus,  TIM,  Vodafone,  Euskaltel,  Telenet,  Turkcell,  Turk Telekom,  Facebook,  Forthnet,  Intelsat,  Iridium,  Liberty Global,  Masmovil

Regions:

Europe

Tags:

Financial figures, Market research

Related Articles

SPAIN 27 JUL 2018

Euskaltel sales up 25% to EUR 349 mln in H1

Spanish regional operator Euskaltel reported revenues of EUR 349.3 million in the first six months of 2018, up 25 percent on the year-earlier result, with net profit rising 37 percent to EUR 28.8 million. Adjusted EBTIDA was up 22 percent year on year to EUR 168.8 million, with a 48.3 percent revenue margin. The company said total revenue-generating units (RGUs) at its Euskaltel, Telecable and R brands were up 32,000 in the second quarter alone to 2.39 million, while ARPU remained steady at EUR 60.0.

SPAIN 27 JUL 2018

Telefonica sells 10% stake in Telxius to Pontegadea for EUR 379 mln

Telefonica has announced the sale of a 9.99 percent stake in its infrastructure subsidiary Telxius to Pontegadea, the holding company of Zara founder Amancio Ortega, for a total of EUR 378.8 million. The sale was structured via Telefonica's subsidiary, Pontel Participaciones, which owns 60 percent of Telxius' capital stock. Pontegadea now owns 16.65 percent of Pontel and Telefonica the remaining 83.35 percent, with the operator stressing that it retains operational control of Telxius via a majority stake.

GLOBAL 27 JUL 2018

SES underlying revenues rise 3.1% in Q2

Satellite operator SES reported that its second-quarter underlying revenues grew by 3.1 percent at constant currency, to reach EUR 486.9 million. This compares with the stable year-on-year performance in the previous three months. Including periodic revenues (EUR 16.4 million), overall revenues increased by 4.0 percent, compared to a 4.9 percent drop reported in the first quarter. Group EBITDA fell slightly to EUR 316.7 million, from EUR 319.1 million in the year-earlier period, with the EBITDA margin decre

UNITED KINGDOM 27 JUL 2018

BT revenue falls 2% in first quarter, as earnings rise after cutting costs

BT Group reported revenue of GBP 5.71 billion for the fiscal first quarter to 30 June, with underlying revenue down 2 percent as growth in the consumer business was offset by declines in the enterprise businesses and regulated price reductions for its wholesale arm Openreach. 

SPAIN 27 JUL 2018

Cellnex acquires Catalan fibre provider XOC for EUR 34 mln

Spanish operator Cellnex Telecom announced that its Tradia subsidiary has agreed to acquire Catalan fibre provider Xarxa Oberta de Catalunya (XOC) from Mediapro parent company Imagina for a total of EUR 34 million. XOC is described as a company specialising in the rollout, operation and maintenance of fibre-optic networks. It owns a network of around 3,000 kilometres of optical fibre and acts as neutral operator, offering the surplus network capacity to the operators' wholesale market.

BELGIUM 27 JUL 2018

Proximus grows Q2 underlying EBITDA over 6%, revenues up 2.6%

Belgian operator Proximus reported a strong increase in underlying EBITDA for the second quarter, up 6.1 percent to EUR 493 million. The growth included a 5.5 percent increase at the domestic operations, to EUR 454 million, and a 12.7 percent increase at the international arm BICS, helped by its takeover of TeleSign. Proximus said this puts the company on track to meet its full-year outlook for a slight increase in underlying EBITDA. 

SPAIN 27 JUL 2018

Cellnex revenues up 16% to EUR 439 mln in H1, EBITDA up 20%

Spanish operator Cellnex Telecom reported revenues of EUR 439 million in the first half of 2018, up 12 percent on the year-earlier result, with EBITDA rising 20 percent to EUR 291 million following the adoption of IFRS16 accounting standards. The company's net profit came in at EUR 15 million, down from EUR 19 million a year earlier due to the higher amortisations (up 23% compared to the first half of 2017) and financial costs (up 45% year on year) associated with the group's expansion.

MONTENEGRO 26 JUL 2018

Crnogorski Telekom sees H1 revenues drop 1.2%, profits higher

Montenegrin operator Crnogorski Telekom reported total revenues of EUR 40.7 million for the first half of 2018, down by 1.2 percent compared to the same period in 2017, due to lower volume of incoming traffic. EBITDA, excluding special effects, was still up 5.1 percent to EUR 14.7 million, and net profit increased by EUR 1.2 million to EUR 3.4 million. 

CROATIA (HRVATSKA) 26 JUL 2018

Hrvatski Telekom revenue up 0.5% in Q2, in line with FY outlook

Croatia's Hrvatski Telekom Group reported revenue up 0.5 percent to HRK 1.88 billion in the second quarter of 2018, as strong smartphone sales, higher IT service revenue and growth in Montenegro offset declines in the fixed market. EBITDA before exceptional items edged up 0.3 percent to HRK 787 million, giving a margin of 41.8 percent, and net profit rose 7.5 percent to HRK 281 million. 

TURKEY 26 JUL 2018

Turk Telekom revenue up 10% to TRY 5 bln in Q2

Turk Telekom's revenue grew 10 percent year-on-year to TRY 5.0 billion in Q2. Excluding IFRIC 12 revenue, growth was at 10.5 percent year-on-year, in line with company expectations. EBITDA increased 15 percent to TRY 2.0 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 40 percent. The number of total subscribers grew 937,000 in Q2 to 43.5 million, the best second quarter performance in10 years. Annual growth in the subscriber base accelerated from 3 percent in Q2 2017 to 10 percent in Q2 2018, the highest growth rate sinc

GLOBAL 26 JUL 2018

Telxius revenues rise 6% to EUR 186 mln in Q2

Telefonica's infrastructure subsidiary Telxius reported second-quarter revenues up 6.1 percent from a year earlier to EUR 186 million on an organic basis thanks to an 8.8 percent rise in the tower segment and a return to growth in the cable business, up 4.1 percent year on year after falling 3.1 percent in Q1. Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) came in at EUR 87 million, up 4.5 percent year on year following a 0.6 percent rise in the first three months of the year, while the margi

TURKEY 26 JUL 2018

Turkcell Group sees record quarterly revenue, EBITDA in Q2

Turkcell Group recorded an all-time high quarterly revenue and EBITDA at the Group level in the second quarter. Group revenues were up 18.3 percent year-over-year to TRY 5.105 billion. Higher data consumption on the back of 4.5G services, increased usage of digital services, a larger subscriber base with a higher postpaid ratio in Turkey, as well as an increased share of multi-play subscribers on both the mobile and fixed fronts were the main drivers of this growth. Group EBITDA including the impact of new

EUROPE 26 JUL 2018

Sky FY revenues up 5%, adds over half million new customers

European pay-TV operator Sky reported revenues for its fiscal year to June up 5 percent to GBP 13.585 billion. Operating profit rose 7 percent to GBP 1.034 billion, and net earnings improved 17 percent to 47.5 pence per share. The higher results were supported by expansion in Italy and continued customer growth in its home market the UK. The company said investments in content, new products and new markets give it good momentum for further growth ahead. Sky did not propose a final dividend, pending the take

NETHERLANDS 26 JUL 2018

KPN keeps outlook after solid Q2

KPN reported adjusted revenues of EUR 1.40 billion for the second quarter, down 1.5 percent from the year before due to the effects of regulation. Without that effect, revenues were up 0.5 percent. Gaap revenues also reached EUR 1.40 billion, down 1.7 percent year-on-year.

FRANCE 26 JUL 2018

Orange on track with FY targets after small rise in H1 results

Orange reported a small increase in revenues and EBITDA for the second quarter, driven by demand for its convergent offers as well as strong growth in Africa, the Middle East and Spain. The company said it achieved its cost savings targets six months ahead of schedule and was on track for stronger growth in adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow this year. 

Just In

16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.