Tele Columbus has published its consolidated preliminary results, including PrimaCom with effect from 01 August 2015 and Pepcom with effect from 01 December 2015. For the full year 2015, Tele Columbus reached revenues of EUR 278.7 million, compared with EUR 213.0 million a year earlier. Full-year, normalised EBITDA amounted to EUR 140.9 million up from EUR 98.9 million.
This resulted in a normalised, full-year EBITDA margin of 50.5 percent, up from 46.5 percent. Total blended ARPU improved to EUR 14.9 from EUR 13.9.
Tele Columbus will host its first Capital Markets Day on 11 April, providing an update of its future strategy; high level pro forma 2015 numbers for the combined group; guidance for the fiscal year 2016 and a medium term outlook similar to the outlook Tele Columbus gave at the time of the IPO.
In the fourth quarter, revenue rose to EUR 96.9 million from EUR 53.7 million and normalised EBITDA to EUR 51.9 million from EUR 26.0 million, giving a margin of 53.6 percent compared with 48.4 percent. Total blended ARPU went up to EUR 16.6 from EUR 14.0.
In total, the Tele Columbus Group spent EUR 113.6 million in capital expenditures in the year with Tele Columbus standalone contributing EUR 93.2 million, in line with its reduced capex guidance of EUR 80 million to EUR 100 million for 2015. On 31 December, the company served 3.6 million homes connected, of which 61 percent were fully two-way upgraded and on its own network.
On 31 December and with Pepcom consolidated for the first time, the company served 2.46 million cable TV RGUs (revenue-generating units) and 426,000 premium TV RGUs. In addition, internet RGUs amounted to 462,000 and telephony RGUs reached 427,000, increases of 99,000 and 75,000 respectively compared with the end of September.. Approximately 16,000 internet net additions in the fourth quarter came from organic growth.
On 29 October, Tele Columbus AG received a new rating from rating agency Standard & Poor's following the financing of the Pepcom acquisition announced in September 2015. Based on the final capital structure, S&P has as expected reduced the corporate family rating of Tele Columbus Group from 'B+' with negative outlook to a 'B' rating with stable outlook, following the Pepcom acquisition.
On 06 November 2015, Tele Columbus successfully completed its rights offering with gross proceeds of approximately EUR 382.7 million, resulting in net proceeds of circa EUR 363.3 million. As a result of the rights offering, Tele Columbus' registered number of shares increased by 70,864,584 from 56,691,667 to 127,556,251.On the same day, Tele Columbus successfully accomplished its syndication of a January 2021 EUR 320 million first lien term loan B and a July 2022 EUR 117 million second lien term loan.
In October and November, Tele Columbus acquired several local cable network operators and in January 2016, the group bought another smaller L4 cable operator. Tele Columbus will continue to actively pursue further smaller acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio.
In January with effect from 01 March, the Tele Columbus Group started a harmonisation for Tele Columbus' and Primacom's double play internet and telephony and triple play products. The download speeds for end-customers were increased from 16 Mbps to 20 Mbps, from 50 Mbps to 60 Mbps, from 100 Mbps to 120 Mbps and from 150 Mbps to 200 Mbps respectively. Approximately 200,000 existing internet and telephony customers were affected.
On 10 February, TecDAX listed United Internet announced that it owns 9.8 percent of shares in Tele Columbus AG and contractually secured a share package amounting approximately to another 15.31 percent. United Internet noted that Tele Columbus is well positioned with attractive market opportunities and that it wants to accompany the company's development as a strategic investor, in order to benefit from its growth in value. The anti-trust authority approved the transaction on 09 March and United Internet became the single largest shareholder owning 25.11 percent in Tele Columbus AG.
