Current operating profit was up 29.7 percent to EUR 166 million, while the net profit attributable to the group rose by EUR 69 million since Q3 2017 to reach EUR 188 million. The full-year financial objectives announced in February have been confirmed, alongside the free cash flow target of EUR 300 million for 2019.
Bouygues' postpaid customers increased by 199,000 in the quarter to a total of 10.77 million subscriptions (+120,000 in Q2). The overall mobile base reached 15.76 million, including 4.42 million M2M connections. Blended mobile ARPU rose to EUR 19.90 from EUR 19.60 in both the previous quarter and the year-earlier periods.
LTE network coverage progressed to 98 percent of the population at end-September, with a target of 99 percent by year-end. The operator plans to add 2,000 further mobile sites by 2022, as part of its efforts to strengthen network performance in very densely populated areas.
Looking at the fixed business, the broadband base increased by 71,000 in the quarter (+41,000 in Q2), bringing the total to 3.60 million. FTTH connections reached 467,000, with 76,000 net additions since June (+62,000 in Q2). Broadband ARPU stood at EUR 25.50, down slightly sequentially (EUR 25.60) and EUR 1.50 lower than in the year-earlier period (EUR 27.00).
Commenting on the acquisition of B2B operator Keyyo, the operator confirmed that it expects to close the public tender offer for Keyyo's shares during the first half of 2019. The deal will bring 14,000 clients (200,000 end-users) to the Bouygues Telecom Enterprise subsidiary. Within the French B2B market, the company is the third largest player behind Orange and SFR, with an estimated market share of over 20 percent in the mobile segment (35% of large companies and 10% of SME), and around 3 percent in the fixed segment.
