Iliad generated revenues of EUR 1.85 billion for the three months to March across its French, Italian and Polish operations, up 4.8 percent organically (+7.7% in Q4). On a reported basis, group revenues increased 33.6 percent year-on-year, reflecting the contribution of Play in Poland (consolidated since 18 November). Commenting on the full-year outlook, the company confirmed that Iliad Italia should achieve profitability earlier than expected, guiding for positive EBITDAaL in the second quarter and in 2021 as a whole.
In France, the free cash flow guidance (EBITDA minus capex) is under review, with a revised objective to be announced in September (currently EUR 900 million). This will take into account an accelerated 5G capex programme, said the company, which will be partly funded by the sale of its 30 percent stake in the French mobile towers business 'On Tower France'. Free Mobile expects to expand its 5G coverage to reach over 80 percent of the French population by end-2021, from approximately 52 percent currently.
In its core market of France, Iliad posted first-quarter revenues of EUR 1.26 billion, up 2.4 percent year-on-year (+ 3.1% in Q4). Within the mobile segment, service revenues rose fractionally (+0.3%) to EUR 529 million (+3.3% in Q4), with revenues billed to subscribers increasing enough (+3.4%) to offset a fall in other mobile income streams (-11.8%), mainly from voice and SMS/MMS interconnections. The growth trend continued to improve in fixed services (+4.4% from +2.9 % in Q4), based on EUR 692 million worth of revenues.
This progression in the fixed business was supported by higher ARPU (+1.9% to EUR 32.60) and by a strong performance in the B2B segment, with revenues up 20.1 percent to EUR 21 million. This follows the launch of the Free Pro brand in March, offering the new Freebox Pro quad-play bundle.
Looking at the operational metrics, the French fixed broadband base grew by 43,000 since December to reach 6.77 million, of which 3.07 million were on FTTP lines. Passing the 3 million mark, fibre customers increased by 268,000 since September (+286,000 in Q4), as the marketable footprint rose to 21.1 million premises at end-March.
The quarter saw Free Mobile return to positive net additions (+6,000) following the heavy net loss of 100,000 subscriptions in the previous three months, for a total customer base of 13.38 million. This was mainly driven by higher gains in the 'Unlimited' 4G/5G plan (+94,000 from +60,000 in Q4).
The French retail store network will continue to expand steadily in the coming years, with 150 shops targeted by the end of the year and more than 200 by 2023.
