Swiss operator Sunrise said that its revenues increased by 5.2 percent year-on-year in Q4 2019 to CHF 511 million, including IFRS 16 standards. Service revenues increased by 5.2 percent too during the period to CHF 400 million as result of mobile postpaid, internet, TV and B2B revenue growth. Mobile service revenues grew 2.7 percent year-on-year in Q4 to CHF 342 million, fixed line service revenues rose by 10.7 percent to CHF 89 million and fixed line internet revenues by 10.4 percent to CHF 80 million.
Gross profit grew by 2.3 percent to CHF 320 million in Q4. EBITDA fell by 56.4 percent excluding IFRS 16 to CHF 71 million from CHF 164 million the prior year after Sunrise had to pay a CHF 83 million one-off fee for the cancellation of the acquisition of UPC Switzerland.
Net income decreased by 253.6 percent to a negative CHF 53 million in the last quarter of the fiscal year 2019. In FY19, net income decreased from CHF 107 million to CHF 59 million, hit by the failed acquisition of UPC, too, partly compensated by adjusted EBITDA growth and a deferred tax liability reduction.
Free cash flow also fell by 300.2 percent in Q4 to a negative CHF 113 million, and equity free cash flow dropped from CHF 149 million in 2018 to CHF 22 million in 2019, primarily impacted by CHF 91 million payments related to the 5G spectrum acquisition, CHF 60 million upfront payments for landline access at Swisscom, and one-off payments related to the cancellation of the UPC takeover.
For 2020, Sunrise expects revenues between CHF 1.87-1.91 billion and EBITDA between CHF 675-690 million, including the effects of IFRS 16. Capex is expected to be in the range of CHF 410-450 million. This includes investments for CHF 130-150 million in the roll-out of 5G and 4G+. Sunrise provides 5G in more than 384 cities and towns and supplies 4G to more than 99 percent of the Swiss residents with 4G mobile high-speed Internet, covering 96 percent of the country’s territory.
The guidance for 2020 also includes slightly elevated upfront payments for landline access due to higher-than-expected customer demand for fibre. Sunrise will propose a dividend in the range of CHF 4.55-4.65 per share for the fiscal year 2020 based on these targets.
The number of mobile postpaid customers increased by 9.4 percent to 1.89 million in Q4 of 2019, but pre-paid customers fell 10.3 percent in Q4 to 563,000. Landline voice customers rose by 7.3 percent to 502,000, internet customers grew by 8.5 percent to 496,000 and TV customers rose by 14.6 percent to 279,000.
