Revenues in the first nine months up 4.6% on 9M 2014 to Euro 1.286 billion. EBITDA grows 9.5% to Euro 405 million and the margin rises 1.4% to 31.5%. Customer base expands 7.7% to 2.172 million subscribers, with 27% connected to the new generation up to 100 mbps network.
Fastweb announces results for the first nine months of 2015. The company continues to grow revenues, earnings and subscribers. The first nine months saw a significant expansion of the customer base alongside earnings growth, with operating profits significantly boosted.
Fastweb attracted 156,000 new customers in the period, expanding the base 7.7% on September 2014 to 2.172 million and consolidating its place as the market co-leader in terms of new broadband customer acquisition.
In the first nine months the telecommunication operators revenues reached Euro 1.286 billion, up 4.6% from Euro 1.230 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the residential segment, the increased number of customers more than offset the squeezing of prices on the highly competitive Italian fixed telecommunication services market. In addition, agreements for the free provision to Fastweb customers of digital content and services were signed. The main partners are Sky for TV, the RCS group, Sole 24 Ore and Caltagirone editore for digital newspapers, Dropbox Pro for photo and personal document storage and Deezer for music. The large enterprise and public administration connectivity and services market performances were also strong. FASTWEB is the second largest Italian operator in this segment with a market share of 28%. Following investment in network infrastructure and with the new data center and the launch of innovative solutions, Fastweb has gained market share in the Cloud Computing and ICT Security services segment. Regione Basilicata and Comune di Roma are worth to be mentioned among relevant public customers acquired by Fastweb in the third quarter.
In the first nine months of the year operating profits were significantly boosted. EBITDA rose to Euro 405 million, up 9.5% from Euro 370 million last year, thanks also to the strong industrial performance and the leaner cost structure. The margin rose 1.4% to 31.5%.
Investments totalled Euro 403 million, substantially unchanged (-0.7%) on the previous year. In the first nine months of the year, FASTWEB reinvested 31% of revenues, committing itself to expanding its new generation fibre optic network, constructing in many cities the innovative “WOW FI” off load mobile traffic service for customers and setting up the most advanced Data Center in Italy - located in Milan and opened during the second quarter. Fastweb is expanding WOW FI service that is already active in 19 cities in Italy.
This independent infrastructure investment policy enables Fastweb to improve its autonomy and service quality control, while simultaneously growing company revenue thanks to the reduced need for third party infrastructure.
The construction of the new generation up to 100 mbps network continues apace and by the end of September had reached 6.2 million homes in over 70 cities and will reach 7.5 million homes - 30% of the population - by the end of 2016.
Fastweb has confirmed its place as the ultra-broadband market co-leader (speeds of up to 100 mbps) with 600,000 active ultra-broadband customers and a market share of over 50%.