Sunrise doubles TV customers

Swiss operator Sunrise doubled its TV customer numbers in 2013, in a year that it said was marked by a major programme of investments.

Announcing its Q4 and full year 2013 results, Sunrise said that it ended December with more than 74,300 TV customers, “which represents a doubling of subscribers.” “In the fourth quarter of 2013 alone, Sunrise TV grew by more than 8,700 customers. Seen from a full-year perspective, this rise in subscribers increased the average revenue per user by 12% in the Internet/TV sector,” said Sunrise.

“Customer service was also a key focus: Service quality was significantly improved supported by a 25% capacity expansion in the call centre.”

Across all Sunrise services – including mobile, landline and internet – the firm reported a 3.3 million total customers in 2013, up from 3 million a year earlier.

However, full year revenues and earnings were both down year-on-year. Total revenues dropped 2.2% to CHF2.021 billion (€1.66 billion), while EBITDA was CHF613.5 million, compared to CHF629.2 million a year earlier.

“The past year has been marked by a major program of across-the-board investments and improvements that form the basis for sustainable business growth in the future. We have laid the foundations for a consistent focus on customer needs,” said Sunrise CEO Libor Voncina.

The firm increased investment by 25.1% year-on-year in 2013 to CHF281 million, with more than 65% of this devoted to the mobile network infrastructure.