Iliad Telecom defies economy to post strong first half

France’s Iliad Telecom has posted another strong half-year, gaining market share and upping revenues, cashflow and earnings despite inflationary pressures.

Consolidated revenues increased by 10.4% to €4.44 billion in the first half (up 8.0% in the second quarter), with sales rising 7.7% in France, 12.2% in Italy and 17.9% in Poland.

In France, Iliad’s Free recorded 128,000 net new mobile subscribers (with the addition of 187,000 4G/5G subscribers) and 42,000 net new broadband and ultra-fast broadband subscribers (including 205,000 on fibre).

Free had 14.518 million mobile customers and 7.264 million broadband subs at the end of June.

In Italy, iliad Italia retained its leading position for net adds in the mobile business in the second-quarter 2023, with 267,000 net new subscribers, and recorded 18,000 net adds for fibre broadband. The company had 10.116 million mobile customers and 148,000 fixed customers at the the mid-year point.

In Poland, mobile sales rose quarter on quarter, with 77,000 net adds in the second quarter, driven by a strong performance for postpaid plans (up 98,000), which offset the impact of a decline in the  prepaid segment, down 21,000. In the fixed segment, net adds came to 19,000 – a moderate increase mainly led by refocusing sales offerings on the PŚO network, but not yet reflecting the full potential of the company’s convergent offers, according to Iliad.

The company said that despite inflation and the increase in energy prices, consolidated EBITDAaL rose 4.1% to €4.443 billion in the first half of the year, boosted by sales growth and partly by strong operating leverage in Italy, thanks to the rapid rollout of the company’s mobile network.

Thomas Reynaud, iliad’s CEO, said: “Our first-half results reflect an acceleration of our businesses in our three host countries, France, Poland and Italy. And although we must remain cautious in a macro economic context that is still full of uncertainty, iliad’s business model is proving its resilience.”