Pressemitteilung vom 03.03.2015
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Tele Columbus: strong growth of normalized EBITDA in full year 2014 Publication of preliminary and unaudited full year results Tele Columbus: strong growth of normalized EBITDA in full year 2014 - Revenues improved by 3.3% year on year to EUR 213.0 million - Normalized EBITDA increased by 12.3% year on year to EUR 98.9 million - Internet RGUs reached 202,000 and telephony RGUs reached 170,000 representing an increase of more than 16% each - Strategic acquisitions offer additional up- and cross-selling potential Berlin, 3 March 2015. Tele Columbus Group, the third largest German cable network operator, further executed its growth strategy in full year 2014 resulting in a strong performance according to preliminary unaudited figures. Revenues grew by 3.3% year on year to EUR 213.0 million in 2014. Normalized EBITDA grew significantly by 12.3% year on year to EUR 98.9 million in 2014. Operating margin improved to 46.5% of revenue in 2014 compared to 42.7% in 2013. Tele Columbus continued to invest in its technology capabilities, which is reflected in a rise in Capex to EUR 84.1 million (63.2% year on year). The audited financial statement will be published on 31 March 2015. Tele Columbus' successful stock market flotation on 23 January 2015 marked a new chapter in the company's history. Most of the total gross proceeds will be used to improve the company's capital structure and reduce financial liabilities. The remaining portion will be used for general corporate purposes, in particular to upgrade its network and to connect additional homes to its own integrated L3 network infrastructure, providing Tele Columbus with a strong foundation to continue its growth strategy. Strong demand for fast internet access and new products drive growth The ongoing growth is particularly due to Tele Columbus’ high performance network and the company’s success in selling new products to existing customers. Product innovation has backed Tele Columbus’ focus on further migrations of households connected to the company’s own network infrastructure. New products and incentives such as tablet computers, the fastest premium gateway router in the German cable market, increased bandwidths of up to 150 Megabits per second and triple play packages for new customers contributed to the company’s strong growth, particularly in Internet RGUs. From January to December 2014, Tele Columbus gained 52,000 RGUs in the segments Internet and Telephony. In the full year 2014, Internet RGUs reached 202,000 (+16.1% yearon- year) and Telephony RGUs 170,000 (+16.4% year-on-year). At the end of the fiscal year 2014, subscription of Tele Columbus‘ services reached 1.84 million revenue generating units (RGUs). Tele Columbus customer base remained fairly stable compared to year-end 2013 with 1.3 million subscribers. Monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) for the year increased to EUR 13.9 (from EUR 13.2) representing an increase of 5.6% compared to fiscal year 2013. Investment focus on further migrations to increase mechanical margin expansion As of 31 December 2014, approximately 55% of Tele Columbus’ homes connected were upgraded for two-way communication and connected to its own Level 3 network. Furthermore, approximately 96% of the company’s hybrid fibre-optic cable networks were upgraded to the internet transmission standard Docsis 3.0 providing the ability to deliver speeds of up to 400 Mbit/s. Tele Columbus will be the first cable network operator in the German market to provide a 400 Mbit/s high-speed internet offering. In April 2015, Tele Columbus plans to launch this offering in the Potsdam region with potential to extend this offer to a broader customer base in the future. With its strong focus on network investments, the company is also underlining its position as a reliable and innovative infrastructure partner to the German housing industry. Strategic acquisitions to expand footprint Through the integration of new acquisitions, Tele Columbus has expanded its footprint and strengthened its market position. In September 2014, the company acquired 100% of the shares in BIG Medienversorgung GmbH, Moenchengladbach with approximately 12,700 connected households in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Berlin. Furthermore, Tele Columbus purchased the remaining shares in the joint venture company BMB GmbH & Co. KG, which operates a broadband cable network in North Rhine- Westphalia, in the third quarter of 2014. In May 2014, Tele Columbus also reached an agreement to buy the entire cable network of Gesellschaft für Breitbandkabel- und Satellitenkommunikationstechnik mbH (GBS) in North Rhine-Westphalia, thereby connecting approximately 1,900 households to its own network. Recent developments On 5 February 2015 (and with economic effect from 1 January 2015), Tele Columbus continued its ongoing expansion strategy with the acquisition of WoWiSat GmbH, a Dusseldorf-based cable operator providing television and radio services, adding approximately 5,400 homes connected to Tele Columbus' network. Outlook: Acceleration of revenue growth and expansion of EBITDA margin Based on further network migrations and a product mix change towards higher gross margin products, the Management Board of Tele Columbus expects for the fiscal year 2015: - an acceleration of revenue growth of between 4.0% to 6.0%, - an expansion of Normalized EBITDA margin to more than 47.5%, - Capex to range between EUR 110 to 120 million, - to increase the level of two-way upgraded networks connected to own signal feed from 55% to more than 60%, - to maintain a target leverage of 3.0 to 4.0 times Normalized EBITDA. In view of the investment requirements over the next few years and in the light of the current leverage, Tele Columbus does not expect to propose dividends for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Tele Columbus has clear mid-term targets: Firstly, the company aims to reach approximately 1.7 products per customer (RGUs/subscriber). Secondly, the company wants to grow the monthly average revenue per customer (ARPU) to approximately EUR 17. Thirdly, Tele Columbus wants to facilitate this by growing the percentage of households two-way upgraded on Tele Columbus' own network from the current level of 55% to 70%.
1We define Normalized EBITDA as earnings before financial result (income from investments in associates, interest income, interest expenses and other financial results by the equity method) income taxes, amortisation of intangible assets and goodwill, adjusted for extraordinary expenses. Additional information: Publication of Audited Annual Financial Statements: 31 March 2015 Release of Q1 results: 12 May 2015 ____________________ About Tele Columbus The Tele Columbus Group is one of Germany's largest cable network operators. Via its origins - individual regional cable network operators that were merged into Tele Columbus - the company dates back to 1972. Approximately 1.7 million connected households in Germany use Tele Columbus' TV signals and, increasingly, digital broadcast packages, Internet and voice connections provided via high-performance broadband cable. As a national provider with a regional focus and a partner of the housing industry, the Group is present throughout its core markets Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia as well as in numerous key regions in western Germany. In tune with current demand trends, the company is upgrading its networks in a hybrid fibre-optic infrastructure for superfast Internet connections of up to several hundred megabits per second with the state-of-the-art Internet transmission standard DOCSIS 3.0. The broadband cable caters to the entire range of innovative media applications from analogous, digital and high-definition TV to high-speed Internet and voice connections to telemetry services, tenant portals and interactive services. Beyond merely transmitting signals, Tele Columbus uses its own product platform in order to actively increase the programme offering and to develop additional services. Disclaimer: Any offer will be made exclusively through and on the basis of a prospectus that must be published in Germany as supplemented by additional information related to the offer outside of Germany. No money, securities, or other consideration is being solicited, and, if sent in response to the information contained herein, will not be accepted. This IR release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the current views, expectations, assumptions and information of the management of Tele Columbus AG. Forward-looking statements shall not be construed as a promise for the materialization of future results and developments and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those described in such statements due to, among other things, changes in the general economic and competitive environment, risks associated with capital markets, currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in international and national laws and regulations, in particular with respect to tax laws and regulations, affecting Tele Columbus AG, and other factors. The Company does not assume any obligations to update any forward-looking statements. |
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