Belgacom on Friday announced that it is on target to deliver underlying revenue and EBITDA growth in 2016 and shared a positiv e outlook for the current financial year.
"We believe the year 2015 will be the tipping point within our track to growth," said Belgacom CEO Dominique Leroy in a statement accompanying the telco’s 2014 results.
The Belgian incumbent expects revenues and EBITDA to be stable to slightly positive in its underlying business this year, while turnover at its international carrier business BICS will be stable.
In 2014 Belgacom posted total revenues of €6.11 billion, down 3.3% on the previous year. EBITDA grew by 3.3% to €1.76 billion, while the company’s bottom line improved by 3.8% to €654 million. However, in the fourth quarter both EBITDA and net profit declined due to an increase in operating expenses.
"I’m pleased to announce that we have closed the year 2014 on a strong note," Leroy said. "In a highly competitive market we achieved our 2014 revenue and EBITDA guidance."
She also highlighted a strong set of operational results, as the telco’s mobile, TV and fixed broadband customer bases expanded.
"Especially in the fourth quarter we saw good growth in our customer base thanks to a successful year-end campaign launched under the new Proximus brand," Leroy said.
Belgacom increased its mobile customer base by more than 10% last year to 5.68 million and added 128,000 TV customers to take its total to 1.59 million. The telco reported 46,000 fixed line losses over the course of the year, but boosted its fixed Internet base by 3.8% to 1.74 million. As a result, Belgacom believes it is in a strong position to offer converged services, Leroy said.
Capex for 2014 came in at €978 million as the firm invested in its networks under its Fixed for Growth strategy. It will push on with that strategy in 2015, but expects capex to fall to about €900 million, excluding the approximately €75 million cost of extending its 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum licences.
