News
Revenue falls 8.8% in Q1 2016, but last year’s net loss is turned into a net profit of CHF7 million.
Olaf Swantee this week officially took over as the new CEO of Swiss operator Sunrise, marking a new chapter in the life of a mobile industry veteran who oversaw the acquisition of UK mobile operator EE by BT.
The new CEO’s first tasks included the presentation of the company’s Q1 2016 results as well as the announcement of a new and simplified management structure that will see another former EE executive, Françoise Clemes, take over as head of customer services from June. She replaces Massimiliano Nunziata, who will lead the newly created business customers unit.
Fortunes appeared somewhat mixed for the company in the first quarter of the year: it reported an 8.8% year-on-year decline in revenue to 446 million Swiss francs (US$459 million), and noted that subscriber growth in mobile postpaid, internet and TV could not compensate for headwinds.
On a more positive note, adjusted EBITDA increased 1.6% to CHF140 million and the adjusted EBITDA margin improved from 30.6% to 33.3%. The company also turned the year-ago net loss of CHF167 million into a small net profit of CHF7 million, in part due to lower interest expenses and non-recurring extra ordinary costs from the IPO and debt refinancing last year.
The number of postpaid mobile subscribers increased further by 6.3% over the past year, taking the total base to 1.42 million users by the end of March. Sunrise added 17,900 new mobile postpaid customers in Q1 alone, while the number of internet users increased from 329,000 in Q1 2015 to 349,000 in Q1 2016.
Sunrise also reiterated its financial guidance provided in March 2016. Revenues are expected to be in the range of CHF1.89 billion to CHF1.93 billion in 2016. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between CHF600 million and CHF620 million.
Swantee said: “While having joined Sunrise only this week I am pleased and have a good first impression so far. The network quality, the customer orientation and the innovative products are on a high level. I look forward to further strengthening our position.”
On the subject of the new “executive leadership team” (ELT), Swantee commented that the changes mean that the company’s leadership “will be closer to our team and our customers.”
The new ELT unites all the key corporate tasks on one level and covers seven business areas. Timm Degenhardt will continue as chief consumer officer for the consumer customers unit, also with responsibility for profit and loss. CTO Elmar Grasser remains responsible for the further expansion of Sunrise infrastructure and André Krause will continue to lead the finance department as CFO.
