Elisa's Interim Report January–March 2015

ELISA INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 16 APRIL 2015 AT 8:30 AM

First quarter 2015

• Revenue amounted to EUR 381 million (382)
• EBITDA was EUR 129 million (126) and EBIT was EUR 76 million (72)
• Profit before taxes amounted to EUR 71 million (64)
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.37 (0.32)
• Cash flow after investments was EUR 68 million (39)

• Mobile ARPU was EUR 15.3 (15.0 in previous quarter)
• Mobile churn was 17.7 per cent (16.6 in previous quarter)
• The number of Elisa’s mobile subscriptions decreased by 46,600 during the quarter
• The number of fixed broadband subscriptions decreased by 6,900 on the previous quarter
• Net debt / EBITDA was 1.8 (1.9 end 2014) and gearing 128 per cent (114 end 2014)

Key indicators

Financial position and cash flow

Q1 2015 gearing and equity ratio are not comparable with Q1 2014 due to different timing of the dividend decision.

¹⁾ (interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ EBITDA exclusive of non-recurring items)

Additional information regarding the Key Performance Indicators is available at: www.elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xls)

CEO Veli-Matti Mattila:
Strong earnings by Elisa

Despite the continuing uncertainty caused by the general economic situation, Elisa strengthened its competitiveness. In the first quarter, revenue remained at the same level and earnings grew year-on-year. The growth in earnings was particularly driven by growth in the use of mobile data and more productive operations.

Our mobile subscription base fell by 47,000 during the first quarter of the year, primarily due to the removal of passive subscriptions and the diminishing prepaid base.  The number of fixed-network broadband subscriptions fell by 6,900. The good user experience for customers in faster data speeds continued to strengthen, and the demand for 4G subscriptions continued to grow. The first quarter of the year also saw, for the first time, customers using more data in our 4G network than in 2G and 3G networks combined. When new phones are acquired, 75 per cent of people now choose an LTE phone supporting fast connections, as 4G connections are already available to more than 96 per cent of Finns.

We were the first telecom company in Finland to double 4G network speeds in 12 localities. At the same time, we launched a subscription that enables speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s in consumer sales. The new subscription has been well received, as the exponential growth in data use requires new solutions to meet growing demand.

In Finland and Estonia, we launched the Internet of Things (IoT) service package, which enables IoT apps and services to be created rapidly without traditional software development. Elisa IoT is an open cloud platform which allows corporate customers to create new kinds of IoT products and new business, and gain significant competitive advantages.

We are investing in various areas of corporate responsibility. With the growth in the use of smartphones, we want to support digital parenthood, and we launched a separate service website for this purpose. It provides information on the digitising world, e.g. information about the best games, blocking services, and tips to assist parents. We are also investing in employing young people. Elisa, together with its subsidiaries and employment agencies, will employ 200 young people in summer jobs, participate in the Responsible Summer Job campaign, and be involved in the Work for the Young programme.

We will continue our determined work to improve both customer satisfaction and our operational productivity. Improving our productivity, developing new services for our customers, and maintaining our strong investment ability create a solid foundation for competitive operations in the future.

Outlook and guidance for 2015

The macroeconomic environment in Finland is still expected to be weak in 2015. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market also remains challenging.

Full-year revenue is estimated to be at the same level as in 2014. Mobile data, ICT and new online services are expected to increase revenue. Full-year EBITDA, excluding non-recurring items, is anticipated to be at the same level as in 2014. Full-year capital expenditure is expected to be a maximum of 12 per cent of revenue. Elisa’s financial position and liquidity are good.

Elisa is continuing its productivity improvement measures, for example by streamlining the product portfolio and IT systems and operations. Additionally, Elisa is continuing to increase customer service and sales efficiency, as well as to reduce general administrative costs.

Elisa's transformation into a provider of exciting, new and relevant services for its customers is continuing. Long-term growth and profitability improvement will derive from mobile data market growth, as well as new online and ICT services.

Disclosure procedure

Elisa is adopting the disclosure procedure enabled by the Standard 5.2b published by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority. This is a summary of Elisa’s Q1 2015 Interim Report and the complete report is attached as a pdf-file to this release and is also available on our website at www.elisa.com/investors.

ELISA CORPORATION

Additional information:

Mr. Veli-Matti Mattila, CEO, tel. +358 10 262 2635
Mr. Jari Kinnunen, CFO, tel. +358 10 262 9510
Mr. Vesa Sahivirta, IR Director, tel. +358 10 262 3036

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki
Principal media
www.elisa.com