Elisa’s Interim Report Q1 2020
ELISA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 22 APRIL 2020 AT 8:30 AM
First quarter 2020 financial highlights
• Revenue increased by EUR 28m to EUR 468m, mainly due to Polystar acquisition.
• Mobile service revenue increased by 2.1 per cent to EUR 208m.
• Comparable EBITDA grew by EUR 8m to EUR 166m.
• Comparable EBIT increased by EUR 7m to EUR 99m.
• Cash flow grew by EUR 5m to EUR 73m, mainly due to growth in EBITDA.
• Mobile post-paid ARPU was at the previous quarter’s level EUR 19.3 (19.3).
• Mobile post-paid churn decreased to 18.9 per cent (20.1 in previous quarter).
• Number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 20,800 from the previous quarter.
• Due to seasonality prepaid subscriptions decreased by 12,900 during the quarter.
• The number of fixed broadband subscriptions decreased by 400 during the quarter.
• Guidance for 2020 is unchanged.
Key indicators
| EUR million | 1Q20 | 1Q19 | Δ % | 2019 |
| Revenue | 468 | 440 | 6,5 % | 1 844 |
| EBITDA | 166 | 155 | 6,9 % | 661 |
| Comparable EBITDA | 166 | 158 | 5,2 % | 668 |
| EBIT | 99 | 90 | 10,0 % | 395 |
| Comparable EBIT | 99 | 92 | 7,1 % | 402 |
| Profit before tax | 95 | 83 | 14,8 % | 372 |
| Comparable PBT | 95 | 85 | 11,5 % | 379 |
| EPS, EUR | 0,49 | 0,43 | 13,2 % | 1,90 |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0,49 | 0,44 | 10,1 % | 1,93 |
| Capital expenditure | 51 | 57 | -10,8 % | 256 |
| Net debt | 1 117 | 1 075 | 3,9 % | 1 184 |
| Net debt / EBITDA1) | 1,7 | 1,7 | -0,7 % | 1,8 |
| Gearing ratio, % | 91,9 % | 90,2 % | 103,0 % | |
| Equity ratio, % | 42,4 % | 41,9 % | 41,0 % | |
| Cash flow | 73 | 68 | 7,3 % | 257 |
| Comparable Cash flow | 73 | 68 | 7,3 % | 323 |
1) (Interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ comparable EBITDA).
Additional key performance indicators are available at elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xlsx).
CEO Veli-Matti Mattila: Strong quarter in challenging circumstances
In the first quarter, Elisa's revenue increased by 6 per cent to EUR 468 million from the previous year, mainly due to growth in mobile and digital services, equipment sales and the Polystar acquisition. Comparable EBITDA improved by 5 percent, to EUR 166 million and earnings per share by 10 per cent, to EUR 0.49. Both the Consumer Customers and Corporate Customers business segments performed well.
The quarter was unique, with the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19), and we have actively adjusted our operations in several areas. At the same time, we have been helping our corporate customers, for example with their increasing demand for virtual tools to be able to work remotely. Consumers have also been faced with a new situation as they have had to stay home. Our reliable and high-quality network guarantees good connections for remote work and entertainment.
Elisa’s new mission, a sustainable future through digitalisation, has become more relevant than ever. The mission, created together with Elisa employees, means that Elisa is enabling the everyday communication, work, daily routines and entertainment for millions of people, securely and with care. With digitalisation, Elisa is providing solutions that are important for people and sustainable development.
In April, the Finnish government-owned Erillisverkot Group decided to acquire radio network services from Elisa for the public safety network, Virve 2.0. Elisa was chosen as the sole supplier due to its high-quality and extensive network. This selection underlines Elisa’s competitiveness in quality. The contract period is ten years.
The continuous improvement of the customer experience and quality are integral parts of our corporate culture, and we will continue to focus on them strongly. Increasing productivity, expanding our digital services internationally and creating value with data, as well as our strong investment capability, will continue to lay a solid foundation for creating value competitively in the future.
Outlook and guidance for 2020
The current coronavirus (COVID-19) situation may significantly slow down economic growth and create uncertainty in macroeconomic development. A strong economic slowdown may impact Elisa. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market remains keen.
Guidance for 2020 is unchanged. Full-year revenue is estimated to be at the same level or slightly higher than in 2019. Mobile data and digital services are expected to increase revenue. Full-year comparable EBITDA is anticipated to be at the same level or slightly higher than in 2019. Capital expenditure is expected to be a maximum of 12 per cent of revenue.
Elisa is continuing its productivity improvement development, for example by increasing automation and data analytics in different processes, such as customer interactions, network operations and delivery. Additionally, Elisa’s continuous quality improvement measures will increase customer satisfaction and efficiency, and reduce 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 growth in the mobile data market, as well as digital 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 Interim Report Q1 2020 and the complete report is attached as a pdf-file to this release and is also available on our website at 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 50 520 5555
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Principal media
www.elisa.com