Elisa’s Interim Report Q1 2021
ELISA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 21 APRIL 2021 AT 8:30 AM
First quarter 2021 financial highlights
- Revenue increased by EUR 13m to EUR 482m, mainly due to the camLine acquisition, Elisa Viihde Viaplay cooperation and growth in equipment sales.
- Mobile service revenue increased by 0.9 per cent to EUR 210m.
- EBITDA grew by EUR 4m to EUR 170m.
- EBIT increased by EUR 3m to EUR 102m.
- Comparable cash flow decreased by EUR 13m to EUR 60m, mainly due to negative NWC change.
- Mobile post-paid ARPU was at the previous quarter’s level, EUR 19.5 (19.3).
- Mobile post-paid churn decreased to 18.3 per cent (19.8 in previous quarter).
- The number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 27,100 from the previous quarter.
- Due to seasonality, prepaid subscriptions decreased by 17,400 during the quarter.
- The number of fixed broadband subscriptions decreased by 31,400 during the quarter, mainly due to a reporting change.
Key indicators
| EUR million | 1Q21 | 1Q20 | Δ % | 2020 |
| Revenue | 482 | 468 | 2.9% | 1,895 |
| EBITDA | 170 | 166 | 2.4% | 685 |
| Comparable EBITDA | 170 | 166 | 2.4% | 685 |
| EBIT | 102 | 99 | 3.1% | 409 |
| Comparable EBIT | 102 | 99 | 3.1% | 415 |
| Profit before tax | 99 | 95 | 4.5% | 398 |
| Comparable PBT | 99 | 95 | 4.5% | 399 |
| EPS, EUR | 0.51 | 0.49 | 4.7% | 2.05 |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0.51 | 0.49 | 4.7% | 2.05 |
| Capital expenditure | 53 | 51 | 4.1% | 266 |
| Net debt | 1,164 | 1,117 | 4.2% | 1,207 |
| Net debt / EBITDA1) | 1,7 | 1,7 | 1.6% | 1,8 |
| Gearing ratio, % | 92.3% | 91.9% | 101.9% | |
| Equity ratio, % | 41.1% | 42.4% | 39.1% | |
| Cash flow | 50 | 73 | -30.9% | 300 |
| Comparable Cash flow2) | 60 | 73 | -17.3% | 351 |
1) (Interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ comparable EBITDA). 2) 1Q21, excluding investments in shares.
Additional key performance indicators are available at elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xlsx).
CEO Veli-Matti Mattila: A good quarter in challenging circumstances
Elisa continued its good development. Revenue increased by 3 per cent from the previous year, to EUR 482 million. EBITDA improved by 2 per cent, to EUR 170 million, and earnings per share by 5 per cent, to EUR 0.51. Despite increased restrictions and lockdowns due to COVID-19 and nearly all of Elisa’s personnel working remotely, we achieved a strong result in the first quarter.
The 5G market is developing well, and we are continuing our leadership position in 5G. Elisa has the most extensive 5G network in Finland, now covering over 2.5 million Finns in over 80 towns and cities. We estimate that by 2023, data traffic over the 5G network will exceed that of 4G.
Our entertaining video services customer base has surpassed 600,000 paying households. We successfully launched a new digital subscription service to let customers stream audiobooks and read e-books. The Elisa Kirja service now includes both transactional and subscription modes and provides the largest selection of Finnish literature.
In accordance with our strategy to grow digital businesses internationally, Elisa acquired a minority share in sedApta Group, an industrial software provider specialising in innovative IT solutions for digital supply chains and smart manufacturing. SedApta has over 1,000 manufacturing industry customers, increasing the global customer base for Elisa's AI, ML and SmartFactory solutions.
Elisa is the first telecom operator in the world to receive the significant six-star certificate in the EFQM Global Award assessment, based on our determined work to develop quality and the customer experience.
Elisa's mission is a sustainable future through digitalisation. The essence of our corporate responsibility is to promote a secure digital environment, equality, ethical business, and action on climate change. For the second consecutive year, Elisa is the most sustainable brand in the industry, according to Finnish consumers in the Sustainable Brand Index 2021.
We will continue to focus strongly on continuous improvement of the customer experience and quality. Increasing productivity, expanding our digital services internationally and creating value with data, as well as our strong investment capability, continue to lay a solid foundation for creating value competitively in the future.
Outlook and guidance for 2021
An uncertain macroeconomic environment is still prevailing in Finland. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market remains keen.
Full-year revenue is estimated to be slightly higher than in 2020. 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 2020. 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 revenue 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 2021 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
elisa.com