Elisa’s Interim Report Q3 2021
ELISA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 20 OCTOBER 2021 AT 8:30 AM
Third quarter 2021 financial highlights
- Revenue increased by EUR 29m to EUR 496m, mainly due to the camLine acquisition, Elisa Viihde Viaplay cooperation and growth in mobile revenue.
- Mobile service revenue increased by 5.5 per cent to EUR 218m.
- EBITDA grew by EUR 6m to EUR 186m.
- EBIT increased by EUR 9m to EUR 121m.
- Comparable cash flow decreased by EUR 7m to EUR 89m, mainly due to a negative change in net working capital.
- In Finland mobile post-paid ARPU increased to EUR 20.1 (19.9 in the previous quarter), and
- mobile post-paid churn decreased to 16.3 per cent (18.3).
- During the quarter, the number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 53,700, of which 38,600 were M2M and IoT subscriptions.
- Prepaid subscriptions increased by 18,200 during the quarter.
- The number of fixed broadband subscriptions increased by 1,800 during the quarter.
- EBITDA guidance for 2021 is upgraded to “slightly higher” (previously “same level or slightly higher”).
Key indicators
| EUR million | 3Q21 | 3Q20 | Δ % | 1Q-3Q21 | 1Q-3Q20 | Δ % | |
| Revenue | 496 | 468 | 6.2% | 1,462 | 1,396 | 4.7% | |
| EBITDA | 186 | 180 | 3.4% | 522 | 514 | 1.5% | |
| Comparable EBITDA (1 | 186 | 180 | 3.4% | 528 | 514 | 2.7% | |
| EBIT | 121 | 112 | 7.8% | 322 | 312 | 3.4% | |
| Comparable EBIT (1 | 121 | 112 | 7.8% | 328 | 312 | 5.2% | |
| Profit before tax | 118 | 108 | 8.7% | 313 | 300 | 4.5% | |
| Comparable PBT (1 | 118 | 108 | 8.7% | 319 | 300 | 6.5% | |
| EPS, EUR | 0.60 | 0.55 | 8.9% | 1.61 | 1.54 | 4.7% | |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0.60 | 0.55 | 8.9% | 1.64 | 1.54 | 6.6% | |
| Capital expenditure | 64 | 75 | -15.6% | 184 | 201 | -8.6% | |
| Net debt | 1,298 | 1,256 | 3.4% | 1,298 | 1,256 | 3.4% | |
| Net debt / EBITDA (2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | |||
| Gearing ratio, % | 116.1% | 114.8% | 116.1% | 114.8% | |||
| Equity ratio, % | 38.5% | 36.2% | 38.5% | 36.2% | |||
| Cash flow | 86 | 91 | -5.8% | 237 | 247 | -4.2% | |
| Comparable Cash flow (3 | 89 | 97 | -7.4% | 250 | 255 | -1.8% | |
1) 1Q-3Q21 excluding EUR 6m in restructuring costs. 2) (Interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ comparable EBITDA). 3) 3Q21 excluding EUR 4m share investments, 1Q-3Q21 excluding EUR 14m in share investments, 3Q20 excluding EUR 5m and 1Q-3Q20 excluding EUR 8m in share investments.
Additional key performance indicators are available at elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xlsx).
CEO Veli-Matti Mattila: Solid performance continuing
Elisa continued its solid development. Revenue increased by 6 per cent to EUR 496 million from the previous year. EBITDA improved by 3 per cent, to EUR 186 million and earnings per share by 9 per cent, to EUR 0.60.
Elisa's leadership in 5G coverage strengthened during the quarter. The latest independent study of operators confirms that Elisa's 5G network is the most comprehensive in Finland1), and according to a global study, Elisa is leading the 5G subscriber experience in Finland and provides the second-best video experience in the world2).
Elisa's 5G network reached over 60 per cent population coverage in nearly 130 locations. Devices with 5G capabilities continued to be the preferred choice for customers, and 5G internet packages were launched for prepaid customers.
Elisa made a strategic investment, acquiring a majority stake in TenForce, a Belgian provider of EHSQ and operational risk management software serving mostly large global industrial customers with a SaaS model. The acquisition is consistent with Elisa’s strategy to grow digital businesses internationally and to accelerate the growth of Elisa IndustrIQ. TenForce provides cross-selling opportunities across the customer-base and complements Elisa’s capabilities, bringing a profound understanding of process industries and its critical features.
Elisa's mission is a sustainable future through digitalisation. We continued providing our customers with sustainable and innovative digital solutions. As the COVID-19 situation begins to ease, our people are continuing to work using the hybrid working methods best suited to each team.
The company’s sustainability goals are also reflected in its financing. Elisa signed a new, EUR 130 million syndicated, sustainability-linked revolving credit facility that will help us accelerate our sustainable growth. The margin will increase or decrease depending on Elisa's performance related to corporate sustainability targets: reducing CO2 emissions from purchased energy, improving the availability of high-speed mobile networks and promoting diversity among our employees.
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 competitively creating value in the future.
1) Boftel: Operator comparison September 2021
2) Tutela: Global State of Mobile Experience report for 2021
Outlook and guidance for 2021
The outlook of macroeconomic environment has improved in Finland. Global supply chain challenges may create uncertainties in volumes and prices. 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 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 Q3 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