Elisa’s Interim Report Q3 2023
ELISA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT RELEASE 19 OCTOBER 2023 AT 8:30 AM
Third quarter 2023 financial highlights
- Revenue increased by EUR 11m to EUR 545m, mainly due to growth in mobile services and equipment sales.
- Mobile service revenue increased by 4.2 per cent to EUR 242m.
- EBITDA grew by EUR 5m to EUR 199m.
- EBIT increased by EUR 3m to EUR 131m.
- Comparable cash flow increased by EUR 19m to EUR 107m.
- In Finland, mobile post-paid ARPU increased to EUR 22.1 (21.9 in the previous quarter), and mobile post-paid churn increased to 14.4 per cent (13.6).
- During the quarter, the number of post-paid mobile subscriptions increased by 4,000. The M2M and IoT subscription base grew by 8,600.
- Prepaid subscriptions increased by 9,700 during the quarter.
- The number of fixed broadband subscriptions increased by 5,700 during the quarter.
- Revenue and EBITDA guidance for 2023 is upgraded to “slightly higher” (previously “same level or slightly higher”).
Key indicators
| EUR million | 3Q23 | 3Q22 | Δ % | 1Q-3Q23 | 1Q-3Q22 | Δ % | |
| Revenue | 545 | 534 | 2.0 % | 1,617 | 1,567 | 3.2 % | |
| EBITDA | 199 | 194 | 2.4 % | 565 | 548 | 3.0 % | |
| Comparable EBITDA (1 | 199 | 194 | 2.4 % | 565 | 550 | 2.6 % | |
| EBIT | 131 | 128 | 2.7 % | 364 | 351 | 3.8 % | |
| Comparable EBIT (1 | 131 | 128 | 2.7 % | 364 | 353 | 3.2 % | |
| Profit before tax | 125 | 124 | 0.9 % | 348 | 341 | 2.0 % | |
| Comparable profit before tax (1 | 125 | 124 | 0.9 % | 348 | 343 | 1.4 % | |
| EPS, EUR | 0.63 | 0.63 | -0.7 % | 1.76 | 1.74 | 1.2 % | |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0.63 | 0.63 | -0.7 % | 1.76 | 1.75 | 0.7 % | |
| Capital expenditure | 78 | 67 | 15.9 % | 213 | 192 | 10.5 % | |
| Net debt | 1,356 | 1,358 | -0.1 % | 1,356 | 1,358 | -0.1 % | |
| Net debt / EBITDA (2 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.9 | |||
| Gearing ratio, % | 114.3 % | 116.9 % | 114.3 % | 116.9 % | |||
| Equity ratio, % | 36.1 % | 38.6 % | 36.1 % | 38.6 % | |||
| Cash flow (3 | 107 | 79 | 35.0 % | 286 | 214 | 33.6 % | |
| Comparable cash flow (4 | 107 | 87 | 22.0 % | 286 | 235 | 21.7 % |
1) 1Q-3Q2022 excluding EUR 2m in restructuring costs. 2) (Interest-bearing debt – financial assets) / (four previous quarters’ comparable EBITDA). 3) Cash flow before financing activities. 4) 3Q22 excluding EUR 8m and 1Q–3Q22 excluding EUR 21m in share investments.
Additional key performance indicators are available at elisa.com/investors (Elisa Operational Data.xlsx).
CEO Veli-Matti Mattila: Good performance continuing
In the third quarter, Elisa continued its good performance. Revenue increased by 2 per cent from the previous year to EUR 545 million. EBITDA improved by 2 per cent to EUR 199 million, and earnings per share was EUR 0.63. Elisa's performance has continued to improve despite increased salary costs, inflation and geopolitical challenges.
During the third quarter, the 5G network rollout progressed as planned, and the population coverage in Finland reached over 90 per cent. Spectrum released from the 3G network, which is currently being ramped down, will be used to strengthen the geographical coverage of the modern networks. Elisa also continued to actively develop its fibre network based on customer demand.
The Finnish Defence Forces have granted Elisa a national facility security clearance (FSC) for the processing of class III data, which complements the class II FSC granted by the EU. These corporate security clearances provide clear proof of Elisa's enduring reliability as a partner.
We announced a collaboration with the Ruutu+ service, owned by the Finnish media company Sanoma, ending our collaboration with Viaplay. Elisa Viihde original series are now available exclusively on Ruutu+.
We continued to implement our mission: a sustainable future through digitalisation. Our sustainability goals are also linked to finance, and we are accelerating sustainable growth through our Sustainability Finance Framework and the EUR 300 million Green Bond issued in September under Elisa’s EUR 1.5 billion EMTN programme. Investors particularly appreciate Elisa's commitment to long-term sustainability and to stable business and financial development.
Elisa was honoured to win the Distributed Energy Storage Project of the Year award at the Energy Storage Awards 2023 in London. Implementing Elisa’s Distributed Energy Storage (DES) solution in Elisa’s own network is on track, and we participate daily in the Finnish Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve market. Elisa is also offering its DES solution to teleoperators internationally.
Elisa's unique strategy generates sustainable profit and growth. Our competitiveness is based on continuously increasing our productivity and quality, our strong investment capability, and the growth opportunities from our innovative digital services globally. Elisa and its entire personnel are engaged in creating value for our customers and a positive impact on society to ensure solid financial performance for shareholders.
Outlook and guidance for 2023
Development in the general economy includes many uncertainties. Growth in the Finnish economy is expected to stall. In particular, uncertainty relating to Russia’s war in Ukraine, such as inflation and energy prices, is continuing. Challenges in global supply chains may also result in uncertainties in volumes and prices. Competition in the Finnish telecommunications market remains keen.
Full-year revenue is estimated to be slightly higher than in 2022. Mobile data and digital services are expected to increase revenue. Full-year comparable EBITDA is anticipated to be slightly higher than in 2022. Capital expenditure is expected to be a maximum of 12 per cent of revenue.
Elisa is continuing to develop to improve productivity, for example by increasing automation and data analytics in different processes, such as customer interaction, 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 domestic and international digital services.
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