Annual result 2019: Strong growth and a larger geographic footprint

June 29, 2020: 2019 was a strong year for GlobalConnect. The company announced a merger with IP-Only, expanded the fiber network to a total of 74,500 km and invested in services enabling value-adding services such as SD-WAN and managed LAN. The new GlobalConnect/IP-Only group had a total revenue* of 547 million EUR in 2019 whilst investing 381 million EUR.

During 2019, GlobalConnect has invested in network and solutions to strengthen its position as the number one challenger offering end-to-end connectivity solutions to businesses and consumers across Northern Europa. From 2020, the combined Group GlobalConnect/IP-Only will be able to streamline its operation as well as share best practice throughout the region. Examples of such best practice competencies are SD-WAN expertise in Norway, managed LAN in Sweden and a strong position within data centre and cloud services in Denmark.

‒ “Growing the client base requires investments. In 2019, we built 11 000 km of fiber to a total of 74 500 km fiber throughout the region. In 2019, we kicked off a new optical ”super network” with up to 100 times higher capacity and with customer speeds reaching 400 Gbit/s. This network connects all cities and main datacenters in Northern Europe, including Frankfurt and Amsterdam,” says Martin Lippert, CEO in GlobalConnect/IP-Only.

GlobalConnect in Denmark has prioritized investments to optimize data center infrastructure to reduce the climate footprint and increase energy efficiency. As the first data center provider in Denmark, the company has obtained an Energy Efficiency Certificate with an A-rating from eOptimo.

Germany is an important growth market for GlobalConnect. In 2019, the company increased sales with approx. 200 percent. The company expects to continue that growth rate in Germany in 2020.

GlobalConnect/IP-Only does not only experience strong momentum in the enterprise market. In the Swedish and Norwegian consumer markets, through the brands IP-Only and Homenet, the customer base grew by 52,000 fiber optic lines in 2019. The total number of consumer customers was 300,000 at the end of 2019. In a time when large parts of society are working from home, a development which is unlikely to be fully reversed, powerful and reliable fiber access to the home is particularly important. The B2C market is also a focused segment in Germany.

According to a report published by the Swedish Post- och Telestyrelsen on June 4th, GlobalConnect/IP-Only was the company to invest the most in the Swedish fiber market in 2019. The same report states that the company was the only one to increase its investments.

“We have a strong investment strategy in all our core markets”, Lippert concludes.

Key figures

In mEUR

*EBITDA excluding restructuring and integration costs.

Contact:
Kamran Alemdar
Group CMO, Marketing & Communications
kamran.alemdar@globalconnect.se

About GlobalConnect Group
GlobalConnect Group is one of the leading digital infrastructure and data communication providers in Northern Europe. The Group delivers end-to-end solutions across its own infrastructure consisting of 84,000 kilometers fiber network and 27,000 sqm data center space in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Finland. GlobalConnect Group employs approximately 1,700 people, has 30,000 B2B customers and connects more than 380,000 private households with a high-capacity fiber network. GlobalConnect Group is the result of 2019 and 2020 mergers between Broadnet, GlobalConnect and IP-Only. In the B2C segment, the group operates under the brands IP-Only, HomeNet and Onefiber, while operating as GlobalConnect in the B2B segment across all its markets. GlobalConnect Group is owned by global investment organization EQT, one of Europe’s largest infrastructure investors.