2019 was another year for Polsat Group with very good operating and financial results. Most important events include: implementation of the „TV/Internet/Telephone. For everyone. Everywhere” concept, extending of the Premium sport offer, signing of a Joint Venture Agreement with Discovery and TVN with an intention to create a joint OTT platform aggregating Polish-language content, a strategic alliance with Asseco Poland and starting of the rollout of the first commercial 5G network. Already, as many as 2 million customers of the Group use multiply services, and the loyalty of our subscribers is growing – the churn rate was again at a record-low level of 6.4% annually. It was also a very good year in terms of financial results – the Group’s revenue reached nearly PLN 11.7 billion, EBITDA increased to PLN 4.2 billion, and net profit grew to the level of PLN 1.1 billion.
Major operating figures[1] for Q4 and the entire 2019
- In January 2020 we acquired the 2-millionth customer of our multiplay offer:
- Consistent implementation of the strategy results in the stable growth of the number of customers – up by 197 thousand (11%) YoY, to the level of 1.99 million, or 35% of our contract customer base.
- The number of services (RGUs) used by this group of customers increased to 6.05 million.
- It was yet another quarter of at a record-low churn rate – it decreased by 1.2 percentage points, YoY, to just 6.4% in 12 months.
- Strong growth of the number of contract services – up by 469 thousand (3%) YoY, to 14.73 million:
- Growth of the number of mobile services – by as many as 549 thousand (7.5%) YoY to 7.9 million in total, with positive impact of multiplay strategy and simple Plus tariffs which were launched in February 2018, supported by good sales results in the B2B segment (m2m);
- The total number of pay TV contract services was at a high level of 5 million.
- Stable base of Internet access services at ca. 1.8 million. In 2019 retail customers of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel transferred ca. 1.1 EB of data. Nearly 100% of Poles live within the coverage of the Group’s LTE network, with LTE Advanced coverage extending over an area inhabited by 82% of the country’s population.
- Stable base of over 5.6 million contract customers:
- Growth of saturation of services per customer – up by 4.5% YoY;
- Each customer uses on average 2.61 of the Group’s services;
- Average revenue per contract customer (ARPU) increased by 1.9% YoY and reached PLN 85.6.
- Stable prepaid service base at the level of 2.7 million (YoY), with high ARPU which amounted to PLN 20.3.
- TV Polsat Group’s revenue from TV advertising and sponsoring increased by 2.4% YoY in Q4 and reached the value of PLN 379 million, leading to an increase in the Group’s share in the TV advertising market to 28.6%, while in 2019 it increased by 1.9% YoY to PLN 1.22 billion, thus ensuring the Group’s share in the TV advertising market at the level of 28.0%.
- TV Polsat Group’s channels maintained leading positions as regards audience share in the commercial viewer group, achieving the level of 24.2% (including 10.4% by Polsat’s main channel and 13.8% by the theme channels) in Q4 2019 and of 24.3% (including 11.0% by Polsat’s main channel and 13.3% by the theme channels) in the entire 2019.
In 2019, Polsat Group executed all planned activities, thanks to which its position on the pay TV, telecommunications and broadcasting and TV production markets has grown in strength.
“We have achieved a great success on the multiplay market. After nearly six years since its launch, the smartDOM program is the biggest program in Poland offering bundled services for households and families. More than 2 million customers have opted for this program and the total number of services owned by them exceeds 6 million. In total, we provide over 14.7 million contract services, and the churn rate decreased once again to the record-low level of 6.4% annually, which simultaneously proves that our customers are the most loyal ones,” says Mirosław Błaszczyk, CEO of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Polkomtel Sp. z o.o. “What is particularly pleasing is that Plus was the leader in number portability, being the most frequently chosen network by customers in Poland”.
The Group has successfully completed the tests of 5G technology and started rolling out the first commercial 5G network in Poland, based on the 2600 MHz TDD frequency band. Furthermore, strategic cooperation with Asseco has been established, which will strengthen the Group in the area of IT, which is of key importance in the provision of state-of-the-art, high quality services using the cutting-edge technical solutions.
“In 2019, following our strategic concept: “Television/Internet/Telephone. For everyone. Everywhere” we consistently worked on the development of our services in such a way as to ensure that they are available to all Polish families, in a convenient way and in diverse technologies. We have introduced two new services available via the Internet – cable TV in IPTV technology and web TV with an OTT set-top box. Whereas thanks to the access to Netia’s infrastructure we have started offering fixed broadband Internet access – also in fiber optic technology with speeds up to 1 Gbps – which reaches 2.7 million households across Poland,” says Maciej Stec, Vice President of the Management Board responsible for Strategy at Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Polkomtel Sp. z o.o
The Group is consistently extending its premium sports offer – through the introduction of Canal+ Sport 3 and 4 channels with Polish PKO BP Ekstraklasa football premiership which perfectly supplements Polsat Sport Premium channels with UEFA Champions League and Europa League, as well as Eleven Sports channels with the best European leagues. The Group also supports film productions which were a big commercial success - “Jak poślubić milionera” (How to Marry a Millionaire), “(Nie)znajomi,” “Psy 3. W imię zasad” (“Cops 3. In the Name of Principles”) and ”Jak zostałem gangsterem. Historia prawdziwa” (“How I became a gangster. A true story.”). The latter two titles attracted over a million viewers to cinemas during the first few weeks of screenings.
|
ARPU per RGU prepaid [PLN] |
20.3 |
20.3 |
0.0% |
„It was another very good year for TV Polsat. Both as a Group and the main channel POLSAT itself were top in terms of audience shares in the commercial viewer group, reaching a total audience share in line with our long-term strategy at the level of 24.3%. On a stable market, the revenue from TV advertising and sponsorship of Polsat Group increased by 1.9% reaching the level of PLN 1.22 billion,” says Stanisław Janowski, the CEO of Telewizja Polsat Sp. z o.o. ”Such good results were driven by a good combination of programming – strong seasonal programming schedules, consisting of both proven formats and TV series as well as novelties, and a strong offer of movies, sports broadcasts from many events, reliable news and a broad range of journalistic programs.”
Major financial figures for Q4 and the entire 2019
- Strong financial performance of the Group in 2019 (including IFRS 16):
- Improving financial results of the segment of services provided to individual and business customers in 2019:
“Also our financial results are very satisfying. The Group’s revenue reached nearly PLN 11.7 billion, EBITDA amounted to PLN 4.2 billion, and net profit increased to PLN 1.1 billion. Free cash flows are at the guided level of PLN 1.3 billion. We achieve synergies resulting from the cooperation with Netia which were announced over 2 years ago at the anticipated pace. Growing revenue and healthy condition and financial structure of our Group enable us to combine three essential pillars – efficient reduction of the Group’s debt with necessary investments and dividend payment. Last year, we adopted a new, more attractive and predictable dividend policy,” says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, the Management Board Member responsible for financial matters at Cyfrowy Polsat S.A., Polkomtel Sp. z o.o. “Furthermore, we have refinanced our Series A Bonds with the issue, on very good terms, of the Series B Bonds, and thinking about further development of the Group, we have acquired additional financing on very good terms,” sums up Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann.
“As we feel responsible for our impact on our immediate surroundings, we would like to develop not only high quality products and services, but also an exceptional quality for the society. This is why we have been consistently carrying out our social mission addressing such topics as safety, aid to children and promotion of sports. Our involvement in environmental protection is manifested by the establishment, by the founder and main shareholder of our Group, of “Stowarzyszenie Program Czysta Polska” (Clean Poland Program Society) whose goal is to indulge in efforts which are aimed at ensuring life in a healthy and clean environment for Poles,” adds Mirosław Błaszczyk.
In February 2019, Cyfrowy Polsat, as the first company in Poland outside the financial sector, issued green corporate bonds in Polish zloty, and all the funds from this issue in the amount of PLN 1 billion will be allocated to refinancing of environmental-friendly investments, concerning among others, improvement of energy efficiency of the Group and reduction of the carbon footprint related to the electronic devices manufactured by Polsat Group.
Mirosław Błaszczyk, President of the Management Board sums up: “In 2020 we plan to continue the initiated activities – development of the smartDOM program based on the „For Everyone. Everywhere” concept, cooperation with Netia, roll out of the first commercial 5G network in Poland based on the frequency we already own as well as creating comprehensive and strategic IT solutions together with Asseco. We will also make all efforts to maintain a high level of margins and cash generation, which will enable us to pay an attractive dividend for our shareholders.”
[1] Without operating data for Netia Group which are published separately from the results of Cyfrowy Polsat Group.
