23 million people living within the coverage area of the 5G network, 6 million within the coverage of 5G Ultra network, and 13 million with access to a fiber-optic connection, very good TV Polsat programming offer, partnership with Google Cloud, production of electricity from solar and wind power as well as sale of hydrogen-powered buses
During 2023 Polsat Plus Group developed in all the segments of its operations. It expanded the population coverage of Plus’s 5G network to 23 million, it launched the 5G Ultra service offering data speeds of up to 1 Gbps and covering the area inhabited by 6 million people, while our fiber-optic network accelerated to 2 Gbps and now reaches 13 million people. TV Polsat acquired new channels, and now offers as many as 40, and it also acquired broadcasting rights to sports events. A new package, called Start, has been added to Polsat Box Go offer. Wind farms located Miłosław and Kazimierz Biskupi started generating power. The Group has the installed electrical capacity of 215 MW which is ultimately expected to reach 750 MW in 2026. First in Poland, generally accessible hydrogen refueling stations were opened in Warsaw and Rybnik.
Major events:
- As many as 23 million of Poland’s inhabitants live within the coverage area of Plus’s 5G network while 6 million can enjoy the even faster 5G Ultra service. Thanks to the planned aggregation of the new C frequency band spectrum, Plus customers will be able to enjoy 5G Internet access at maximum data speeds of around 2 Gbps.
- Netia accelerated its fiber-optic network to as much as 2 Gbps, while Internet access based on Netia’s own network and the partner networks can be enjoyed at as many as 6.9 million addresses, including 6 million with Internet access based on fiber-optic connections. Plus’s fiber-optic network reaches an area inhabited by 13 million people.
- Polsat Plus Group entered into strategic partnership with Google Cloud, based on which Google signed its first in Poland contract for purchase of green electricity from Przyrów wind farm, while Polsat Plus Group will use Google Cloud solutions, thus accelerating its technological progress and digital transformation.
- Polsat Plus Group strengthened its position in the media segment – it acquired majority stakes in the companies which own naEkranie.pl web service as well as 4fun.tv, 4fun Kids and 4fun Dance TV channels. The market share held by TV Polsat’s channels is a strong 22%.
- Each month the web services of Polsat-Interia Group are accessed by nearly 21 million unique users who generate nearly 2 billing page views.
- New media broadcasting rights acquired by TV Polsat – the rights to broadcasting European volleyball cup matches have been extended up until the 2028/2029 season (the contract includes the CEV Champions League, the CEV Cup and the Challenge Cup), the broadcasting rights to Orlen Basket Liga basketball league matches have been extended until the end of the 2029/2030 season, a contract was signed for broadcasting the matches of ORLEN Superliga and Women’s ORLEN Superliga handball leagues up until 2030 and a contract was signed for broadcasting the Ice Hockey World Championship in the years 2024 – 2029.
- Currently the most important sports broadcasting rights of Polsat Plus Group are for the club and national teams’ volleyball matches, including Plusliga, Tauron Liga, Men’s and Women’s CEV Champions League, FIVB World Cup, together with the qualifiers, the Nations League, beach volleyball; tennis: Wimbledon, ATP Tour; football (soccer): 2028 UEFA Euro 2028 qualifiers, FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, UEFA Nations League (all matches except for the matches played by the Polish team); track and field: Diamond League, World Athletics Continental & Indoor Tour; basketball: ORLEN Basket Liga; handball: men’s and women’s ORLEN Superliga matches; martial arts, including UFC, FEN, Babilon Boxing and Babilon MMA; golf: The Open Championship; motorsports: FIA World Endurance Championship, MotoGP World Championship; winter sports: speed skating, figure skating, short track, 2024 IIHF Hockey World Championship, Spengler Cup; cycling: Tour de Pologne 2024, as well as American football NFL matches and the Paralympic Games.
- Polsat Box Go streaming services launched a new channel package called Start. It is offered at a promotional price of just 30 PLN per year, or 2.5 PLN monthly. Polsat Box Go Start package offers access to more than 40 thousand hours of favorite TV series, reality shows, fine entertainment as well as many exciting new productions from more than 20 TV Polsat channels.
- Start of generation of green energy by the wind farms in Miłosław and Kazimierz Biskupi as well as expansion of the solar farm in Brudzew. All in all the Group has an installed electricity production capacity of as much 215 MW which is expected to reach around 750 MW by 2026.
- During the whole of 2023 the Polsat Plus Group’s green energy sources generated 665 GWh of power and nearly 100% of the energy consumed by the Group’s companies came from RES.
- The estimated level of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, which the Group achieved thanks to the development of own RES, was 316 thousand tons.
- Launch of the NesoBus factory of hydrogen-powered buses in Swidnik as well as opening of generally accessible green hydrogen refueling stations in Warsaw and Rybnik.
- Winning the tenders for the delivery of NesoBuses to Rybnik, Gdansk and Chełm.
- Polsat Plus Group and the Polish Olympic Committee signed an agreement based on which Polsat Plus Group and Plus network will be the sponsors of the Polish Olympic Committee and of the Polish National Olympic Team over the next 4 years, including during the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024 and the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026
“During 2023 we were consistently implementing our strategy. As many as 23 million of Poland’s inhabitants live within the reach of Plus’s 5G network while our 5G Ultra network service, offering data speeds of up to 1 Gbps, covers an area inhabited by 6 million people in Poland. The fiber-optic access can be enjoyed by 13 million people. We invest in our TV programming offer, including best sports events and new TV series. As announced earlier, we are dynamically developing our projects in the new segment of green energy,” says Mirosław Błaszczyk, President of the Management Board of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group.
Segment of B2C and B2B services – consistent implementation of our multiplay strategy
Polsat Plus Group provides, in total, more than 20 million telecommunication and TV services (RGUs), with nearly 2.5 million customers using multiplay services and enjoying the tangible financial benefits which stem from bundling of Polsat Box and Plus services. Average revenue per contract customer increased by 2.6% year-on-year and reached 73.6 PLN, while churn in B2C segment remains unchangeably low, at 7.6% annually.
“Stable base of 2.5 million subscribers, or 42% of all our customers, uses our multiplay offers, thanks to which we are effectively building customer value and loyalty” says Maciej Stec, the Vice-President of the Management Board responsible of Polsat Plus Group’s strategy. “In spite of difficult market conditions, the average revenue per contract customer, both for individual and business customers, continued to increase. We owe this to the consistent pursuit of our multiplay strategy, popularization of 5G and of the offers bundled with Disney+ service. Churn remains invariably low at 7.6%,” adds Maciej Stec.
Polsat Plus Group serves nearly 70 thousand B2B clients. Thanks to the successively expanded offer of advanced ICT services, including cloud solutions, data center and cybersecurity solutions, the average revenue per unit for this group of customers increased by 2.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, to the level of nearly 1.5 thousand PLN monthly.
Media segment: TV and online services –a new portal and new TV channels
In 2023 the total audience share of TV Polsat channels was 22% – 7.6% for the main Polsat channel and 14.4% for the theme channels. TV Polsat’s revenue generated from advertising and sponsoring grew by 3.4% in 2023 and reached 1.33 bn PLN, while TV advertising market share increased to 28.6%. Polsat-Interia Group’s Internet services were accessed by an average of ca. 21 million users monthly, generating 2 billion page views.
“We have strengthened our position in the media segment by acquiring naEkranie.pl service and 3 TV 4fun channels. The overall audience share of our TV channels was 22% in 2023 while our advertising revenue increased by 3.4% year-on-year, to the level of 1.3 billion PLN, thanks to which have a strong position on the TV advertising market,” says Piotr Żak, the acting President of the Management Board of TV Polsat, Polsat Plus Group. “In the online area our priority is invariably to deliver valuable content. Every month our services are used by around 21 million users on the average, thanks to which we are a leading Internet publisher in Poland. By implementing the earlier-announced synergies, during the past three years we doubled the EBITDA of Interia.pl Group. This January, thanks to 21.11 million users Polsat-Interia Group was the number 1 among Internet publishers for the first time in its history,” adds Mr. Piotr Żak.
Green energy segment – first wind farms, NesoBus and Neso refueling stations
Polsat Plus Group has been dynamically implementing the initiatives associated with the production of green energy as well as the development of the full hydrogen value chain.
The Group’s total installed power capacity is already 215 MW and by 2026 it will reach to 750 MW. Wind farms in Miłosław (9.6 MW) and Kazimierz Biskupi (17.5 MW) started electricity production. The expansion of Brudzew solar power plant was completed. It now offers the capacity of 82.4 MWp. Further four wind farms are under construction: Człuchów (72.6 MW), Przyrów (50.4 MW), Drzeżewo (138.6 MW), Dobra (7.8 MW), and work is also underway as regard the photovoltaic farm project in Przykona which will have target power capacity of 260 MWp.
In the whole of 2023 Polsat Plus Group’s green energy sources generated 665 GWh of power while nearly 100% of the energy consumed by the Group’s companies came from RSE. The estimated level of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, which the Group achieved thanks to the development of own RES, was 316 thousand tons.
“We have been dynamically pursuing our Strategy 2023+ in the green energy segment. In less than two years we have been able to launch wind farms in Miłosław and Kazimierz Biskupi, while the Człuchów farm is currently at the technical start-up stage and it already generated electricity in February 2024. Installation of turbines was completed ahead of schedule at Przyrów farm. We have expanded Brudzew solar power plant. We now have total installed power of 215 MW while during the whole year our RES generated 665 GWh of green energy,” says Maciej Stec, the Vice-President of the Management Board responsible of Polsat Plus Group’s strategy.
Generally-accessible, first in Poland hydrogen refueling stations for passenger cars and buses were opened in Warsaw and Rybnik. Further stations are being constructed in Gdansk, Gdynia, Wroclaw and Lublin. The hydrogen refueling network is being developed under the NESO brand. NESO is an acronym for the Polish phrase “Nie Emituję Spalin, Oczyszczam” (Emits no Exhaust Fumes, Purifies the Air).
The construction of the factory of hydrogen buses manufactured by Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK was completed in Swidnik. 20 NesoBuses have been already delivered to Rybnik while the fulfillment of the orders from Gdansk (for 10 NesoBuses) and Chełm (for 26 NesoBuses) is underway.
“We are quickly building the value chain of green hydrogen-based economy. First in Poland, generally-accessible hydrogen refueling stations were opened in Warsaw and Rybnik, while four more stations are under construction. The hydrogen bus factory was put into operation in Świdnik. We have already delivered 20 NesoBuses to Rybnik, while further buses will go to Gdansk – 10 units this year – and to Chełm - 26 vehicles in 2025,” adds Maciej Stec.
Polsat Plus Group’s financial results
Polsat Plus Group posted good financial results on the difficult, from the macroeconomic point of view, market. The Group’s revenue, including also consolidation of PAK-PCE Group’s results, increased by 5.5% year-on-year and reached 13.6 billion PLN, adjusted EBITDA exceeded 3 billion PLN while net profit was 300 million PLN.
“Year 2023 was full of challenges for us, also in the financial area. We successfully completed the process of refinancing of our debt by signing facility agreements for 7.3 bn PLN, a fixed-term loan for 0.5 bn EUR and a 0.5 bn EUR revolving loan,” – says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, a Management Board Member of Cyfrowy Polsat responsible for finance and the Vice-President responsible for finance at Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group. “We have successfully carried out another ESG-related bond issue for the amount of ca. 3.9 billion PLN. The proceeds from the bond issue will be used for the implementation of our Strategy 2023+. Moreover we are successfully securing project financing and thanks to the investment loans in the amount exceeding 1.1 billion PLN we will be able to finance 145 MW of power capacity which will be generated from renewable energy sources.”
