In Q2 2023 Polsat Plus Group presented new proposals in each segment of its operations: it launched the 5G Ultra solution with data transfer rates of up to 1 Gbps, it acquired naEKRANIE.pl portal as well as three TV 4FUN channels. It has also extended contract for broadcasting rights to European volleyball cup matches as well as acquired the rights to ORLEN Superliga and ORLEN Superliga Kobiet men’s and women’s handball league matches, while also starting trial electricity production from its first wind farms. In July the Group was joined by PAK-PCE, a company involved in the projects related to green energy and green hydrogen. Polsat Plus Group provides over 20 million services (RGU’s) in the areas of TV and telecommunications to its customers, with the average revenue per customer (ARPU) across all customer segments demonstrating an upward trend.
Major events in Q2 2023:
- 5G Ultra is a novelty for Plus customers – the maximum data downloading speed in Plus’s 5G network increased to 1 Gbps, with over 4.2 million of Poland’s inhabitants living within the 5G Ultra service coverage footprint and a total of 20 million people having access to 5G network services.
- Plus was the leader in the mobile Internet ranking put together by SpeedTest.pl for Q2 2023. Offering the average data download speed of 51.6 Mbps, Plus ranked no. 1 in the overall mobile Internet ranking (5G, 4G, 3G). Moreover the company dominated the ranking in the fastest data transmission technology, namely 5G, while achieving the average data speed of 138 Mbps.
- Polsat Plus Group has strengthened its position in the media segment by acquiring a majority stake in the companies which own naEKRANIE.pl web service as well as the three TV 4FUN channels – 4FUN.TV, 4FUN KIDS and 4FUN DANCE.
- Polsat TV extended its contract for broadcasting rights to European volleyball cup matches until the 2028/2029 season. The contract includes the CEV Champions League, the CEV Cup and the Challenge Cup. An agreement was also signed for coverage of Men’s ORLEN Superliga and Women’s ORLEN Superliga handball matches during the next 7 seasons, up until year 2030.
- According to a Mediapanel survey, Interia.pl has for the first time in history surpassed Onet.pl in terms of page hits, with as many as 16.25 million real users accessing its website pages in July. Interia.pl has been the fastest growing horizontal portal in Poland (TOP 5). On the average, during Q2 2023 Polsat-Interia Group’s services were accessed by 21 million users monthly who generated 1.9 billion page views.
- Acquisition of a controlling stake in PAK-PCE, a company via which enables Polsat Plus Group pursues its clean energy and green hydrogen-related projects.
- Start of trial electricity production by the wind farms in Miłosław and Kazimierz Biskupi.
- Completion of construction of the first green hydrogen refueling station in Warsaw and securing of all the permits required for commercial operations.
- Development of our operations on the photovoltaic systems market in the B2B segment – an agreement was signed with Dino retail chain for 750 systems to be installed on the rooftops of individual stores.
“We have been consistently pushing forward. Plus’s 5G network has accelerated to even as much as 1 Gbps, or the data speed offered by fiber-optic lines. We have been investing in our programming offer – we have acquired new sports broadcasting rights, we invest in new TV series and entertainment shows, we have acquired naEKRANIE.pl portal and three 4FUN music TV channels. We have acquired a controlling stake in PAK-PCE and we are developing the projects in the clean energy area, thus consolidating our position on the energy production market,” sums up Mirosław Błaszczyk, the CEO of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group.
B2C and B2B services segment – consistent implementation of multiplay strategy
Polsat Plus Group provides more than 20 million telecommunication and TV services (RGU’s), 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 1.6 PLN year-on-year (2.3%) and reached 71.8 PLN, while churn in B2C segment remains unchangeably low, at 7.3% annually. The ARPU generated from prepaid services also increased – by 2.3% - reaching 17.8 PLN, with the prepaid customer base remaining at a stable, high level.
Multiplay offers are used by nearly 2.5 million subscribers, or 42% of all our customers, which is a very good result in the face of unfavorable market conditions,” says Maciej Stec, the Vice-President of the Management Board responsible of Polsat Plus Group’s strategy. “We have recorded ARPU growth across all customer segments – residential contract customers, B2B and prepaid customers, while keeping the churn ratio at invariably low levels. The factors which have contributed to such a situation include growing popularity of the 5G offer as well as bundling of our offers with Disney+,” adds Maciej Stec.
Polsat Plus Group serves nearly 70 thousand B2B clients. Thanks to the successively expanded offer of communication and data communication services, the average revenue per unit for this group of customers increased by 6.2% year-on-year, to the level of nearly 1.5 thousand PLN monthly.
Media segment: TV and online services –portfolio development
The total audience share of TV Polsat in Q2 2023 was 22%, including 7.8% share by the main Polsat channel and 14.2% share held by theme channels. The respective figures for the first half of the year were: 21.9% (overall audience share), 7.9% in the case of the main channel and 14% in the case of theme channels.
TV Polsat’s revenue generated from advertising and sponsoring grew at a faster rate than the average market growth rate, both in Q2 as well as during the entire first half of 2023. In Q2 2023 the Group’s revenue from TV advertising and sponsoring grew by 4.4% and reached 345 million PLN, with the market share in TV advertising market reaching 28.7%. During the first half of the year the revenue increased by 4.3%, to 629 million PLN, while the share in the TV advertising and sponsoring market reached 28.4%.
Polsat Interia Group’s Internet services were accessed by 21 million users monthly on the average, generating ca. 1.9 billion page views.
Both, during Q2 as well as during the whole first half of the year we were seeing very good audience share results, even in spite of the adverse impact of migration to the DVB-T2 standard by the terrestrial digital TV. We also posted very good financial results – our revenue from TV advertising grew by more than 4% during both periods, or slightly above market average,”– says Stanisław Janowski, President of the Management Board of TV Polsat, a Polsat Plus Group company. “We have extended the portfolio of our channels to 42 thanks to the acquisition of three 4FUN TV channels. We have continued the process of consolidation of our position on the web portals market by acquiring a popular pop-culture portal called naEKRANIE.pl.”
Development of Clean Energy projects
While pursuing its Strategy 2023+ in the clean energy area, Polsat Plus Group acquired a controlling stake in PAK PCE and continues dynamic development of the projects associated with the production of green energy (i.e. the energy based on solar power, wind, biomass burning, thermal waste processing) as well as the projects related to the development of the full green hydrogen value chain.
“The work related to the achievement of our strategic goals in the areas of clean, green energy is progressing dynamically. The launch of the first two wind farms, in Miłosław and Kazmierz Biskupi, is in progress, with their commercial launch expected still in September. We are also in the process of finalization of expansion of the solar power farm in Brudzew,” says Maciej Stec, the Vice-President for Strategy at Polsat Plus Group. “We have completed the construction of the first publicly accessible green hydrogen refueling station in Warsaw and we already hold all the permits required to put it into operation. Further hydrogen refueling stations are being constructed in other places, including Rybnik, Gdansk and Gdynia. We are in the process of manufacturing of first hydrogen-powered buses for the town of Rybnik and we participate in further tenders for the delivery of such buses, including in Gdansk, Walbrzych and Swidnik,” adds Maciej Stec.
Polsat Plus Group’s financial results – growth of revenue
Polsat Plus Group’s revenue increased by 1.9% year-on-year in Q2 2023 and reached nearly 3.3 billion PLN, with EBITDA of ca. 800 million PLN. Free cash flow for the period of 12 months was at the level of 580 million PLN, with Net debt/EBITDA LTM ratio of 3.26x.
“The revenue in the segment of services for B2C and B2B clients was growing on the back of strong equipment sales. We noted excellent financial results of our media segment – revenue was up by 5%, EBITDA increased by 10% year-on-year. We have successfully refinanced the Group’s debt on the difficult debt market and a we acquired funding for the investments which are part of our Strategy 2023+,” – says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, a Management Board Member responsible for finance in Cyfrowy Polsat and the Vice-President responsible for finance in Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group. “Fitch Ratings agency assigned BB rating to us, with stable outlook, which is indicative of the market’s trust in our strategy and operations.”
