During Q1 2022 Polsat Plus Group increased its multiplay customer base to nearly 2.5 million, with Polsat main channel being the audience leader in the commercial viewers group among the main TV channels. At the same time, the number of users of the Group’s web portals increased to over 21 million. The Group intensified its efforts aimed at putting into operation, in a short time, further sources of clean energy production, including solar and wind farms. It also continued preparations for launching the production of green hydrogen which is a zero-emission fuel of the future.
Polsat Plus Group initiated numerous activities through which it offered support for the citizens of Ukraine and demonstrated solidarity with them in the face of the on-going war. The Group offers, among others, free telecommunication and TV access services for the refugees. It also donated seed funds for initiating ”Fundacja Polsat Dzieciom Ukrainy” (Polsat Foundation of the Children of Ukraine) action. More information HERE.
Being a Polish company, Polsat Plus Group attaches a lot of attention to corporate social responsibility. That is why from the very early days of the Russian invasion the Group’s priority was to assure free communications for the refugees from Ukraine and the possibility for them to contact their families back home, which was achieved by offering free prepaid starter kits and free telecommunication services.
“Through our news channels and web portals we bring current, reliable information on the situation in Ukraine. Our offer of TV services includes free access to popular Ukrainian channels. We supported the charity action “Polsat Foundation for the Children of Ukraine,” says Mirosław Błaszczyk, the President of the Management Board of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group. “At the same time the current situation has enormous impact on the electrical power industry across Europe. This has only confirmed our belief that fast energy transformation of the country is a must and the activities that we have embarked upon in this area are right, adds Mr. Błaszczyk.
Developing the new segment of operations – Clean Energy
Production of Clean Energy from solar and wind power as well as biomass burning and thermal processing of waste, and the development of a full, nationwide green hydrogen value chain form the new area of operations of Polsat Plus Group, apart from the existing segments of Telecommunications, under Plus brand, and Content delivery, under Polsat brand. Jointly with ZE PAK power company Polsat Plus Group wants to become the leading producer of green energy and green hydrogen in Poland. That is why it has proceeded with fast implementation of further actions having the aim of efficient development of this new segment of its operations.
The activities completed during Q1 2022 include:
- Obtaining a type approval for the hydrogen-powered city bus constructed by Polish engineers. The bus will soon be presented to the public.
- Efforts are underway to sign a contract for constructing a factory of hydrogen buses in Świdnik (in south-eastern Poland).
- The delivery of the first electrolyzer (for producing clean hydrogen) has been confirmed for Q3 2022.
- A shared electrical connection for PV and gas installations, which will be located in Przykona in central Poland, has been secured.
- The contractors for the wind farms in Miłosław and Kazimierz Biskupi have confirmed that the war in Ukraine will not affect the deadlines of completion of these projects, planned for Q3 2023. Work on other projects also continues on schedule.
Effective implementation of the multiplay strategy
Polsat Plus Group remains the biggest provider of packaged services. Its offer of bundled services, which relies on a mechanism of attractive discounts given for each additional product or service from a Group’s portfolio, enjoys unwavering interest and trust of its customers.
“Despite the significant change of the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, we have been successfully pursuing our multiplay strategy. At the end of March our offer of bundled services was used by as many as 2.5 million of our customers. Today we provide 200 thousand contract services more than a year ago. The growing popularity of our 5G tariffs has led to the growth of the average revenue per customer in the individual customers segment to nearly 70 PLN. Churn has remained unchangeably low, at 6.8%, which is indicative of the effectiveness of our activities,” says Maciej Stec, the Vice President of the Management Board of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polsat who is responsible for strategy.
The number of prepaid services increased to more than 2.8 million, also as a result of distribution of free starter kits to the citizens of Ukraine and consolidation of the results of Premium Mobile. Simultaneously the average monthly revenue per user increased by 10%, to 17.2 PLN, on the back of the changes to the mobile services and TV offers.
Biggest 5G network in Poland
As many as 19 million people, or more than half of the inhabitants of Poland, live within the coverage of the biggest and the fastest 5G network which is operated by Plus. The number of Plus’s 5G base stations is around 3000, which assures 5G network coverage in 800 towns and places. The extensive coverage of Plus’s 5G network, its high performance parameters, attractive offers of access to 5G services as well as the growing range of 5G-supporting mobile phones, including the innovative form of sale of iPhones, lead to fast popularization of Plus’s 5G tariffs.
Polsat Plus Group’s leading position on the TV and Internet publishers’ markets
The growing interest of viewers in latest news in Q1 contributed to significant growth of audiences of TV Polsat’s news channels – the audience share of Polsat News station increased to 2.17% while the audience share of Wydarzenia 24 channel grew to 0.63%. The audience share of all of Polsat Plus Group’s channels was 23.2%. The average monthly number of users of all web portals and Internet services owned by Polsat-Interia Group reached 21.2 million, which was synonymous with growth of the number of users by 1 million year-on-year. The average number of page views for all portals was 2.2 billion monthly.
“Via the 39 TV channels, while using various technologies and for all types of devices, we have been consistently creating and delivering attractive content that our viewers expect. In Q1 2022 Polsat TV station was the audience leader in the commercial viewers group and the audience share of the whole TV Polsat Group was 23.2%, which was in line with our strategic assumptions. Our revenue from TV advertising was growing in line with the market,” says Stanisław Janowski, the President of the Management Board of TV Polsat, Polsat Plus Group. – We continue building our strong position on the market of Internet publishers, with the number of users of our web portals increasing by 1 million during a year, to more than 21 million,” adds Mr. Janowski.
Stable revenue and faster implementation of RES projects
Polsat Plus Group’s total revenue increased by 3%[1] and reached 3 billion zloty. Adjusted EBITDA[2] was 800 million zloty. Free cash flow remained high at 1.25 billion zloty. Total Net Debt/EBITDA LTM ratio was at a low level of 1.07x.
“In the face of the geopolitical and macro-economic challenges, we consider our operating results and stable and recurring retail revenue growth to be positive. We concentrate on further ARPU consolidation with simultaneous adjustment of the costs to the new challenges. Our strong financial position and high liquidity enable us to accelerate the implementation of the Clean Energy projects, which will assure growth of our business in the years to come,” says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, a Management Board Member responsible for finance in Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel (Polsat Plus Group).
Major operating figures for Q4 for B2C and B2B segments:
- Polsat Plus Group provides a total of over 20 million pay TV (DTH), telephony and Internet access services.
- The number of customers using multiplay services increased by 73 thousand yoy (3%) and reached 2.5 million.
- The number of contract services for B2C customers increased by more than 200 thousand (1.6%) yoy, and reached 13.4 million.
- Average monthly revenue per contract customer (ARPU) for B2C services increased to 69.8 PLN (+3.9% yoy).
- Churn ratio for B2C customers remained unchangeably very low at 6.8% annually and continues decreasing.
- The number of prepaid services increased (including in connection with the distribution of free starter kits to citizens of Ukraine) and reached 2.8 million. At the same time, changes in the offer translated to substantial ARPU growth – by 10.3% yoy, to 17.2 PLN.
- The volume of data transferred by customers of Cyfrowy Polsat and Plus was ca. 487 PB (growth by 10% yoy).
- The total number of B2B clients is ca. 70 thousand, with each of them generating average monthly revenue of 1.4 thousand zloty.
Major operating data for Q4 2021 for the media segment:
- TV Polsat Group channels were among audience leaders in the commercial group, achieving audience share of 23.2% (8.3% by the main channel and 14.9% by theme channels).
- TV Polsat’s revenues from TV advertising and sponsoring grew in line with the market. The revenue increased by 0.6% yoy, to PLN 273 million, while the Group’s share in the TV advertising market reached to 28.4%.
- Polsat-Interia Group holds the leading position on the Internet publishers market – it already has 21.2 million unique users each month, generating ca. 2.2 billion page views monthly on the average.
financial_results_1q22.pdf 2.58 MB
