During Q3 2022 Polsat Plus Group was been developing dynamically across all segments of its operations. Polsat Box, Plus, Netia and Polsat Box Go customers have been offered access to Disney+. Antyweb.pl joined Interia.pl, thus strengthening the Group’s operations in the online media area. Wind farm projects were being developed dynamically and work continued on assembling the full green hydrogen economy value chain.
In Q3 2022 Polsat Plus Group:
- Launched attractive offers featuring access to Disney+ via Polsat Box, Plus, Netia and Polsat Box Go;
- Acquired a 70% stake in Antyweb.pl, thanks to which Antyweb.pl, one of the major technology blogs in Poland which covers major developments from Polish and global Internet, was added to the Group, thus strengthening its position in the online segment;
- Continued to expand its portfolio of 5G smartphones, thus popularizing the offer of the fastest and the best 5G Internet access service in Poland provided by Plus;
- Polsat Box Go announced the premiere of 10 new Polish TV series over the next few months. Three shows, “Rodzina na Maxa”, “Wotum nieufności” and “Lulu,” have already debuted in the service;
- NesoBus, the hydrogen-powered bus from Polsat Plus Group and ZE PAK power company, already carried its first passengers in several Polish cities, including Gdansk, Gdynia, Wroclaw, Konin and Warsaw, and it was awarded a medal at the TransExpo 2022 trade fair in Kielce;
- The Group was awarded the main prize in the “Company of the Year” category during the Economic Forum in Karpacz. The award was presented in recognition of the Group’s success in the area of business as well as the social and charity initiatives undertaken by the Group and by its founder, Mr. Zygmunt Solorz;
- New sports sponsoring contracts were signed – Polsat and Plus brands have become the titular sponsors of a sports arena in Gdynia, which has been named Polsat Plus Arena Gdynia, while Netia has become the sponsor of Suzuki Arka Gdynia basketball team;
- The Group has entered into a joint venture agreement with a leading central-European real estate developer with an aim of constructing high-rise office buildings in Port Praski complex in Warsaw.
“Our Group has been consistently developing the scale of its business in existing and new areas, regardless of the current macroeconomic challenges that it faces. By pursuing the multiplay strategy we have offered access to the Disney+ to the customers of Polsat Box, Plus, Netia and Polsat Box Go. We continuously invest in our programming offer, including, best sports, new TV series and attractive programming while at the same time developing our 5G offer,” says Mirosław Błaszczyk, the CEO of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel (Polsat Plus Group). “At the same time we have been dynamically developing the Clean Energy segment while responding to the needs of our customers who are in need of clean and cheap electricity more than ever. Apart from TV, telephone services and Internet access, electricity is absolutely indispensable in every household, thus our company will soon offer it to the country’s inhabitants,” adds Mr. Błaszczyk.
B2C and B2B services segment
Polsat Plus Group has been invariably focusing on increasing customer loyalty and building customer value. The target is being pursued by assuring an extensive portfolio of TV and telecommunication services, attractive 5G offers and a rich offer of 5G terminals.
All in all Polsat Plus Group provides more than 20 million services (RGU’s) in the areas of pay TV, telephony and Internet access, while 2.5 million customers use multiplay offers. Average revenue per contract customer increased to more than 71 PLN, while the churn ratio continued to remain at a very low level of 6.8% annually. As regards the prepaid services segment, the average revenue per service also increased and reached 18 PLN. During the first 9 months of the year customers transferred around 1475 PB of data, which meant growth by 13% yoy. The total number of B2B clients is nearly 70 thousand with each of them generating average monthly revenue of more than 1.4 thousand PLN.
“It was yet another quarter of good results which demonstrate that our customers willingly bundle together the TV and telecommunication services offered by us. Customers increasingly go for the 5G tariffs and smartphones in the best in Poland 5G network operated by Plus. The Disney+ offers have been very well received. This has had positive impact on the invariably low churn level which stands at 6.8% and strong growth of the average revenue generated by our contract customers, reaching over 71 PLN,”– says Maciej Stec, the Vice-President for Strategy at Polsat Plus Group.
Media segment: TV and online services
The overall audience share for Polsat Plus Group during both Q3 and the first 9 months of the year was ca. 23% and it was in line with the strategic assumptions. TV Polsat Group’s revenue from advertising and sponsoring grew by 2.9% and 1% in Q3 and during the first 9 months of the year respectively. Meanwhile the overall advertising market witnessed slight decline. Polsat-Interia Group has 20.5 million users of its web portals who generate 2 billion page views monthly on the average. It holds a leading position among web publishers.
“Audience share of our TV channels has remained at a stable level of 23%. When compared to the market, affected by decline in revenue, our revenues from TV advertising and sponsoring demonstrated slight growth. Thanks to this our share in the TV advertising market increased to the level of 28.8% after the first nine months of the year. Our news channels, Polsat News in particular, noted significant audience growth,” says Stanisław Janowski, President of the Management Board of TV Polsat, a Polsat Plus Group company. – “The number of users of our Internet information services, led by Interia.pl, increased by 600 thousand thus enabling us to remain a leading online publisher,” adds Mr. Janowski.
Development of renewable energy projects
Polsat Plus Group’s Strategy 2023+ in the new Clean Energy area, which the Group implements together with ZE PAK power company, relies on ambitious goals related to the target levels of installed power generated from zero- and low-emission sources as well as reduction of greenhouse gases. The activities in Q3 included:
- Acquisition of another windfarm project in Drzeżewo – 5 wind farm projects, offering a total power of >190 MW, are currently being implemented.
- During the first 9 months of the year Brudzew farm produced nearly 70 MWh of zero-emission electricity which powered Plus base station network. It was an excellent result and that is why the Group is moving forward with expanding the farm’s capacity by 12.4 MWp of power.
- Consistent building of the full green hydrogen economy value chain- the installation of the first electrolyzer, with the power of 2.5 MW, is in progress. The electrolyzer will enable production of 1000 kg of green hydrogen daily.
- A contract has been signed with NEL Hydrogen of Denmark for the delivery of the equipment for seven hydrogen refueling stations. The construction of the first generally-accessible hydrogen refueling station has started in Warsaw.
Polsat Plus Group’s financial results
The overall revenue of Polsat Plus Group increased by 7.9% in Q3 and reached nearly 3.3 bn PLN. Adjusted EBITDA1) amounted 840 mn PLN, while the free cash flow for a 12-month period exceeded 1.05 bn PLN. The total debt ratio was 2.64x (net debt/EBITDA LTM).
“The factors which contributed to the very satisfactory revenue growth for the Group were mainly growth of retail revenue, substantially higher revenue from sale of end-user devices, growing revenue from advertising, as well as the recognized revenue from the sale and lease of space in the new real estate segment. We continue generating cash in spite of the growing interest rates, inflation pressure and the implementation of first projects in the Clean Energy area. As a result, we are able to support further, consistent development of the projects which are part of our Strategy 2023+,” says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, a Management Board Member responsible for finance in Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, Polsat Plus Group.
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1) EBITDA excluding the profit from sale of subsidiaries and affiliates (3,690.8 mn PLN in Q3'21 and 113.4 mn PLN in Q3'22)
