Polsat Plus Group provides in excess of 20 million services (RGU’s), with more than 19 million people in Poland living within the coverage area of the best and the fastest 5G network which is operated by Plus. The Group has been consistently developing the Telecommunications and Content segments while also investing in production of clean, green energy, i.e. solar and wind power as well as electricity generated from biomass burning. It has been also making preparations to start production of green hydrogen. Within the scope of its multiplay strategy, which includes such services as Internet access, telephony or TV, the Group will add yet another commodity which is indispensable for everyone in their daily life, namely supply of electricity.
While demonstrating solidarity with Ukraine, Polsat Plus Group immediately joined the efforts to help the citizens of Ukraine by, among others, providing free telecommunication services to refugees as well as by donating, jointly with ZE PAK power engineering company, 5 million zloty as a seed fund for the charity action called “Polsat Foundation for the Children of Ukraine.” More information HERE.
In 2021 Polsat Plus Group:
- was providing a total of more than 20 million services (RGU’s) (Internet access, TV, telephony),
- carried out dynamic roll-out of the only true 5G network in Poland which is available over an area inhabited by more than 19 million people,
- published its Strategy 2023+ in which it bets on the development of the key segments of its operations, namely Telecommunications under Plus brand, Content under Polsat brand and the new, strategic Clean Energy segment,
- initiated important projects related to production of clean energy and green hydrogen,
- launched, jointly with ZE PAK power engineering company, the biggest in Poland solar power plant in Brudzew, with power output of 70 MWp. The plant is already operational and it among others supplies the electricity for the telecommunication network via which the services offered by Plus are provided,
- implemented new, harmonized visual identification of its key brands,
- launched two new online services and applications – Polsat Box Go and Polsat Go,
- paid out a record-high dividend in the amount of PLN 767 million, or PLN 1.2 per share, and also developed a consistent dividend policy for the coming years.
Strategy 2023+
For many years Polsat Plus Group was consistently developing the Telecommunication and Content areas. Last December it published the Strategy 2023+ which systematizes the Group’s development directions and extends the scope of its operations to include a new area – Clean Energy. The new pillar of the strategy will offer opportunities for generating additional revenue streams and will also bring actual social benefits in the form of, among others, substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emission.
“Poland faces a gigantic challenge of energy transformation. Still around 70% of the energy consumed in Poland is produced from burning coal, which causes enormous social costs. Hence we have taken on an ambitious challenge – apart from offering such everyday use services as telephone services, Internet access or TV, we also wish to supply cheap and clean energy to people in Poland. That is why this area has become one of the three pillars of the recently published Strategy 2023+,”– says Mirosław Błaszczyk, the President of the Management Boards of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, the member companies of the Polsat Plus Group.
Cheap and clean energy is yet another product which ideally fits in with Polsat Plus Group’s multiplay strategy. The underlying assumption of this strategy is to supply all the services that are indispensable in a household – fixed-line Internet access relying on fiber-optic technologies, LTE Internet access for homes, 5G and LTE mobile Internet access, DTH satellite TV, cable IPTV and web TV provided via set-top boxes, as well as numerous mobile and fixed-line voice offers, and soon also “green” energy.
Consistent pursuit of the multiplay strategy by Polsat Plus Group resulted in the number of customers of multiplay services increasing by 88 thousand in 2021 and reaching 2.45 million. The number of contract services provided to B2C customers increased by nearly 300 thousand during the year and reached 13.47 million. The expanding range of services offered by the Group and the popularity of 5G tariffs also led to strong growth of the average revenue per user generated by these customers with ARPU exceeding 69 PLN. Churn continued to be at an invariably low level.
“ARPU from our B2C segment increased by as much as 4.4%, with churn remaining very low, at 6.9% annually. These figures demonstrate the success of our multiplay strategy. Our customers use growing numbers of contract services and as the coverage of our 5G network is expanded, the customers show increased interested in 5G devices and tariffs. These devices and tariffs assure better possibilities of access to digital entertainment, including the TV content we offer as well as online services,” – says Maciej Stec, the Vice President responsible for strategy on the Management Boards of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, the Polsat Plus Group companies.
“The investments in clean energy and green hydrogen constitute the amplification of our multiplay strategy. We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves of developing 1000 MW of production capacity for clean, low- and zero-emission energy. The energy will be produced based on solar power, wind power and biomass burning, as well as from thermal waste processing. Simultaneously we have started working on the development of the full value chain for green hydrogen. While using clean energy, we will be producing, transporting, storing and distributing green hydrogen, and at the same time creating products for end users. We have already built a prototype of a hydrogen-powered bus which is now in the process of certification, and we are working on the construction of a bus factory. These activities will contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions by Polish economy by more than 2 million tons annually,” adds Maciej Stec.
Our successful cooperation with Netia contributed to maintaining by the Group of its strong position also in the segment of services provided to business clients. . The total number of our B2B clients stays at a stable level of nearly 70 thousand. Thanks to the successively expanded offer of ICT services, the average revenue generated by such clients remains at a stable level of PLN 1.4 thousand monthly.
Plus is the leader of 5G technology
In July 2021 Polsat Plus Group finalized its strategic cooperation with Cellnex Telecom, which further strengthened the dynamic roll-out of its 5G network and the Group’s technology edge over other operators. Already more than 19 million of people in Poland, i.e. more than half of the country’s population, live within the coverage footprint of Plus’s 5G network. The number of Plus’s 5G base stations increased to 3 thousand, ensuring 5G coverage in 800 locations all over Poland. Plus’s 5G network is the only one in the country which operates in the 2600 MHz TDD frequency band, which has been allocated to use by 5G technology only. Such a solution enables Plus to offer the fastest 5G service in Poland, with maximum data speed of up to 600 Mbps. Independent speed tests confirm Plus’s dominance with its 5G network being even 2 times faster than the services offered by competitors.
Rebranding of the Group’s key brands
2021 was also the time of changes in the area of Polsat Plus Group’s brand image, with new visual identification of the main brands having been introduced, along with strategic change of market communication. Plus and Polsat received new consistent logos while Polsat Box replaced Cyfrowy Polsat. Ipla and Cyfrowy Polsat Go were in turn combined into a single service, called Polsat Box Go, offering free access (in an ad-based revenue model) to TV Polsat content. A new name and logo have also been created for the Group, which is now called the Polsat Plus Group. Also a common and consistent slogan was introduced: “You rule. Choose whatever you like,” along with characteristic graphic themes for the new brands.
Strong position on the TV and Internet publishing markets
Polsat Plus Group, which creates unique Polish content, has strong position on the market of TV broadcasters and Internet publishers. TV Polsat, offering 39 channels, is among the most frequently watched TV stations and, in line with its strategic assumptions, maintains market share of 23-25%. Polsat-Interia Group has as strong position among the three top domestic websites.
“Our channels are among the audience leaders in the commercial viewers group, holding the average share of 24% annually. Last year our revenues from TV advertising and sponsoring were increasing at a faster pace than the revenues for the total TV advertising market, and as a result our market share increased to 28.6%,” says Stanisław Janowski, the President of the Management Board of TV Polsat, a Polsat Plus Group member company. “We are also the leading player on the Internet media market. We are effectively exploiting the content-related synergies, thanks to which our Group’s websites are accessed by 20.5 million users each month who generate 2 billion page views. Polsat Interia Group has a strong position among the three top horizontal portals in Poland,” adds Janowski.
Stable revenue and EBITDA
Polsat Plus Group’s revenues for 2021 increased by 5% and reached nearly PLN 12.5 bn. Adjusted EBITDA1) amounted PLN 3.65 bn while free cash flow continued growing and reached a high level of over PLN 1.44 bn over a 12-month period. Total debt decreased to 1.01x (net debt /EBITDA LTM).
“It was a very successful year for us in terms of financial results. I am particularly glad about the growth of our retail revenue by nearly 300 million zloty, which is the best illustration of the success of our multiplay strategy. At the same time the media segment achieved a historic high EBITDA level which significantly exceeded 600 million zloty,” says Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann, the Member of the Management Boards of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel (Polsat Plus Group), responsible for finance. Just as promised, we have managed to maintain high margins and high cash flow level. The revenue obtained from selling Polkomtel Infrastruktura enabled us to achieve all our last year’s goals. We completed further acquisitions, paid out record-high dividend in the amount of 767 million zloty and we have substantially reduced our debt. At the same time we have gained space for pursuing the ambitious assumptions of our Strategy 2023+,” adds Katarzyna Ostap-Tomann.
Major operating figures for Q4 for B2C and B2B segments:
- Polsat Plus Group provides a total of over 20 million TV, Internet access and telephony services.
- The number of customers using multiplay services increased by 88 thousand yoy (4%) and reached 2.46 million.
- The number of contract services for B2C customers increased by 296 thousand yoy (up by 2%), to the level of 13.47 million.
- Average monthly revenue per contract customer (ARPU) for B2C services increased to 69.1 PLN (+4.4% yoy).
- Churn ratio for B2C customers remained unchangeably low at 6.9% annually.
- The number of prepaid services was 2.67 million with ARPU demonstrating growth by 5.1% you to 16.6 PLN.
- The volume of data transferred by customers of Cyfrowy Polsat and Plus in 2021 was around 1.8 EB (growth by 17% 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% in Q4 2021 (9% by the main channel and 14.2% by theme channels) and 24% during the entire 2021 (9% by the main channel and 15% by theme channels).
- TV Polsat’s revenues from TV advertising and sponsoring grew faster during the year than the average growth for the TV advertising market. In Q4 2021 the revenue increased to PLN 402 million (up by 1.6% yoy), while the Group’s share in the TV advertising market increased to 28%. During the whole of 2021 the revenue increased by 13.2% and reached PLN 1.272 billion, with the share in the TV advertising market increasing to 28.6%.
- Polsat-Interia Group’s leading position on the Internet publishers market – 20.5 million unique users and over 2 billion page views monthly for the Group’s webpages.
_____________
1) EBITDA excluding EBITDA NetCo, one-off costs associated with COVID-19 (including donations) as well as one-off profit from the sale of NetCo.
