Lisbon, Aug. 29, 2024 (Lusa) - Altice Portugal's revenues fell by 0.6% year-on-year in the first half of the year to €1.409 billion, the owner of Meo announced on Thursday.
In the first half of the year, revenues stood at €1.409 billion, a reduction of 0.6%, while earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to €511 million, 2.3% more than a year earlier.
Overall investment (capex) totalled €195 million, a year-on-year decrease of 15.7%.
This reduction in investment is due to Altice Portugal's fibre deployment (6.4 million homes) and investments in the mobile network being almost complete.
In the second quarter, Altice Portugal's revenues totalled €705 million, EBITDA reached €252 million, and the company invested €95 million.
"With the execution of its strategic plan, Altice Portugal strengthens its leadership in yet another quarter" and “the investment in the expansion of the fibre optic network, the mobile network and 5G, in parallel with the digital transformation, with the use of artificial intelligence [AI], sustains the innovation and diversification of the portfolio, maintaining high-quality standards and sustainable operational growth,” the company said in a statement.
The results for the second quarter "showed growth in the main operating indicators, both compared to the previous quarter and the same period of the previous year", and the company "strengthened its market position and continued to expand its unique customer base, growing the total number of telco RGUs [revenue generating units], while maintaining customer acquisition combined with record levels of disconnections", it adds.
The company said revenues for the second quarter increased by 4.7% (excluding Altice Labs) and benefited "from growth of 3.6% in the consumer segment and 5.8% in the corporate segment."
"Considering the overall contribution of Altice Labs, total revenue decreased by 1.7%," emphasised Meo's owner, who pointed out that the total RGU and unique customer base continued to grow at 14 million and 1.7 million, respectively.
Total fixed services grew by 2% compared to the 2nd quarter of 2023, "totalling 6.0 million, and the pay-TV service and connectivity customer base grew by 2.9% and 3.1% respectively, both standing at 1.9 million".
The post-paid mobile customer base "has already passed the five million mark and, driven by convergence, grew by 1.3 % (+67 thousand customers) in the 2nd quarter of 2024 compared to the 1st quarter of 2024".
EBITDA for the second quarter decreased by 0.9% compared to the same period last year, considering Altice Labs's overall contribution.
The investment of €95 million in the last half of the year reflected "the reinforcement of the 4G mobile network, which reaches 99.96% of the population, and the commitment to 5G, which, at the end of the 2nd quarter, had a population coverage rate of 95.8%".
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