Altice europe n.v. fy 2018 and fourth quarter 2018 pro forma(1)
results
Amsterdam--(business wire)--regulatory news: altice europe n.v. (“altice europe”) (aex:atc) (aex:atcb) continues to deliver on its three-pillar strategy: improve customer experience to drive better kpis, invest in and own best-in-class proprietary fixed and mobile infrastructure and leverage its unique content assets. altice europe achieved all its fy 2018 guidance in a transformational year, paving the way for a return to growth in fy 2019 supported by churn reduction (-30% yoy in q4 2018) and improved nps (+13pts yoy in q4 2018) in the group’s largest asset, altice france. altice europe sees the benefits of renewed management with intensified operational focus and accelerated momentum in volumes in q4 2018, reporting an improving revenue trend yoy (-1.7% yoy in q4 2018 vs. -6.3% yoy in q3 2018 on a reported basis). in 2018, the group’s operational turnaround has driven significant improvements in the group’s key geographies, with sustained positive subscriber momentum in both france and portugal. this was confirmed again in the fourth quarter. altice france achieved a strong level of customer acquisition in the fourth quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of being the market leader in b2c3 customer acquisition. altice france won back more than 1.3m customers in 2018, more than the number of customers lost over the last 3 years4 since the acquisition of sfr. in q4 2018, churn continued to reduce materially (-30% yoy in q4 2018), driven by consistent improvements in customer service (call rates declined -20% yoy in q4 2018) and an improvement in network quality metrics (client satisfaction increased +20% yoy in q4 2018). management will continue to focus on operational processes in 2019, decreasing churn to a lower level and reducing associated operating expense such as marketing and sales, customer care and retention costs. b2c fixed base grew for the fourth consecutive quarter with +83k net additions (vs. -45k net losses in q4 2017). fibre net additions were +67k in q4 2018, in line with q4 2017 with the highest proportion of fibre subscribers within the total fixed customer base in france (41% of fixed customers on fibre); b2c mobile postpaid base grew by +187k net additions (vs. +76k in q4 2017), supported by the positive impact of premium content (champions league), a better network (downtime decreased -30% yoy in q4 2018 and dropped calls down -15% yoy in q4 2018) and a massive reduction in complaints (-35% yoy in q4 2018). b2c fixed base grew for the fourth consecutive quarter with +83k net additions (vs. -45k net losses in q4 2017). fibre net additions were +67k in q4 2018, in line with q4 2017 with the highest proportion of fibre subscribers within the total fixed customer base in france (41% of fixed customers on fibre); b2c mobile postpaid base grew by +187k net additions (vs. +76k in q4 2017), supported by the positive impact of premium content (champions league), a better network (downtime decreased -30% yoy in q4 2018 and dropped calls down -15% yoy in q4 2018) and a massive reduction in complaints (-35% yoy in q4 2018). in portugal, the group achieved a solid level of customer acquisition in the fourth quarter. altice portugal gained market share against peers in every segment in 2018, with a positive inflection in subscriber trends compared to 2017: +167k net adds in b2c fixed broadband and mobile postpaid combined in 2018 (3 times the level of 2017). the b2c fixed base grew sequentially for the fifth consecutive quarter with unique customer net additions in q4 2018 of +8k (vs. +6k in q4 2017), while fixed and mobile churn has stabilized at the lowest level ever, alongside arpu stabilization. fibre customer net additions were +44k in q4 2018 (vs. +43k in q4 2017), supported by the rapid expansion of fibre coverage. mobile postpaid net additions were +32k (vs. +33k in q4 2017). meo’s continued network investments and successful convergent strategy is driving an inflection in revenue growth; residential revenues (b2c fixed and b2c mobile) and business services (b2b and wholesale) revenues combined grew +0.7% yoy in q4 2018. the b2c fixed base grew sequentially for the fifth consecutive quarter with unique customer net additions in q4 2018 of +8k (vs. +6k in q4 2017), while fixed and mobile churn has stabilized at the lowest level ever, alongside arpu stabilization. fibre customer net additions were +44k in q4 2018 (vs. +43k in q4 2017), supported by the rapid expansion of fibre coverage. mobile postpaid net additions were +32k (vs. +33k in q4 2017). meo’s continued network investments and successful convergent strategy is driving an inflection in revenue growth; residential revenues (b2c fixed and b2c mobile) and business services (b2b and wholesale) revenues combined grew +0.7% yoy in q4 2018. altice europe revenue on a constant currency (cc) basis was -1.8% yoy ex-vat benefit5 or -2.9% reported yoy in fy 2018 (flat yoy ex-vat benefit or -1.6% reported yoy in q4 2018). altice europe adjusted ebitda6 on a cc basis declined -5.9% yoy ex-vat benefit or -8.9% reported yoy in fy 2018, a margin of 36.1%in fy 2018 (-1.6% pts yoy vs. 37.7% in fy 2017). altice europe made significant investments in networks, customer premise equipment and innovative new services, with total accrued capital expenditure for altice europe of €3,040 million in fy 2018 (vs. €3,239m in fy 2017) excluding €1,013 million for the champions league rights in france: leading fibre operator in france increasing its footprint by 3 million fiber homes in 2018 only including 1.7 million additional proprietary homes to be built. altice france is on track to reach its target of 22 million homes passed by 2022 which will include 14 million proprietary homes which will deliver full network returns. in addition, altice france achieved major fibre contract wins in the fourth quarter, reaching almost 700k new homes to be passed in the low dense areas, a demonstration of the trust that local authorities have in the group, through the award of new public service contracts. in mobile, altice france achieved 98.7% 4g mobile population coverage in q4 2018, in line with its target of 99% (+3.1k new sites in fy 2018). altice france also extended the 4g+ and 4g+++ mobile network, putting in place the path to 5g. thanks to the expertise acquired, sfr launched on 20 november 2018 the first 4g+ box on the market in france. on 9 october 2018, altice france launched 5g in paris in parallel with the inauguration of the altice campus, its innovative telecoms-media headquarters in france; leading fibre operator in portugal reaching 4.5 million fibre homes passed in fy 2018 (+463 thousand homes added in fy 2018) and 98.6% 4g mobile population coverage (74.8% 4g+ mobile population coverage). leading fibre operator in france increasing its footprint by 3 million fiber homes in 2018 only including 1.7 million additional proprietary homes to be built. altice france is on track to reach its target of 22 million homes passed by 2022 which will include 14 million proprietary homes which will deliver full network returns. in addition, altice france achieved major fibre contract wins in the fourth quarter, reaching almost 700k new homes to be passed in the low dense areas, a demonstration of the trust that local authorities have in the group, through the award of new public service contracts. in mobile, altice france achieved 98.7% 4g mobile population coverage in q4 2018, in line with its target of 99% (+3.1k new sites in fy 2018). altice france also extended the 4g+ and 4g+++ mobile network, putting in place the path to 5g. thanks to the expertise acquired, sfr launched on 20 november 2018 the first 4g+ box on the market in france. on 9 october 2018, altice france launched 5g in paris in parallel with the inauguration of the altice campus, its innovative telecoms-media headquarters in france; leading fibre operator in portugal reaching 4.5 million fibre homes passed in fy 2018 (+463 thousand homes added in fy 2018) and 98.6% 4g mobile population coverage (74.8% 4g+ mobile population coverage). altice europe achieved all of its fy 2018 guidance, reporting operating free cash flow7 of €2.36 billion on a like-for-like basis8 vs. guidance of between €2.3 billion to €2.5 billion, excluding the altice tv segment. altice france reported operating free cash flow of €1.52 billion vs. guidance for the low end of the €1.5 billion to €1.6 billion guidance range. altice europe announced multiple partnerships in 2018 in order to optimize infrastructure economics and infrastructure returns whilst further strengthening its capital structure. in q4 2018, altice europe and kkr jointly announced the creation of hivory, the largest independent telecoms tower company in france with more than 10,000 sites (around half of sfr sites in france). on 30 november 2018, altice europe announced that its subsidiary altice france had entered into an exclusivity agreement with a consortium controlled by omers infrastructure with axai im and allianz as co-investors regarding the sale of a minority equity stake of 49.99% in sfr ftth. sfr ftth is the largest alternative ftth infrastructure wholesale operator in france, with 5 million homes to be passed (including 1 million homes built by year-end 2018) and more to be franchised or acquired. altice france will sell technical services to sfr ftth for the construction, the subscriber connection and the maintenance of its ftth network. sfr ftth will deploy fibre massively in the next 4 years, which will contribute to new sources of revenue for sfr in france. the transaction closed on march 27, 2019. patrick drahi, founder of altice, said: “in 2018, we have completed the reorganization and simplification of altice europe’s structure, with the separation of altice usa from altice n.v. effective on june 8 and a drastic management change. altice europe has achieved all of its fy 2018 guidance, with the successful operational turnaround leading to very strong subscriber trends. the significant and continued investments in both fixed and mobile networks, as well as the consistent improvements in customer care, led to a material reduction in complaints from customers and significantly lower churn rates on all technologies. we already see a tangible inflection in portugal and france, paving the way for growth in 2019, underpinned by our strategy in infrastructure and content. our confidence in our turn-around is reflected in our 2019 guidance, highlighting significant improvements in operating free cash flow. on top of this commercial momentum, we continue to genuinely strengthen our long-term balance sheet position while partly crystallizing the underlying value of altice europe, notably its infrastructure. with the transformational sfr ftth transaction, and the various tower deals and long-term partnerships announced in 2018, altice europe has been able to crystallize €8 billion of infrastructure value and obtain cash proceeds of more than €4 billion9. we continue to explore similar deals in our footprint. these transactions are creating huge value for our group, providing more fibre to our customers, more revenues and more returns for the group. we expect to continue to optimize our capital structure in 2019, after a successful €5 billion refinancing at altice france during 2018, extending maturities. altice europe has significant hidden value with in a number of assets from strategic fixed and mobile infrastructure assets in france, portugal, israel and the dominican republic to other high value stakes such as the very fast-growing digital advertising business of teads.” march 28, 2019: altice europe n.v. (euronext: atc and atcb), today announces financial and operating results for the quarter ended december 31, 2018. fy 2019 guidance under ifrs 15, altice europe is expected to generate operating free cash flow growth in the area of 10% year over year in fy 2019, excluding the altice tv segment. in fy 2019, altice france is expected to deliver revenue growth of between 3% and 5% year over year with an adjusted ebitda of between €4.0 billion to €4.1 billion. target leverage of 4.25x net debt to adjusted ebitda within 24 months for the telecom perimeter (altice luxembourg). altice europe reiterates its plan to further delever its balance sheet and bring financial leverage in line with its stated target of 4x net debt to adjusted ebitda. altice france will benefit from the operational turnaround achieved in 2018. progress made during 2018 in infrastructure quality and customer service (detailed in the france section below) allows for further churn reduction (still down 30% yoy in q4 2018) and nps (net promoter score up 13pts yoy in q4 2018), leading to an inflection in revenue growth and costs decrease in the coming quarters: 1/ less churn means less costs (e.g. marketing and sales, call centers and customer acquisition and retention effort) and increasing customer lifetime; 2/ more addressable fibre market (+3m fibre homes passed10. in france in 2018 and more to come with sfr ftth transaction) means more fibre net adds driving higher arpu and lower churn ; 3/ more convergence (from content bundles to fixed-mobile bundles) leads to lower churn. altice france will also benefit from significant new streams of revenues from sfr ftth for construction and maintenance activities. other significant events on march 27, 2019, altice france and a consortium controlled by omers infrastructure with axai im and allianz as co-investors closed the sale of a minority equity stake of 49.99% in sfr ftth announced in november 2018. the final proceeds amounted to €1.7 billion, based on an equity value at closing of €3.4 billion. with 5 million homes to be passed in the medium and low dense areas (including 1 million homes built as of december 31, 2018) and more to be franchised or acquired, sfr ftth is the largest alternative ftth infrastructure wholesale operator in france. sfr ftth will sell wholesale services to all operators at the same terms and conditions including sfr as customer with no minimum volume commitments. altice france will sell technical services to sfr ftth for the construction, the subscriber connection and the maintenance of its ftth network. on february 7, 2019, jean-jacques lasserre, president of the departmental council of pyrÉnÉes-atlantiques, and alain weill chief executive officer of altice europe in the presence of patrick drahi, founding president of altice have officially signed the delegation of public service (with a duration of 25 years) for the implementation of a very high speed network in the pyrÉnÉes-atlantiques and allowing access to very high speed fibre network throughout the departmental territory. this signing allows the creation of the project company “thd64” whose role is to ensure the design, financing, construction, marketing, operation and maintenance of the very high-speed network of pyrÉnÉes-atlantiques territory. sfr will be the sole shareholder of thd64. over the next five years, more than 226 thousand ftth homes will be built throughout the pyrÉnÉes-atlantiques territory and 68 optical nodes to enable their connection. on december 18, 2018, altice europe and kkr jointly announced the creation of hivory, the largest independent telecoms tower company in france and third largest european tower company. the creation of hivory followed the successful completion of the transaction announced in june 2018, of kkr’s acquisition of a 49.99% stake in a portfolio of more than 10,000 of altice’s french towers. hivory is a high-quality telecoms infrastructure provider with a nationwide presence, benefiting from more than 10,000 strategically located sites with a diversified portfolio of ground-based towers and rooftops. through hivory, altice and kkr will proactively seek to partner with all mobile operators to develop their coverage and densification objectives in france, through the build-to-suit of new towers and facilitating colocation needs in the french mobile market. the company will seek to contribute to the development of french technology infrastructure and innovation, supporting telecom players on the eve of the ‘new deal’ for french mobile and 5g roll out. conference call details the company will host a conference call and webcast today, thursday 28th of march 2019 at 6:30pm cet (5:30pm gmt, 1:30pm edt) dial-in access telephone numbers: participant toll free dial-in number: +1 (866) 393-4306 participant international dial-in number: +1 (734) 385-2616 conference id: 3262958 a live webcast of the presentation will be available on the following website: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1899024/0be6a7437f98244d81956bc5858756fe the presentation for the conference call will be made available prior to the call on our investor relations website: http://altice.net/investor-relations about altice europe altice europe (atc & atcb), listed on euronext amsterdam, is a convergent leader in telecoms, content, media, entertainment and advertising. altice delivers innovative, customer-centric products and solutions that connect and unlock the limitless potential of its over 30 million customers over fibre networks and mobile broadband. altice is also a provider of enterprise digital solutions to millions of business customers. altice innovates with technology, research and development and enables people to live out their passions by providing original content, high-quality and compelling tv shows, and international, national and local news channels. altice delivers live broadcast premium sports events and enables its customers to enjoy the most well-known media and entertainment. financial presentation altice europe n.v. (altice europe n.v., the “company”) was created as a result of a cross-border merger with altice s.a. as per a board resolution dated august 9, 2015. altice europe n.v.’s shares started trading on euronext amsterdam from august 10, 2015 onwards. altice europe n.v. is considered to be the successor entity of altice s.a. and thus inherits the continuity of altice s.a.’s consolidated business. altice europe n.v. and its subsidiaries have operated for several years and have from time to time made significant equity investments in a number of cable and telecommunication businesses in various jurisdictions. therefore, in order to facilitate an understanding of the company’s results of operations, we have presented and discussed the pro-forma consolidated financial information of the company – giving effect to each such significant acquisition and disposal as if such acquisitions and disposals had occurred by january 1, 2017; as if the spin-off of altice usa had occurred on january 1, 2017, and excluding press titles within the amg france business sold in april and october 2017, for the quarters ended december 31, 2017 and december 31, 2018 (the “pro forma financial information”). financials include the contribution from teads from q3 2017 onwards. in addition, financials for altice europe exclude the international wholesale voice business (following closing announced on september 13, 2018) and green.ch ag and green datacenter ag in switzerland (following closing announced on february 12, 2018) for the quarters ended december 31, 2017 and december 31, 2018. this press release contains measures and ratios (the “non-gaap measures”), including adjusted ebitda, capital expenditure (“capex”) and operating free cash flow, that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, ifrs or any other generally accepted accounting standards. we present non-gaap measures because we believe that they are of interest to the investors and similar measures are widely used by certain investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as supplemental measures of performance and liquidity. the non-gaap measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies or have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our, or any of our subsidiaries’, operating results as reported under ifrs or other generally accepted accounting standards. non-gaap measures such as adjusted ebitda are not measurements of our, or any of our subsidiaries’, performance or liquidity under ifrs or any other generally accepted accounting principles, including u.s. gaap. in particular, you should not consider adjusted ebitda as an alternative to (a) operating profit or profit for the period (as determined in accordance with ifrs) as a measure of our, or any of our operating entities’, operating performance, (b) cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as a measure of our, or any of our subsidiaries’, ability to meet its cash needs or (c) any other measures of performance under ifrs or other generally accepted accounting standards. in addition, these measures may also be defined and calculated differently than the corresponding or similar terms under the terms governing our existing debt. adjusted ebitda is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, non-recurring items (capital gains, non-recurring litigation, restructuring costs) and share-based expenses. this may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. further, this measure should not be considered as an alternative for operating income as the effects of depreciation, amortization and impairment excluded from this measure do ultimately affect the operating results, which is also presented within the annual consolidated financial statements in accordance with ias 1 - presentation of financial statements. capital expenditure (capex), while measured in accordance with ifrs principles, is not a term that is defined in ifrs nor is it presented separately in the financial statements. however, altice’s management believe it is an important indicator for the group as the profile varies greatly between activities: the fixed business has fixed capex requirements that are mainly discretionary (network, platforms, general), and variable capex requirements related to the connection of new customers and the purchase of customer premise equipment (tv decoder, modem, etc.). mobile capex is mainly driven by investment in new mobile sites, upgrade to new mobile technology and licenses to operate; once engaged and operational, there are limited further capex requirements. other capex: mainly related to costs incurred in acquiring content rights. operating free cash flow (opfcf) is defined as adjusted ebitda less capex. this may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. further, this measure should not be considered as an alternative for operating cash flow as presented in the consolidated statement of cash flows in accordance with ias 1 - presentation of financial statements. it is simply a calculation of the two above mentioned non-gaap measures.adjusted ebitda and similar measures are used by different companies for differing purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. you should exercise caution in comparing adjusted ebitda as reported by us to adjusted ebitda of other companies. adjusted ebitda as presented herein differs from the definition of “consolidated combined adjusted ebitda” for purposes of any of the indebtedness of the group. the financial information presented in this press release including but not limited to the quarterly financial information, pro forma financial information as well as adjusted ebitda and opfcf is unaudited. in addition, the presentation of these measures is not intended to and does not comply with the reporting requirements of the u.s. securities and exchange commission (the “sec”) and will not be subject to review by the sec; compliance with its requirements would require us to make changes to the presentation of this information. financial and statistical information and comparisons financial and statistical information is for the quarter ended december 31, 2018, unless otherwise stated, and any year over year comparisons are for the quarter ended december 31, 2017. regulated information this press release contains inside information within the meaning of article 7(1) of the eu market abuse regulation. altice europe summary financials pro forma information dominicanrepublic altice europeconsolidated - accrued capex - accrued capex altice europeconsolidated - accrued capex altice europeconsolidated - accrued capex notes to summary financials (1) financials shown in these tables are pro forma defined as results of the altice europe new perimeter ("altice europe") as if the spin-off of altice usa had occurred on 1/1/17 and excluding the press titles within the amg france business ("france - media" segment) sold in 2017 as if the disposals occurred on 1/1/17. segments are shown on a pro forma standalone reporting basis, and group figures are shown on a pro forma consolidated basis. financials include the contribution from teads from q3 2017 onwards. in addition, financials for altice europe exclude the international wholesale voice business (following closing announced on september 13, 2018) and green.ch ag and green datacenter ag in switzerland (following closing announced on february 12, 2018). financials shown are pro forma for the portugal and dominican republic tower transactions(2) “other” segment within altice international includes datacentre operations in france (auberimmo)(3) adjusted ebitda is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, non-recurring items (capital gains, non-recurring litigation, restructuring costs) and other adjustment (share-based expenses)(4) capex shown on an accrued basis(5) teads gross revenues are presented before discounts (net revenues after discounts are recognised in the financial statements) altice europe kpis notes to kpis tables (1) total homes passed in france includes unbundled dsl homes outside of sfr’s fibre / cable (ftth / fttb) footprint. portugal total homes passed includes dsl homes enabled for iptv outside of meo’s fibre footprint and fibre homes passed figures include homes where meo has access through wholesale fibre operators (c.0.4m in q4 2018)(2) fibre / cable unique customers represents the number of individual end users who have subscribed for one or more of our fibre / cable based services (including pay television, broadband or telephony), without regard to how many services to which the end user subscribed. it is calculated on a unique premise basis. fibre / cable customers for france excludes white-label wholesale subscribers and includes 4g box subscribers (18k as of december 31, 2018). for israel, it refers to the total number of unique customer relationships, including both b2c and b2b(3) mobile subscribers is equal to the net number of lines or sim cards that have been activated on the group’s mobile networks and excludes m2m. in israel, the split between iden and umts (b2c only, including prepaid) services as follows: 5k iden and 1,294k umts as of december 31, 2018, and 8k iden and 1,289k umts as of december 31, 2017(4) the tables above exclude altice usa’s key operating measures. as a result, the totals are presented as if the separation had occurred on january 1, 2017 altice europe11 financial and operational review by segment – pro forma for quarter ended december 31, 2018 compared to quarter ended december 31, 2017 france (altice france including sfr) throughout 2018, sfr has improved customer service, invested in proprietary infrastructure, and leveraged its unique content portfolio to gain and sustain improved subscriber momentum. despite increased competition in both fixed and mobile markets in q2 and q3 2018, sfr achieved significant positive subscriber trends in both segments in every quarter in 2018, with strong positive trends for the fourth quarter in a row in q4 2018. a sustained focus on customer service has driven a decrease in customer complaints of -50% yoy in fy 2018. churn levels have consistently declined since q1 2018. this reflects management’s significant progress made on improving processes. further progress should be expected in the following quarters as churn at sfr remains above management’s target level. sfr continued to invest in its proprietary infrastructure to further improve customer satisfaction and enhance its position in the fast-growing fibre wholesale market. sfr remains the number one high-speed broadband infrastructure in france12, with almost 12.3 million homes passed13 with 3 million new ftth homes built and secured in fy 2018 compared to fy 2017. on march 27, 2019, altice closed the transformative sfr ftth transaction, marking the creation of the largest alternative ftth infrastructure wholesale operator in france. sfr ftth has 5 million homes to be passed with scope for more homes to be franchised or acquired. in june 2018, sfr and orange signed an agreement to extend their ftth deployments in the medium dense area (amii) to a part that was not covered under the previous agreement of 2011. under the new agreement, sfr will be responsible for the deployment of 1.1 million additional access points for homes or business premises, taking the total to be deployed in the amii area to 2.7 million access points. sfr has also won new public service contracts representing 0.7 million homes passed to deploy and operate their ftth network. finally, sfr also announced the arrival of its commercial services on public initiative networks operated by third parties after signing agreements with altitude, covage and axione, thus enabling up to 6 million additional fibre homes to access the best of sfr's services. on the mobile side, sfr continues to be the leader in terms of 4g mobile antennas in service in france (34,28114) and covered 98.7% of the population with 4g at the end of 2018, in line with its target of 99%. being in this position allows sfr to deliver higher 4g data rates, thereby improving customer experience (4g+ at 300/500 mbps). this increase in speed makes it possible to support the transition to 5g, something which the group continues to work towards actively. in 2018 altice france launched rmc sport, with the broadcasting of the first champions league matches in september 2018 for sfr subscribers as well as those that subscribed to the rmc sport ott offer. this premium content offering, including champions league, has had a positive impact on the telecoms business in terms of brand recognition and has supported net subscriber additions and upsell in h2 2018 as well as ott clients. the iconic rmc sport channel attracted an average of 1.5 million viewers for psg's four games in the champions league. at the beginning of october 2018, sfr rolled out a unique offer which allows access to 100% of football games for €38.9 a month, with a full sport suite integrating rmc sports, bein sports and canal+. in addition, on september 18, 2018, the first major distribution agreement was formalised with canal+ for its satellite subscribers, improving the monetisation of altice’s content portfolio through an incremental source of revenues. the operational turnaround and sustained customer growth have been underpinned by churn reduction (down 30% yoy in q4 2018) and nps improvements (net promoter score up 13pts yoy in q4 2018), leading to an inflection in revenue growth and lower costs in the coming quarters. the turnaround is supported by significant improvements in infrastructure in 2018 with a material improvement in q4 2018: dropped calls down 15% yoy in q4 2018 and network downtime down 30% yoy in q4 2018. improvements in technical service operations are also noticeable: calls rate down 10% yoy in q4 2018 and complaints down 35% yoy in q4 2018. this turnaround is also driven by the highest level of employee commitment since 2008 according to our latest human resource study. the following subscriber kpis are based on the old reporting perimeter for sfr group for comparability to previously reported figures in 2017 (i.e. excluding fot): total altice france revenue decreased -2.7% yoy ex-vat benefit15, -4.3% yoy reported in 2018 to €10,240 million (+0.3% yoy ex-vat benefit, -2.0% yoy reported in q4 2018). total altice france revenue decreased in absolute terms by €53 million yoy in q4 2018, of which around €60m vat effect. altice france revenue grew +6.7% qoq, with b2c revenue up 3.8% qoq reflecting the positive volume effect (net adds) more than mitigating the negative value effect (arpu). the group remained immune to an adverse macro-economic context linked to the “yellow vest” phenomenon, even if altice france has fully embraced the opportunity to be part of the nationwide solidarity endeavours: it has paid nearly 12,000 of its employees in france a one-off purchasing power bonus, following the statement of the president of the republic made on december 10, 2018. the b2c fixed base in france16 grew again with +83k unique customer net additions in q4 2018 (vs. -45k losses in q4 2017): fibre net additions reached +67k in q4 2018 (vs. +69k in q4 2017); fixed b2c revenues declined -4.0% yoy ex-vat benefit, or -7.9% yoy on a reported basis in q4 2018, impacted by prior customer losses and the decline in arpu. fixed b2c revenues increased 4.6% qoq in q4 2018, benefitting from the level of net additions in h2 2018. fibre net additions reached +67k in q4 2018 (vs. +69k in q4 2017); fixed b2c revenues declined -4.0% yoy ex-vat benefit, or -7.9% yoy on a reported basis in q4 2018, impacted by prior customer losses and the decline in arpu. fixed b2c revenues increased 4.6% qoq in q4 2018, benefitting from the level of net additions in h2 2018. mobile b2c postpaid customer growth in france was again very strong this quarter: the mobile b2c postpaid customer base increased by +187k net additions in q4 2018 (vs. +76k in q4 2017) despite a very high level of promotions in the market; the sfr brand had a second successive positive quarter of net additions for the first time since q4 2015, on top of the digital red brand success highlighting the competitiveness of sfr from the no-frill and digital segment to the 5-play convergent market. mobile b2c revenues declined -5.4% yoy ex-vat benefit, or -7.9% yoy on a reported basis in q4 2018, impacted by prior customer losses and the decline in arpu due to the intensification of market competition in the summer and the back-to-school period and negative mix effect to put in perspective: 1/ the dilution linked to the discount with the fixed-mobile convergence but participating to the churn reduction and 2/ the dilution linked to fast-growing red segment (no-frill and digital) with lower arpu but with lower associated costs. but these revenues increased 4.6% qoq in q4 2018, even stripping out equipment sales, benefitting from the strong conquest in h2 2018 consistent with the fixed segment. the mobile b2c postpaid customer base increased by +187k net additions in q4 2018 (vs. +76k in q4 2017) despite a very high level of promotions in the market; the sfr brand had a second successive positive quarter of net additions for the first time since q4 2015, on top of the digital red brand success highlighting the competitiveness of sfr from the no-frill and digital segment to the 5-play convergent market. mobile b2c revenues declined -5.4% yoy ex-vat benefit, or -7.9% yoy on a reported basis in q4 2018, impacted by prior customer losses and the decline in arpu due to the intensification of market competition in the summer and the back-to-school period and negative mix effect to put in perspective: 1/ the dilution linked to the discount with the fixed-mobile convergence but participating to the churn reduction and 2/ the dilution linked to fast-growing red segment (no-frill and digital) with lower arpu but with lower associated costs. but these revenues increased 4.6% qoq in q4 2018, even stripping out equipment sales, benefitting from the strong conquest in h2 2018 consistent with the fixed segment. b2b and wholesale revenues grew by +7.5% yoy in q4 2018 (vs -3.7% yoy last quarter). b2b revenues grew by +0.5% yoy in q4 2018, an improvement in the yoy trend vs. previous quarters, supported by the change in strategy started in h2 2017. the positive inflection is also noticeable in sequential terms with 4.2% qoq growth. the adoption of a new pricing and customer retention strategy leads to this improvement, along with a better cross-selling between the fixed and mobile segment benefitting from a better franchise linked to a better-quality network. wholesale revenues grew +20.0% yoy in q4 2018. sfr benefited from an increasing contribution from the major and outperformer mvno operators in france (la poste, eit). this significant increase is also a testimony of the improved quality network at altice france in 2018. media and other revenues grew by +26.5% yoy in q4 2018. according to the results published by mÉdiamÉtrie for 2018, the terrestrial channels (bfmtv, rmc story and rmc dÉcouverte) achieved 6.2% of the national audience share, their best year so far. with this new record, altice france is the third-ranking private audio-visual group in france. the group signed an agreement on october 10, 2018 to purchase tÉlÉ lyon mÉtropole with a view to launching bfm lyon in the first half of 2019, two years after the successful launch of bfm paris, in order to pursue its ambitious policy of deploying regional news channels which will help the deployment of local content in the fibre roll out. total altice france’s adjusted ebitda declined -10.8% in q4 2018 yoy ex-vat benefit or -15.6% yoy on a reported basis in q4 2018 to €935 million with ebitda margins declining by -5.7% pts yoy to 35.3% reflecting the impact from the vat change, strong commercial momentum generating higher client acquisition costs. in line with the group’s former comment, retention levels continued to decline, alongside tight control of the cost base supported by the benefits of digitalized customer service. management is pleased with volume trends in france both in fixed and mobile and expects improving trends in arpu as a result of an increasing addressable fibre market in the coming quarters, alongside an improved mobile network. total altice france capex amounted to €592 million in q4 2018, a decrease of €125 million yoy reflecting a reduction in mobile network capex, a limited ftth roll-out ahead of an acceleration with sfr ftth and an optimization through refurbished equipment to limit success capex (i.e. cpe) despite good momentum of gross adds. portugal (meo) meo saw the benefits of accelerated investment to expand its fibre coverage throughout fy 2018. q4 2018 was the fifth consecutive quarter of growth for its fixed b2c customer base. meo has reached more than 4.49 million fibre homes passed (+117k in q4 2018) and remains on track for its target for nationwide fibre coverage of 5.3 million homes, being a major growth enabler. meo’s competitive mobile infrastructure reached 98.3% 4g and 74.6% 4g+ population coverage at the end 2018. during 2018, meo finished the single-ran mobile network modernization project, supporting the global increase of 4g connected customers and total data traffic, with positive results and impact on relevant mobile network kpi´s. this investment is supporting continued growth in meo’s postpaid mobile customer base. following the plan “on the road to 5g” to prepare mobile network for 5g-readiness, a strategic partnership to support development of 5g in portugal was signed in late 2018. meo benefits from the most advanced user offering, following the launch in q1 2018 of a new entertainment platform, sofia. this platform includes a new user interface and a state-of-the-art new wireless video set top box. the user interface includes new content discovery features, more customization and higher speed. meo is fully committed to digital transformation, being one of the most relevant players pursuing this goal, not only through internal changes but also by promoting external ones. after launching digital services in 2018 such as meo by (a fully digital experience that allows customers to build a customized bundle of services without loyalty plan) and my meo (new web self care experience), meo was the first company to implement the mobile digital key authentication. these new products and services demonstrate once again meo’s leadership when it comes to innovation and improving customer experience. meo’s successful and sustained infrastructure investments, new commercial strategy and improving quality of its customer service all contributed to better operational results throughout fy 2018, with record low churn and higher customer gross additions. this solid customer growth is already leading to an inflection in revenue growth: total altice portugal revenue grew +0.2% sequentially vs. q3 2018, corresponding to -0.1% yoy in q4 2018 to €526 million. for the third successive quarter, total b2c revenues grew sequentially, by +0.2% in q4 2018, driven by higher gross additions, further churn improvements, and increase of gross adds arpu. residential (b2c fixed and b2c mobile) and business services (b2b and wholesale) revenues combined grew +0.7% yoy in q4 2018, despite unfavourable regulatory measures (termination rate and ip billing subscription rules). meo b2c fixed subscriber base grew yoy in q4 2018, supported by positive net additions in q4 2018 of +8k (vs. +6 in q4 2017). meo captured 40% of fixed broadband and 55% of tv total market net adds in q4 2018; fibre customer net additions in q4 2018 were +44k (vs. +43k in q4 2017); dsl/dth customer losses were -36k in q4 2018 (vs. -37k in q4 2017); convergence has kept growing at the same pace of +3% pts yoy, adding more valuable customers with higher lifetime value; b2c fixed revenues declined -0.3% sequentially vs. q3 2018 and -2.4% yoy in q4 2018, moderating compared to q3 and q2 2018 declines (-3.1% and -6.2% respectively). fibre customer net additions in q4 2018 were +44k (vs. +43k in q4 2017); dsl/dth customer losses were -36k in q4 2018 (vs. -37k in q4 2017); convergence has kept growing at the same pace of +3% pts yoy, adding more valuable customers with higher lifetime value; b2c fixed revenues declined -0.3% sequentially vs. q3 2018 and -2.4% yoy in q4 2018, moderating compared to q3 and q2 2018 declines (-3.1% and -6.2% respectively). postpaid b2c mobile subscriber net additions in q4 2018 were +32k (vs. +33k net additions in q4 2017), supported by meo’s network investment and successful convergent strategy. meo captured 51% of mobile postpaid total market net adds in q4 2018. prepaid b2c mobile net adds were -76k in q4 2018 (vs. -102k in q4 2017), including the impact of greater prepaid to postpaid migrations; overall b2c mobile revenues grew by +0.8% sequentially vs. q3 2018, and grew by +2.0% yoy in q4 2018, mitigating prepaid revenues erosion and equipment revenues when compared to last year. overall b2c mobile revenues grew by +0.8% sequentially vs. q3 2018, and grew by +2.0% yoy in q4 2018, mitigating prepaid revenues erosion and equipment revenues when compared to last year. b2b revenues grew +3.0% yoy, +2.4% sequentially in q4 2018, underpinning the turnaround strategy. this improvement in trends was achieved through stronger growth in new revenue streams (ict) and resilience in traditional telco revenues (mobile growth). both fixed and mobile net additions were the second biggest in more than three years: >100% improvement yoy in net adds year-to-date in mobile and fixed data). wholesale revenues were flat yoy and -16% qoq in q4 2018, on the back of increasing revenues from roamers on meo´s network, benefitting from higher traffic and better prices due to synergies from negotiations at altice europe level. other revenues declined -9.4% yoy in q4 2018 driven by altice labs unfavourable comparatives in q4 2017. the strong commitment to innovate by altice, combined with a spirit of entrepreneurship, has transformed an r&d facility into a profitable business with a positive contribution for altice portugal results and at the same time an advanced technology export hub for portugal and altice portugal. new and innovative products, like the gpon wifi fibregateway, a state-of-the-art fibre optics wifi router, developed by altice labs, have been a key differentiator to attract new customers and decreasing churn. total altice portugal adjusted ebitda declined -13.8% yoy to €199 million with margins reducing by -6.0% pts to 37.8% reflecting the loss of higher margin revenue especially in the b2b segment and a slight inflation of operating costs in sales and marketing and network operations. total altice portugal capex of €120 million in q4 2018 (€133 million in q4 2017) reflecting continued network investments (single ran and mobile core) and improved commercial trends (fixed cpe and mobile acquisitions costs). israel (hot) despite the ongoing intense competition in the fixed and mobile markets, the last quarter 2018 ended with encouraging signs of stabilization with revenues only down by -0.6% qoq in q4 2018 vs -10.5% qoq in q3 2018 in local currency. total revenue in israel declined -10.0% yoy in q4 2018 on a cc basis, or -11.8% on a reported basis to €227 million impacted by the ongoing intense competition in the fixed and mobile markets. the group has implemented an improved retention process in q4 2018, both in fixed and mobile: the cable customer base declined modestly in q4 2018 vs. q3 (-3k vs -9 in q3 2018 and -11k for fy 2018 vs -16 k for fy 2017), despite a very high level of promotions in the market. overall fixed revenues declined -10.8% yoy in q4 2018 in local currency, mainly driven by continued fierce competition in the tv bundle market and change in mix product due to new single customers. hot remains a premium brand in the market, supported by its superior fixed network infrastructure, premium content packages, and superior customer service. hot will benefit from the ramp-up of its next application to better address the tv market; the b2c mobile postpaid customer base grew this quarter with net additions of +7k, despite the continuing aggressive competition following the entrance of a new 6th mobile player. overall mobile revenues declined -6.8% yoy in q4 in local currency. the cable customer base declined modestly in q4 2018 vs. q3 (-3k vs -9 in q3 2018 and -11k for fy 2018 vs -16 k for fy 2017), despite a very high level of promotions in the market. overall fixed revenues declined -10.8% yoy in q4 2018 in local currency, mainly driven by continued fierce competition in the tv bundle market and change in mix product due to new single customers. hot remains a premium brand in the market, supported by its superior fixed network infrastructure, premium content packages, and superior customer service. hot will benefit from the ramp-up of its next application to better address the tv market; the b2c mobile postpaid customer base grew this quarter with net additions of +7k, despite the continuing aggressive competition following the entrance of a new 6th mobile player. overall mobile revenues declined -6.8% yoy in q4 in local currency. total adjusted ebitda in israel declined by -20.4% in q4 2018 yoy in local currency, or -21.8% on a reported basis yoy to €94 million with margins reducing by -3.1% pts yoy to 43.2%. dominican republic (altice dominicana) total revenue in dominican republic declined -3.0% yoy in q4 2018 on a cc basis, or -3.1% yoy on a reported basis to €143 million: the total fixed b2c customer base grew in q4 2018 with +2k net adds. total fixed b2c arpu decreased in q4 2018 in local currency, supported by the increase in triple play penetration (+11% pts yoy for fibre customers). the tv market remains very fragmented, but in the broadband internet market, altice was the only one that offers up to 200mbps in areas with hfc technology; total b2c mobile subscriber decreased by -13k net losses in q4 2018 (vs. -6k in q4 2017). b2c mobile postpaid net additions, boosted by refreshed offers, were positive for the third quarter in a row, +24k in q4 2018 (vs. -3k in q4 2017). new offers focused on data and value launched last quarter contributed to prepaid revenues improving sequentially, partially offsetting voice erosion. 4g population coverage reached 97% in q4 2018 (+36% pts vs. q4 2017), supporting consumer needs for data traffic. the total fixed b2c customer base grew in q4 2018 with +2k net adds. total fixed b2c arpu decreased in q4 2018 in local currency, supported by the increase in triple play penetration (+11% pts yoy for fibre customers). the tv market remains very fragmented, but in the broadband internet market, altice was the only one that offers up to 200mbps in areas with hfc technology; total b2c mobile subscriber decreased by -13k net losses in q4 2018 (vs. -6k in q4 2017). b2c mobile postpaid net additions, boosted by refreshed offers, were positive for the third quarter in a row, +24k in q4 2018 (vs. -3k in q4 2017). new offers focused on data and value launched last quarter contributed to prepaid revenues improving sequentially, partially offsetting voice erosion. 4g population coverage reached 97% in q4 2018 (+36% pts vs. q4 2017), supporting consumer needs for data traffic. total adjusted ebitda in dominican republic declined by -19.3% in q4 2018 yoy in local currency, or -18.0% on a reported basis yoy to €65 million. dominican republic q4 2018 adjusted ebitda was negatively impacted by one-off operating costs of €2.3 million in q4 2018 (one-time costs related to electricity companies). teads total revenue17 grew +34.0% in q4 2018 yoy on a cc basis to €129 million. total ebitda grew +23.7% in q4 2018 yoy on a cc basis to €33 million. teads achieved further product diversification, beyond video advertising, thanks to a successful market adoption of its viewable display and performance advertising offerings. major partnerships were signed or renewed on the supply-side with publishers including apple news uk, the economist, bloomberg, and on the demand-side, with advertisers including samsung, adidas, coty and many others. altice tv on september 18, 2018, the first major distribution agreement was formalised with canal+ for its satellite subscribers, thereby improving monetisation of altice’s content portfolio. altice tv ebitda was -€53 million in q4 2018, in line with q3 2018. the increase in revenues was partially mitigated by increasing production costs with the ramp-up of rmc sport. shares outstanding as at december 31, 2018, altice europe had 1,189,927,77318 common shares outstanding and 927,832 preference shares b outstanding. altice europe consolidated net debt as of december 31, 2018, breakdown by credit silo19 altice europe has a robust, diversified and long-term capital structure: group weighted average debt maturity of 6.0 years; group weighted average cost of debt of 5.7%; 86% fixed interest rate; no major maturities at altice france until 2024, none at altice international until 2023 and none at altice luxembourg until 2022; available liquidity of €5.8 billion20. group weighted average debt maturity of 6.0 years; group weighted average cost of debt of 5.7%; 86% fixed interest rate; no major maturities at altice france until 2024, none at altice international until 2023 and none at altice luxembourg until 2022; available liquidity of €5.8 billion20. total consolidated altice europe net debt was €28.8 billion at the end of q4 2018. altice europe pro forma net leverage reconciliation as of december 31, 2018 corporatefinancing consolidated 30,519 corporatefinancing consolidated corporatefinancing consolidated pf internationalvoice disposal & i24 europe altice europe n.v. non-gaap reconciliation to gaap measures as of december 31, 2018 year to date21 forward-looking statements certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things: our future financial conditions and performance, results of operations and liquidity; our strategy, plans, objectives, prospects, growth, goals and targets; and future developments in the markets in which we participate or are seeking to participate. these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “project” or “will” or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will be achieved or accomplished. to the extent that statements in this press release are not recitations of historical fact, such statements constitute forward-looking statements, which, by definition, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements including risks referred to in our annual and quarterly reports 1 all financials are shown under ifrs 15 accounting standard. financials shown above are pro forma defined as results of altice europe new perimeter as if the spin-off of altice usa had occurred on 1/1/17 and excluding the press titles within the amg france business ("france - media" segment) sold in 2017 as if the disposals occurred on 1/1/17. altice usa considered as third-party and not included in group eliminations from 1/1/18. segments are shown on a pro forma standalone reporting basis and group figures are shown on a pro forma consolidated basis. financials include the contribution from teads from q3 2017 onwards. in addition, financials for altice europe exclude the international wholesale voice business (following closing announced on september 13, 2018) and green.ch ag and green datacenter ag in switzerland (following closing announced on february 12, 2018) from 1/1/17. financials shown are pro forma for the portugal and dominican republic tower transactions2 operating free cash flow (“opfcf”) defined as adjusted ebitda less capex3 aggregation of fixed and mobile subscribers5 excluding benefit of lower vat for some press/tv bundles implemented in 2016; loss of benefit from march 2018 following vat law change6 see reconciliation of non-gaap performance measures to operating profit for the twelve-month period ended on page 23 of this release7 operating free cash flow (“opfcf”) defined as adjusted ebitda less capex8 pro forma for tower portfolio disposals in portugal and in the dominican republic and for fx9 €4.15bn pro-forma for french ftth disposal, on top of tower deals (france, portugal, dominican republic)10 built and secured11 financials shown in this section are based on the new reporting perimeter for altice europe unless stated otherwise.12 delivering broadband speeds over 100mbps13 fttb and ftth homes passed14 source: anfr15 excluding benefit of lower vat for some press/tv bundles implemented in 2016; loss of benefit from march 2018 following vat law change17 teads gross revenues are presented before discounts (net revenues after discounts are recognised in the financial statements)18 as at december 31, 2018, altice europe had 1,596,608,025 common shares a (including 615,998,253 treasury shares), 209,318,001 common shares b and 927,832 preference shares b outstanding19 pro forma for ftth sale in france (cash proceeds of €1.71 billion); group net debt includes €43 million of cash at altice europe n.v. and other subsidiaries outside debt silos20 altice france, altice international and altice luxembourg rcf’s undrawn; €2.16 billion of undrawn revolvers and €3.70 billion of cash, pro-forma for €1.71 billion ftth sale proceeds in france. cash includes €106 million of restricted cash for debt financing obligations at altice corporate financing21 the financial numbers disclosed in the reconciliation below are subject to audit procedures of altice europe’s external auditors. the difference in consolidated revenue and adjusted ebitda as reported for altice europe in the non-gaap reconciliation to gaap measures as of december 31, 2018 year to date and the pro forma financial information for altice europe as disclosed in this earnings release is mainly due to pro forma adjustments to exclude the financial information related to the international wholesale voice business and i24news
