17^th November 2011

• Consolidated revenues of €102.3M vs. €101.9M in 2010 (+0.4%)
• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA of €20.6M vs. €16.7M in 2010 (+22.6%) with an EBITDA margin of 20.17% (+3.6 pp vs. Q3 2010)
• 757k unique Households in Greece
• 126k Households have chosen bundles of telecom and payTV services
• 373k active payTV subs in Greece
• a 26k Y-o-Y increase of  digital subs in Greece
• Renewal and extension of the  Champions League and Europa League rights

Q3 Overview

 

Focused management initiatives are improving operational efficiency for the Group. The accelerating integration of the payTV and telecom businesses is offering major opportunities for cost containment. At the same time the demand for bundled telecom and payTV services remains strong.

 

Bundled Services

 

In Q3 2011 the Group continued to attract customers that bundle telecom and payTV services. By the end of Q3 the Group served 757k unique households, among which, 126k have chosen bundled services.

 

	Q3 2011	Q2 2011	Q1 2011	Q4 2010	Q3 2010
Households with Bundled Services	126,488	121,582	111,613	99,932	76,697
Households in Greece with Bundled Services as % of Total	16.7%	16.7%	14.6%	13.1%	10.3%
New Households with Bundled Services	4,906	9,969	11,681	23,235	20,111

 

The majority of the customers that chose Bundled Services in 2010 already had a billing relationship with the group.  In Q3 2011 most of the customers that chose Bundled Services were new additions to both telecom and payTV.

Telecom Services

 

Forthnet continues to extend its telecom customer base. The number of Broadband subs at the end of September 2011 stood at 511k customers, with 8,938 additions in Q3 2011. ULL is the key growth driver, while demand for these services is expected to remain strong.

 

Broadband Customers	Q3 2011	Q2 2011	Q1 2011	Q4 2010	Q3 2010
Broadband subscribers[1]	510,643	501,705	496,304	483,163	461,343
Quarterly net additions	8,938	5,401	13,141	21,820	22,377
Active LLU customers	477,566	472,142	459,626	445,343	415,662
Unbundling Ratio	94%	94%	93%	92%	90%
New LLU customers	5,424	12,516	14,283	29,681	24,365
Market share in new LLU customers	11.7%	18.0%	18.5%	30.4%	33.0%
LLU market share	30.6%	31.3%	31.9%	32.6%	32.8%

 

Forthnet is the leading unbundler in Greece with an estimated market share of 30.6% at the end of September with 5.4k net additions in Q3. It is estimated that Forthnet's market share in ULL net additions in Q3 was 11.7%.

PayTV Services

 

Satellite payTV subscribers in Greece reached 366,144 at the end of September 2011, an all times Q3 high. The analogue subscriber base in Greece declined.

 

PayTV Customers	Q3 2011	Q3 2010	Δ
Digital Platform Greece	366.144	340.228	25.916
Analogue Platform Greece	7.034	23.386	-16.352
Total	373.178	363.614	9.564

 

By the end of Q3 2011 payTV subscribers in Greece reached 373,178 customers, a y-o-y increase of 9.564.

 

Consolidated Q3 2011 financial results

 

The Group reported total revenues of €102.3M, an increase of 0.4% compared to the same period in 2010. Revenue from ULL services grew by 8.1% driven by an increase in subs.

 

 

Revenue Analysis (in €'000)	Q3 2011	Q3 2010	Δ (%)
Residential LLU services	41,327	38,236	8.09%
Residential Wholesale Services	1,965	1,909	2.91%
Business Services and Applications	15,904	14,505	9.64%
PayTV Revenue	43,084	47,199	-8.72%
Total Revenue (incl. other income)	102,280	101,849	0.42%

 

The decrease in payTV revenue is attributed mostly to Analogue Service Revenue, Advertising in Greece and Group Operations in Cyprus.

 

 

The result of cost cutting initiatives boosted Q3 2011 adjusted EBITDA to €20.6M, up 22.6% on a y-o-y basis. The adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 20.17%, an increase of 3.6pp over Q3 2010.

 

(in € ‘000)	Q3 2011	Q3 2010	Δ (%)
Revenue (including other income)	102,280	101,853	0.42%
Reported EBITDA	20,231	16,737	20.87%
Adjusted EBITDA[2]	20,631	16,827	22.60%
Adjusted EBITDA margin	20.17%	16.52%	+3.65 pp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent Developments

 

Sports rights

Forthnet Group was awarded to the exclusive broadcast rights of, 128 live matches of the teams that participate in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in total, inclusive of the first pick of Tuesday (UCL 2nd-16th pick incl. Tuesday First Pick Match), 190 live matches of the teams that participate in EUROPA LEAGUE in total, and specifically of the 2nd up to 24th pick (Picks 2-24) every Thursday, for the three football seasons 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

Liquidity and Debt

 

As of September 30th 2011, Forthnet Group's cash and cash equivalents amounted to € 21.1m. Total net bank debt for the Group at the end of September 2011 stood at € 315.8m.

 

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[1] Active & pending activation wholesale ADSL and 2Play customers, plus active & pending activation unbundled Customers.

[2] The adjustment relates to the settlement of a litigation case dating back to 2005

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