Fastweb
In EUR million, except where indicated | 2017 | 2016 | Change | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Residential Customers | 986 | 906 | 8.8% | |||
Corporate Business | 710 | 706 | 0.6% | |||
Wholesale | 240 | 175 | 37.1% | |||
Revenue from external customers | 1,936 | 1,787 | 8.3% | |||
Intersegment revenue | 8 | 8 | 0.0% | |||
Net revenue | 1,944 | 1,795 | 8.3% | |||
Segment expenses | (1,185) | (1,134) | 4.5% | |||
Segment result before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) | 759 | 661 | 14.8% | |||
Margin as % of net revenue | 39.0 | 36.8 | ||||
Capital expenditure in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets | 622 | 581 | 7.1% | |||
Full-time equivalent employees at end of year (number) | 2,504 | 2,468 | 1.5% | |||
Broadband access lines at end of period in thousand | 2,451 | 2,355 | 4.1% | |||
Mobile access lines at end of period in thousand | 1,065 | 676 | 57.5% |
Fastweb’s net revenue rose by EUR 149 million or 8.3% year-on-year to EUR 1,944 million. Despite difficult market conditions, Fastweb’s broadband customer base grew by 96,000 or 4.1% to around 2.5 million in 2017. Fastweb is also growing in mobile telephony: compared to the previous year, the number of mobile access lines increased by 389,000 or 57.5% to 1.07 million due to the launch of attractive mobile offerings during 2017. The pressure on pricing in the Residential Customers segment as a consequence of fierce competition was more than offset by customer growth and the reduction in the billing period to four weeks introduced in the second quarter of 2017. Revenue from residential customers rose accordingly by EUR 80 million or 8.8% to EUR 986 million. Despite the high level of competition, Fastweb held its strong position in the market for business customers. Revenue from corporate business increased by EUR 4 million or 0.6% to EUR 710 million, while wholesale business revenue was up by EUR 65 million or 37.1% to EUR 240 million.
The segment result before depreciation and amortisation totalled EUR 759 million, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of EUR 98 million or 14.8%. This includes one-off income from legal disputes amounting to EUR 95 million (prior year: EUR 55 million). Adjusted for these effects, EBITDA rose by EUR 58 million or 9.6%. This increase was mainly the result of higher revenue and improved regulatory conditions. The adjusted EBITDA margin rose by 0.4 percentage points to 34.2%. The expansion of Italy’s fibre-optic broadband network is continuing as planned. Capital expenditure remained at a high level, totalling EUR 622 million. Headcount at Fastweb rose by 36 FTEs or 1.5% to 2,504 FTEs, driven chiefly by the appointment of new employees in the corporate business segment.