Summary

Swisscom’s net revenue was up by 0.7% or CHF 83 million at CHF 11,183 million, while operating income before de­pre­ci­a­tion and amor­ti­sa­tion (EBITDA) increased by 2.2% or CHF 96 million to CHF 4,478 million. Adjustments to post-em­ploy­ment benefits and provisions impacted EBITDA mainly in the Swiss core business, but these were balanced out across the Group as a whole. The con­sol­i­dated net income of CHF 1,833 million is significantly higher than in the previous year (+20.0% or CHF 305 million), primarily due to non-recurring items in the financial result and the higher EBITDA. Payment of an unchanged dividend of CHF 22 per share for the 2021 financial year will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting.

In the Swiss core business, net revenue decreased by 0.2% or CHF 17 million to CHF 8,233 million. The continuing com­pet­i­tive and price pressure led to a 3.3% drop in revenue from telecoms services to CHF 5,478 million. By contrast, revenue in the solutions business with business cus­tomers increased by 5.0% or CHF 53 million. EBITDA in the Swiss core business decreased by 0.4% or CHF 13 million to CHF 3,453 million. On a like-for-like basis, there was an increase of 1.4%. The decline in revenue from telecoms services and the higher costs involved in services and subscriber acquisition and retention were offset by ongoing efficiency im­prove­ments. Revenue at the Italian subsidiary Fastweb increased by 3.8% or EUR 88 million to EUR 2,392 million. In the broad­band business, Fastweb’s customer base remained close to stable over the year at 2.75 million despite fiercer competition, while in mobile com­mu­ni­ca­tions it grew by 26.1% to 2.47 million. EBITDA at Fastweb rose by 5.4% or EUR 42 million in local currency to EUR 826 million, as a result of the growth in revenue.

Swisscom’s capital ex­pen­di­ture increased by 2.6% or CHF 57 million to CHF 2,286 million. Capital ex­pen­di­ture in the Swiss core business rose by 2.7% or CHF 43 million to CHF 1,642 million. Capital ex­pen­di­ture in broad­band and mobile com­mu­ni­ca­tions networks increased, while capital ex­pen­di­ture in other in­fra­struc­ture decreased. Fastweb recorded an increase in capital ex­pen­di­ture of 2.4% or EUR 14 million to EUR 601 million as a result of higher customer-driven in­vest­ments and higher investment in the mobile network in­fra­struc­ture.

The operating free cash flow proxy increased by 2.1% or CHF 38 million to CHF 1,891 million. The improved operating income before de­pre­ci­a­tion and amor­ti­sa­tion (EBITDA) was partially offset by the higher capital ex­pen­di­ture. Net debt decreased by 8.5% to CHF 5,689 million, while the net debt/EBITDA after lease expense ratio fell from 1.5 to 1.4.

The number of Swisscom employees decreased by 0.8% or 157 FTEs to 18,905 FTEs. In Switzer­land, headcount decreased by 1.0% or 166 FTEs to 15,882 FTEs.

Swisscom expects net revenue of CHF 11.1 to 11.2 bil­lion, EBITDA of around CHF 4.4 bil­lion and capital ex­pen­di­ture of around CHF 2.3 bil­lion for 2022. Subject to achieving its targets, Swisscom will propose payment of an unchanged, attractive dividend of CHF 22 per share for the 2022 financial year at the 2023 Annual General Meeting.