Summary

Group revenue rose by 0.3% year-on-year to CHF 8,202 million. Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 4.1% to CHF 3,477 million. The reported revenue and EBITDA development was influenced by the performance of the euro (EUR) as a result of the substantial share attributable to the Italian subsidiary Fastweb. The EUR average exchange rate fell by 2.9% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year. This resulted in negative exchange differences on Group revenue of CHF 54 million and on EBITDA of CHF 18 million. Based on constant exchange rates, revenue in the first nine months of 2023 rose by 0.9% or CHF 77 million. Swisscom Switzerland’s revenue fell slightly by 0.6%. Fastweb achieved an increase in revenue of 6.0% (in EUR).

EBITDA development was influenced not only by currency effects, but also primarily by the recognition of provisions for legal proceedings in the amount of CHF 82 million in the prior year (2023: CHF 3 million). Adjusted for non-recurring items and with constant exchange rates, this resulted in an increase in EBITDA of CHF 75 million (+2.2%). Swisscom Switzerland and Fastweb both contributed to this, with CHF 10 million and CHF 12 million respectively. The Other Operating Segments recorded a decrease of CHF 23 million. The largest effect on Group EBITDA resulted from the reconciliation of pension costs. As the interest rate relevant for IFRS measurement has increased, the IFRS pension costs for the full year 2023 will decrease by about CHF 90 million compared with the previous year. The positive reconciliation effect in the first nine months of 2023 was CHF 73 million. Consolidated net income rose by 7.9% year-on-year to total CHF 1,310 million. The higher operating income was partly offset by a deterioration in the financial result.

The Group’s capital expenditure rose by 1.8% in a year-on-year comparison to CHF 1,630 million. In the Swiss core business, it rose by 3.1%, with a slight drop of 0.9% at Fastweb (in EUR). The operating free cash flow proxy rose by 7.2% year-on-year to CHF 1,630 million. The higher EBITDA was compensated for in part by the increase in capital expenditure. The CHF 57 million increase in free cash flow to CHF 1,037 million is due primarily to lower income taxes paid. The decrease in income tax payments is due to the different payment due dates. Net debt decreased by 2.6% to CHF 7,507 million year-on-year. The number of Swisscom employees increased by 3.4% to 19,686 FTEs. In Switzerland, headcount increased by 1.7% to 16,048 FTEs.

Due in particular to the strong Swiss franc and lower hardware sales in Switzerland, Swisscom is slightly adjusting its revenue forecast for 2023 and now expects revenue of about CHF 11.0 bil­lion (previously CHF 11.1 bil­lion to CHF 11.2 bil­lion). Expectations for EBITDA of CHF 4.6 bil­lion to CHF 4.7 bil­lion and capital expenditure of about CHF 2.3 bil­lion remain unchanged. Subject to achievement of its targets, Swisscom plans to propose payment of an unchanged dividend of CHF 22 per share for the 2023 financial year at the 2024 Annual General Meeting.