- Revenues continued to grow, in a context of post-pandemic recovery, totaling 589.4M€ and 1,689.2M€ respectively in the 3rd quarter and in the nine months of the year, which translated into year-on-year growth of +8.9% and +8.1%.
- EBITDA in the third quarter amounted to 221.8M€ and 639.1M€ in the nine months, representing growth of +2.3% and +1.7%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year.
- The preference for fiber, the innovative and diversified portfolio of services and the convergent and integrated offers continued to boost the growth of the customer base and strengthen Altice Portugal's position in the domestic market.
- Altice Portugal reiterated its commitment to expanding its Fiber Optic network, having reached 5.9 million homes passed with Fiber Optic in Portugal by the end of September 2021. It thus added another 100,000 homes served with Fiber in the 3rd quarter of 2021 and another 308,000 in the nine months of the year. This is unequivocally the largest Fiber Optic Network in Portugal.
- This quarter, Altice Portugal's brands once again recorded a remarkable performance in terms of Quality of Service, with significant increases in NPS compared to the same period last year, MEO being recognized as the operator with the lowest number of complaints per thousand customers and the MEO mobile network being distinguished as the "Best of the Test - Mobile Internet" by Deco-Proteste.
Despite the delay in the 5G Auction, for which ANACOM is solely responsible, and the continued deterioration of the regulatory environment, Altice Portugal remains faithful to its commitments to digital transformation and to identifying solutions that put its customers in the best position to succeed, combined with an unparalleled quality of service, in a social and economic context that is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Revenues, in addition to year-on-year growth, showed an increase of +7.0% compared to the previous quarter (589.4 million euros in the 3rd quarter of 2021 compared to 550.7 million euros in the 2nd quarter of 2021), coming from the performance shown by all Segments.
The sustained growth of the Fixed and Mobile Customer Base, Corporate Business and the focus on the Fiber/Convergence binomial boosted Revenues. The development of an innovative and diversified portfolio adapted to changing realities and the commitment to high standards of network quality, robustness and security, resulted in a remarkable operating performance, both in the Consumer Segment and in the Business Services Segment.
The pursuit of high standards of quality in the service provided has continued to yield results, as reflected in the data released by the Portuguese regulator, which in September showed that MEO was the operator with the lowest number of complaints per thousand customers. According to ANACOM, MEO had the lowest rate of complaints in the 2nd quarter of 2021. Since 2019, MEO has stood out as the operator in the Portuguese telecommunications market with the lowest number of complaints per thousand customers, a direct result of Altice Portugal's continued commitment to customer service and the quality of its offers.
On October 27, 2021, after ten months, two hundred days and 1727 rounds, the 5G auction ended. Altice Portugal is pleased to have met all the ambitious targets it had set itself: it obtained 104 MHz in the
the allocation of 5G frequencies, distributed in the 700 MHz, 900 MHz and 3.6 GHz bands. This resulted in an investment of 125 million euros for the total amount of spectrum acquired.
At the end of the 3rd quarter of 2021, 4G and 4G+ penetration reached 99.8% and 94.7%, respectively, driven by sustained investment in the mobile network. In July, the MEO brand received the "Best in Test - Mobile Internet" distinction, based on data from the previous 12 months from Deco Proteste's QualRede application, a recognition of Altice Portugal's strong position in the market.
EBITDA grew again in the 3rd quarter of 2021, with +2.3% compared to the same quarter in 2020 and +4.1% compared to the previous quarter. In the first nine months of 2021, it increased by +1.7% compared to the same period last year. This evolution is the result of the performance and quality of revenue and the continuous rationalization of the organic structure and control of operating costs.
Investment amounted to 109.7 million euros in the 3rd quarter and 338.1 million euros from January to September, reflecting the continued expansion of fiber optic coverage and reinforcement of the mobile network. Altice Portugal added another 100,000 homes in the 3rd quarter of 2021 and another 308,000 in the first nine months of the year, having reached 5.9 million homes passed in Portugal by the end of September 2021.
Consumer Segment | 3rd Quarter 2021
In the 3rd quarter of the year, Consumer Segment Revenues grew by +3.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, standing at 314.6 million euros (versus 304.3 million euros in the 3rd quarter of 2020). Compared to the previous quarter, Revenues increased by +3.6%.
The Customer Base continued to grow, both in the Fixed and Mobile Businesses, supported by historically low levels of Churn, coupled with the maintenance of a solid acquisition performance, also promoted by convergence and Fiber technology, which made it possible to add more valuable customers with longer useful lives. Net additions of Unique Customers were positive for the sixteenth consecutive quarter.
Business Services Segment | 3rd Quarter 2021
[Combines the Business Segments - B2B, Wholesale and the remaining Business Units of Altice Portugal]
The Business Services Segment recorded revenues of 274.8 million euros in the third quarter of the year, a year-on-year increase of 16.1% compared to the total of 236.7 million euros recorded in the same period of the previous year. Compared to the previous quarter, there was growth of +11.3%. The performance of corporate services also benefited from the recapture of important large corporate customers in various sectors, as well as the recovery of roaming revenues compared to the 3rd quarter of 2020, although the absolute contribution was lower than in the 3rd quarter of 2019.