First Half 2021 Results

• Successful launch of our new "ONE" FMC bundles, resulting in an accelerated intake of 25,400 FMC customers in Q2 2021 to 685,900 at June 30, 2021. 
• Our revenue trend turned the negative tide in Q2 2021, driven by a strong recovery in our other revenue, which was adversely impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic last year.
• On track to deliver on both our FY 2021 guidance and our 3-year Operating Free Cash Flow CAGR ambition.

Telenet Group Holding NV (“Telenet” or the “Company”) (Euronext Brussels: TNET) announces its unaudited consolidated results under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (“EU IFRS”) for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Commercial momentum sustained in Q2 2021, having added 25,400 net new FMC customers, 7,100 net new enhanced video subscribers, 6,000 net new broadband internet RGUs and 18,400 net organic mobile postpaid subscribers.
• The fixed monthly ARPU per customer relationship reached €59.3 in H1 2021, up 2% yoy, driven by a higher share of both higher-tier broadband and multiple-play customers in our overall customer mix and the benefit of certain price adjustments, partly offset by a greater proportion of revenue being allocated to mobile telephony from our recently launched "ONE" FMC bundles compared to our legacy bundles.
• H1 2021 revenue of €1,288.3 million, +1% yoy on both a reported and rebased⁽¹⁾ basis, reflecting higher cable and mobile telephony subscription revenue as well as improved other revenue. Revenue growth back to positive territory in Q2 2021, up 4% yoy both on a reported and rebased basis, to €642.4 million driven by a strong recovery in our other revenue compared to the same period last year.
• Net profit of €211.7 million in H1 2021 (Q2 2021: €99.2 million), +14% yoy, driven by significantly lower net finance expense and a 3% growth in our operating profit, which more than offset higher income tax expense.
• H1 2021 Adjusted EBITDA(2) of €688.7 million, -1% yoy, including changes to the IFRS accounting treatment of certain content-related costs for our premium entertainment packages and the Belgian football broadcasting rights because of changes related to the underlying contracts as of Q3 2020. On a rebased basis, our H1 2021 Adjusted EBITDA increased almost 3% yoy driven by an 8% decline in direct costs and healthy organic top line growth over the period. Q2 2021 Adjusted EBITDA of €354.5 million, marking lower yoy increases of 1% and 2%, on a reported and rebased basis, respectively compared to Q2 2020, reflecting higher direct costs and sales and marketing expenses relative to Q2 last year.
• Accrued capital expenditures⁽³⁾ of €281.8 million in H1 2021 (Q2 2021: €138.7 million), -5% versus H1 last year and approximately 22% of revenue. Excluding the recognition of certain football broadcasting rights and the temporary extension of both our 2G and 3G mobile spectrum licenses, our H1 2021 accrued capital expenditures were €270.4 million, equivalent to approximately 21% of revenue.
• Operating Free Cash Flow⁽⁴⁾ of €418.3 million in H1 2021 (Q2 2021: €216.4 million), +4% yoy, mainly driven by substantially lower investments compared to H1 last year and the aforementioned trend in our Adjusted EBITDA. On a rebased basis and excluding the recognition of both football broadcasting rights and mobile spectrum licenses, as well as the impact of certain lease-related capital additions on our accrued capital expenditures, our H1 2021 Operating Free Cash Flow was up nearly 4% yoy.
• Net cash from operating activities, net cash used in investing activities and net cash used in financing activities of €511.3 million, €255.0 million and €243.4 million, respectively, in H1 2021. Our Adjusted Free Cash Flow⁽⁵⁾ decreased 23% yoy in H1 2021 to €202.5 million, mainly due to the annual cash tax payment in Q2 2021 (versus Q3 last year) and a €14.0 million lower contribution from our vendor financing program due to phasing, yet fully embedded in our FY 2021 guidance. The same factors drove a 57% decline in our Q2 2021 Adjusted Free Cash Flow to €78.5 million.
• FY 2021 outlook reiterated, despite an anticipated softer trend in our revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Operating Free Cash Flow in H2 relative to H1 2021 as a result of (i) a tougher comparison base, (ii) an overall pickup in commercial activity and (iii) higher targeted investments in the remainder of the year. In 2021, we expect both our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA^(b) to return back to growth with a targeted rebased^(a) growth of up to 1% and between 1-2%, respectively. We will also deliver healthy Adjusted Free Cash Flow^{(b, d)} between €420.0 and €440.0 million for the FY 2021 despite a modest contraction in rebased Operating Free Cash Flow^(b,c) in 2021 of around 1% on the back of higher targeted investments. With that, we still expect to deliver on the lower end of our 2018-2021 Operating Free Cash Flow^{(b, c)} CAGR of between 6.5% to 8.0%.