First Half 2022 Results

The enclosed information constitutes regulated information as defined in the Royal Decree of 14 November 2007 regarding the duties of issuers of financial instruments which have been admitted for trading on a regulated market. Inside information.

Mechelen, July 28, 2022 – 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, 2022.

HIGHLIGHTS

Last week, we entered into a binding agreement with Fluvius taking a joint next step in the realization of the 'data network of the future'. Both companies’ ambition is to provide speeds of 10 Gbps across the entire footprint in time, through a mixture of HFC (DOCSIS) and fiber, for which there is a clear roadmap. We refer to 3.3 Subsequent events for more information in addition to last week's press releases.
Following the June-July 2022 multi-band spectrum auction procedure, we obtained frequencies in the 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1400 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands for a total amount of €302 million to be paid upon finalization of the auction process. We now embark on a new expansion phase of our 5G network, which will provide higher speeds, capacity, lower latency and more stability to consumers as well as businesses in the whole of Belgium.
On June 1, we finalized the sale of our mobile telecommunications tower business to DigitalBridge, valued at 25.1x EV/EBITDAaL 2021 or €745 million on a cash and debt-free basis. We'll be reinvesting the proceeds for future growth, supporting NetCo's FTTH roll-out. As a result of this landmark transaction for Telenet, we will now also add Adjusted EBITDAaL as a key financial metric and provide rebased headline financials in order to facilitate a like-for-like comparison base, as detailed under 6.2 Reconciliation between profit for the period and rebased financial information.
Continued FMC customer growth driven by our "ONE(Up)" bundles (+16,500 net adds in Q2 2022), while persistent lower market flux impacted net new subscriber growth for our broadband internet and mobile postpaid offers in the quarter (+300 and +8,100, respectively, on an organic basis), with annualized churn remaining at historically low levels.
Revenue of €1,291.6 million in H1 2022, broadly flat compared to our H1 2021 revenue, which included certain one-off benefits.
Net profit of €793.4 million in H1 2022, up 275% yoy. The robust year-on-year increase was attributable to the gain on disposal of assets related to the TowerCo transaction as well as a significantly improved financial result.
H1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ of €670.6 million, -3% year-on-year on both a reported and rebased basis, driven by (i) the impact of higher inflation on both our staff-related expenses and costs related to outsourced labor and professional services, (ii) the impact of higher energy prices on our network operating costs and (iii) a tougher comparison base as a result of certain one-off impacts in H1 last year.
Adjusted EBITDAaL⁽²⁾ in H1 2022 reached €612.4 million, marking a similar decline of almost 3% compared to H1 2021. On a rebased basis, Adjusted EBITDAaL was down 2% over the comparable period.
Accrued capital expenditures⁽³⁾ for the six months ended June 30, 2022 reached €626.6 million, up 122% versus the prior year period and equivalent to approximately 49% of revenue over the period. Excluding the recognition of certain football broadcasting rights, mobile spectrum licenses and certain lease-related capital additions impacts, as per our FY 2022 guidance, our H1 2022 accrued capital expenditures were €294.4 million, equivalent to approximately 23% of revenue, and representing a more moderate 11% year-on-year increase. In line with our full year 2022 outlook, our investment intensity picked up compared to last year.
Adjusted EBITDA less property & equipment additions⁽⁴⁾ (previously referred to as Operating Free Cash Flow) of €376.2 million in H1 2022, -11% year-on-year driven by (i) a nearly 3% contraction in our Adjusted EBITDA as explained above and (ii) higher accrued capital expenditures versus H1 last year (excluding the recognition of football broadcasting rights, mobile spectrum licenses and certain lease-related capital additions).
Net cash from operating activities, net cash from investing activities and net cash used in financing activities of €512.6 million, €466.4 million and €289.0 million, respectively, in H1 2022. Adjusted Free Cash Flow⁽⁵⁾ of €166.7 million, -14% year-on-year on (i) a €10.9 million lower contribution from our vendor financing compared to H1 last year and (ii) €6.4 million higher direct acquisition costs, more than offsetting €9.2 million lower cash taxes paid relative to the first half of last year.