Earnings Release • May 20, 2020
Earnings Release
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MUNICH, 06 May 2020
2 As of 1 January 2020, M2M is separately reported from postpaid; for comparability this change has also been applied to 2019, retrospectively.
1 Adjusted for exceptional effects. As of 31 March 2020, exceptional effects amounted to EUR -8m including EUR -9m of losses from sale of assets related with the sale of spectrum assets in line with the agreed merger remedies as well as EUR 1m of restructuring income. Exceptional effects as of 31 March 2019, include restructuring expenses amounting to EUR -10m.
even lower at 1.3% driven by a clear retention focus helped by sustained network quality improvements.
6 Excluding additions from capitalised right-of-use assets.
3 Includes a technical database adjustment of +3.2m customers in Q4 19.
4 Mobile service revenue includes base fees and fees paid by the company's customers for the usage of voice, SMS and mobile data services; it also includes access and interconnection fees as well as other charges levied on partners for the use of the company's network.
5 Adjusted for exceptional effects. As of 31 March 2020, exceptional effects amounted to EUR -8m including EUR -9m of losses from sale of assets related with the sale of spectrum assets in line with the agreed merger remedies as well as EUR 1m of restructuring income. Exceptional effects as of 31 March 2019, include restructuring expenses amounting to EUR -10m.
7 Net financial debt includes current and non-current interest-bearing financial assets and interest-bearing liabilities as well as cash and cash equivalents while excluding payables for spectrum.
8 Leverage ratio is defined as net financial debt divided by the OIBDA for the last twelve months adjusted for exceptional effects.
Telefónica Deutschland's Q1 20 results were in-line with management expectations while affected by limited COVID-19 impacts. In Germany, we are seeing first signs of easing the COVID-19 lockdown and we are closely monitoring the situation and its further developments. On this background, we confirm the company's FY20 outlook as published in the 2019 Annual Financial Report.
| Baseline 2019 | Outlook 2020 | Q1 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EUR 7,399m | flat to slightly positive y-o-y | +3.8% y-o-y |
| OIBDA Adjusted for exceptional effects |
EUR 2,316m | broadly stable to slightly positive y-o-y |
+1.6% y-o-y |
| Capex to Sales Ratio |
14.1% | 17 – 18% | 12.1% |
Following the recent temporary change in German corporate law now allowing virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs) in 2020, Telefónica Deutschland has invited to its first virtual AGM as initially planned on 20 May 2020 to resolve upon the announced dividend proposal of EUR 0.17 per share for the financial year 2019.
As of 31 March 2020, Telefónica Deutschland's mobile customer accesses reached 43.6m (+1.7% y-o-y) driven by strong +6.3% y-o-y growth of the mobile postpaid ex M2M base which climbed to 22.7m accesses. Thus, mobile postpaid accounted for 52.1% of the company's total mobile base, a plus of +2.3 p.p. y-o-y. M2M accesses came to 1.2m; +1.7% y-o-y in Q1 20. The mobile prepaid registered -407k net disconnections reflecting the ongoing prepaid to contract migration trends in the market as well as usual seasonality.
Mobile postpaid9 posted +188k net additions in Q1 20 compared to +283k in Q1 19. This growth is mainly driven by sustained customer demand for the O2 Free portfolio and the successful launch of speed-tiered O2 Free unlimited tariffs further supporting the company's ARPU-up strategy. In addition, the contribution from partner brands remained solid and delivered 61% of gross additions in the first quarter of the year.
M2M saw +39k net additions in Q1 20 versus +22k a year ago.
Mobile prepaid registered -407k net disconnections reflecting the continued weaker demand for prepaid offerings on the back of ongoing prepaid to contract migration trends in the market as well as seasonality.
Postpaid churn remained stable y-o-y at low levels of 1.5% in Q1 20, while the O2 consumer postpaid churn was again even lower at 1.3%, also stable y-o-y. The implied annualised churn rate in Q1 20 stood at 15.7% vs. 16.0% in Q1 19, thus providing clear evidence of an excellent customer experience on the O2 network.
LTE customer base climbed +31.1% y-o-y, reaching 25.210m accesses as of 31 March 2020, fuelled by the sustained demand for high-speed mobile data services. LTE-penetration across the base reached 59.5%, up +13.3 p.p. y-o-y. LTE penetration in postpaid continues to be significantly higher (~75%).
ARPU trends remain driven by visible ARPU accretive effects from the O2 Free portfolio and new value-added services, partly offset by regulatory effects and lower ARPUs y-o-y in the partner business. The blended mobile ARPU was EUR 9.8 in the first three months of 2020, flat y-o-y. Prepaid ARPU was +3.3% higher y-o-y in the January to March period and reached EUR 5.9. Postpaid ARPU stood at EUR 13.7 in Q1 20 a decline of -3.7% y-o-y while own brand postpaid ARPU continued its growth path, up +0.4% y-o-y. The combination of the successful volume-based O2 Free portfolio and the new speed-tiered O2 Free unlimited tariffs launched in February 2020 further supported the company's APRU-up strategy.
The fixed broadband customer base reached 2.2m accesses at the end of March 2020, an increase of +5.1% y-o-y, with a VDSL base of 1.7m, a step-up of +12.0% y-o-y to 76% of the fixed broadband base. Fixed broadband saw +25k net additions in in the January to March period, driven by continued strong demand for VDSL with +36k in Q1 20.
Fixed churn remained low at 0.8% in Q1 20, an improvement of +0.2 p.p y-o-y.
The fixed broadband ARPU improved by +1.5% y-o-y to EUR 23.7 in Q1 20 reflecting the growing proportion of VDSL customers.
9 As of 1 January 2020, M2M is separately reported from postpaid; for comparability this change has also been applied to 2019, retrospectively. 10 Includes a technical database adjustment of +3.2m customers in Q4 19.
Revenue stood at EUR 1,846m in Q1 20, posting +3.8% y-o-y growth with sustained trends across all revenue lines; in particular further improvements in both, mobile and fixed service revenues, as well as a continued strong handset business.
Mobile service revenue11 (MSR) grew +2.4% y-o-y and amounted to EUR 1,311m in Q1 20, reflecting the maintained positive performance of the own retail business including the further easing of legacy base headwinds. Trends in the partner business remained solid also as a result of the MBA MVNO dynamics.
Handset revenue reached EUR 339m (+7.7% y-o-y) in Q1 20 on sustained demand for high value smartphones, which however slowed down in the second half of March following the COVID-19 related closure of O2 shops.
Fixed revenue built on its positive trends and was up +6.0% y-o-y at EUR 193m in Q1 20 supported by retail customer base growth on strong VDSL demand. Thus, fixed retail revenue further improved its positive trend and posted a strong growth of +7.7% y-o-y in the first quarter of 2020.
Other income totalled EUR 25m in Q1 20 (-17.4% y-o-y) and is mainly related to the capitalisation of network rollout costs.
Operating expenses stood at EUR 1,348m (including exceptional12 effects of EUR -8m) in Q1 20, an increase of + 4.0% y-o-y, mainly due to higher supply volumes.
Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortisation (OIBDA) adjusted for exceptional effects11 of EUR -8m amounted to EUR 532m, up +1.6% y-o-y in Q1 20 driven by the flow-through from MSR and fixed revenues partly offset by higher supply volumes. Underlying OIBDA margin stood at 28.8% in Q1 20 (-0.6 p.p. y-o-y) reflecting the before mentioned effects including the strong growth of the lower margin handset business.
Depreciation & Amortisation totalled EUR 553m in the January to March period, a decline of -9.0% y-o-y, mainly due to individual assets in PPE reaching the end of their useful life.
The operating loss for the first three month of the year improved to EUR -29m versus an operating loss of EUR -94m in the prior year.
11 Mobile service revenue includes base fees and fees paid by the company's customers for the usage of voice, SMS and mobile data services; it also includes access and interconnection fees as well as other charges levied on partners for the use of the company's network.
12 As of 31 March 2020, exceptional effects amounted to EUR -8m including EUR -9m of losses from sale of assets related with the sale of spectrum assets in line with the agreed merger remedies as well as EUR 1m of restructuring income. Exceptional effects as of 31 March 2019, include restructuring expenses amounting to EUR -10m.
13 Includes other expenses and impairment losses in accordance with IFRS 9 in the amount of EUR 19m in Q1 20 (EUR 18m in Q1 19).
The net financial expenses accounted for EUR -15m in Q1 20 compared to EUR -14m in the same period 2019.
The Company reported no material income tax expenses in the first three month of 2020.
The net loss stood at EUR -44m in the January to March 2020 period, compared to a net loss of EUR -107m in the same period of the prior year.
CapEx14 in Q1 20 came to EUR 224m with a C/S ratio of 12.1%. The company remained a clear focus on improving customer experience also reflected in the strong network resilience despite major changes in traffic volumes during the COVID-19 related lockdown; mainly a strong increase in fixed & mobile voice volumes and higher fixed data traffic while mobile data traffic trends remained broadly unchanged. The 4Grollout made steady progress while also preparing for the ramp-up in 5G network rollout.
Operating cash flow (OIBDA minus CapEx14) amounted to EUR 300m in Q1 20 (+14.6% y-o-y).
Free cash flow (FCF)15 was EUR 241m for Q1 20. Lease payments, primarily for leased lines and antenna sites, amounted to EUR -259m. As a result, FCF aL stood at EUR -18m for the reporting period compared to EUR -11m in the prior year.
Working capital movements and adjustments were negative in the amount of EUR -54m in Q1 20. This seasonal development was mainly driven by prepayments for incidental lease costs, low value and short-term leases in connection with leased line and mobile site rental and other prepayments (EUR -33m), a reduction in capex payables (EUR -23m), a decrease in restructuring provisions (EUR -8m) as well as other working capital movements in the amount of EUR 11m. The latter include silent factoring transactions for handset receivables in the gross amount of EUR 252m, which were outweighed by other working capital movements, including a reduction in trade and other payables.
Consolidated net financial debt16 came to EUR 3,863m as of 31 March 2020 with a leverage ratio of 1.7x17 , benefitting from the deferral of spectrum payments. Thus, leverage was well below with the company's the self-defined target ratio of at or below 2.5x. This leaves comfortable leverage headroom with regards to the company's BBB-rating by Fitch.
14 Excluding additions from capitalised right-of-use assets.
15 Free cash flow pre dividends and payments for spectrum (FCF) is defined as the sum of cash flow from operating activities and cash flow from investing activities and does not contain payments for investments in spectrum as well as related interest payments.
16 Net financial debt includes current and non-current interest-bearing financial assets and interest-bearing liabilities as well as cash and cash equivalents and excludes payables for spectrum.
17 Leverage ratio is defined as net financial debt divided by the OIBDA for the last twelve months adjusted for exceptional effects.
ACCESSES
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Q1 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| Mobile accesses | 43,647 | 42,913 | 43,218 | 43,607 | 43,827 |
| Prepai d | 19,689 | 20,332 | 20,335 | 20,332 | 20,096 |
| Postpaid | 22,727 | 21,371 | 21,729 | 22,096 | 22,539 |
| Postpaid (%) | 52.1% | 49.8% | 50.3% | 50.7% | 51.4% |
| M2M (1) | 1,230 | 1,210 | 1,154 | 1,179 | 1,192 |
| Internet and data accesses | 2,325 | 2,248 | 2,260 | 2,290 | 2,302 |
| Broadband | 2,232 | 2,124 | 2,162 | 2,193 | 2,207 |
| thereof VDSL | 1,688 | 1,507 | 1,566 | 1,619 | 1,652 |
(1) Includes a revenue-neutral technical base correction in Q2 2019.
Unaudited
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| Mobile ARPU (in Euros) (1) | 9.8 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 10.2 | 10.0 |
| Prepaid | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.1 |
| Postpaid | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.0 |
| Fixed BB ARPU (in Euros) (1) | 23.7 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 23.2 | 23.1 |
| Mobile voice traffic (million minutes) (2) | 31,138 | 26,017 | 26,747 | 26,460 | 27,801 |
| Mobile data traffic (TB) (3) | 313,949 | 193,007 | 226,753 | 252,522 | 283,266 |
| Mobile churn (%) | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
| Postpaid churn (%) | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
(1) ARPU (average revenue per user) is calculated as monthly average of the quarter.
(2) Mobile voice traffic is defined as minutes used on the company's network, both outbound and inbound. Promotional traffic and traffic not associated to the Company's mobile customers (roaming-in, MVNOs, interconnection of third parties and other business lines) is also included. Traffic volume is not rounded.
(3) Mobile data traffic is defined as Terabytes used by the company customers for both uploads and downloads (1TByte = 10^12 bytes). Promotional traffic is included. Traffic not associated with the Company's mobile customers (roaming-in, MVNOs, interconnection of third parties and other business lines) is also included. Traffic volume is not rounded.
Unaudited
| 1 January to 31 March | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Euros in millions) | 2020 | 2019 | Change | % Chg | ||
| Revenues | 1.846 | 1,779 | 67 | 3.8 | ||
| Mobile business | 1,650 | 1,596 | 55 | 3.4 | ||
| Mobile service revenues | 1,311 | 1,281 | 30 | 2.4 | ||
| Handset revenues | 339 | 315 | 24 | 7.7 | ||
| Fixed business | 193 | 182 | 11 | 6.0 | ||
| Other revenues | 3 | $\mathbf{1}$ | $\overline{2}$ | >100,0 | ||
| Other income | 25 | 31 | (5) | (17.4) | ||
| Operating expenses | (1, 348) | (1, 296) | (52) | 4.0 | ||
| Supplies | (604) | (568) | (36) | 6.4 | ||
| Personnel expenses | (150) | (150) | 0.1 | |||
| Impairment losses in accordance with IFRS 9 | (19) | (18) | 2.6 | |||
| Other expenses | (574) | (560) | (15) | 2.6 | ||
| thereof Group fees | (8) | (8) | (5.2) | |||
| Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) | 524 | 514 | 10 | 2.0 | ||
| OIBDA margin | 28.4% | 28.9% | $(0.5%-p.)$ | |||
| Exceptional effects (1) | (8) | (10) | $\overline{2}$ | (17.3) | ||
| OIBDA adjusted for exceptional effects (1) | 532 | 524 | 9 | 1.6 | ||
| OIBDA margin adjusted for exceptional effects | 28.8% | 29.5% | $(0.6%-p.)$ | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | (553) | (607) | 54 | (9.0) | ||
| Operating income | (29) | (94) | 65 | (69.1) | ||
| Net financial income (expense) | (15) | (14) | (1) | 8.1 | ||
| Profit (loss) before tax for the period | (44) | (107) | 64 | (59.2) | ||
| Income tax | $\overline{\phantom{0}}$ | $\overline{\phantom{0}}$ | (100.0) | |||
| Total profit for the period | (44) | (107) | 64 | (59.2) | ||
| Number of shares in millions as of end of period date | 2,975 | 2,975 | ||||
| Basic earnings per share (in euros) (2) | (0.01) | (0.04) | $\qquad \qquad -$ | (59.2) | ||
| CapEx (3) | (224) | (252) | 28 | (11.1) | ||
| CapEx/Sales ratio | 12.1% | 14.2% | $(2.0%-p.)$ | |||
| Operating cash flow (OIBDA-CapEx) | 300 | 262 | 38 | 14.6 | ||
| Free cash flow | 241 | 247 | (6) | (2.4) |
(1) Exceptional effects as of 31 March 2020 include losses from sale of assets related with the sale of spectrum assets in line with the agreed merger remedies amounting to EUR 9 million as well as restructuring income amounting to EUR 1 million. Exceptional effects as of 31 March 2019 include restructuring expenses amounting to EUR 10 million.
(2) Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing profit (loss) after taxes for the period by the weighted average number of ordinary shares of 2,975m for the years 2020 and 2019.
(3) Excluding additions from business combinations and from captalised finance leases.
RECONCILIATION OF FREE CASH FLOW
| Unaudited |
|---|
| ----------- |
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Euros in millions) | Jan - Mar | Jan - Mar | Jan - June | Jan - Sept | Jan - Dec |
| OIBDA | 524 | 514 | 1,084 | 1,672 | 2,292 |
| - Ca pEX (1) | (224) | (252) | (496) | (782) | (1,044) |
| = Operating Cashflow (OIBDA-CapEx) (1) | 300 | 262 | 588 | 890 | 1,248 |
| +/- Other non-cash i ncome / expenses | – | – | – | – | – |
| +/- Change in working capital | (54) | 20 | (228) | (210) | (148) |
| +/- (Gai ns) l osses from sa le of assets | 9 | – | – | – | (1) |
| +/- Proceeds from sa le of companies | 5 | – | – | – | – |
| +/- Proceeds from sa le of fi xed assets and other effects | – | – | 1 | – | 3 |
| + Net i nterest payments | (19) | (21) | (26) | (42) | (49) |
| + Taxes paid | – | – | – | – | – |
| +/- Proceeds / Payments on financial assets | 1 | (13) | (12) | (5) | (21) |
| + Acquisition of compani es net of cash acqui red | (1) | – | – | – | (9) |
| = Free cash flow | 241 | 247 | 322 | 633 | 1,023 |
(1) Excluding additions from business combinations and from captalised finance leases.
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan - Mar | Jan - Mar | Jan - June | Jan - Sept | Jan - Dec | |
| Free cash flow (Euros i n mi lli ons) | 241 | 247 | 322 | 633 | 1,023 |
| Number of shares (i n mi lli ons) | 2,975 | 2,975 | 2,975 | 2,975 | 2,975 |
| Free cash flow per sha re (in Euros) | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.21 | 0.34 |
DIVIDEND POLICY
Unaudited
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Euros in millions) | Jan - Mar | Jan - Mar | Jan - June | Jan - Sept | Jan - Dec |
| Free cash flow | 241 | 247 | 322 | 633 | 1,023 |
| - Lea se payments | (259) | (259) | (327) | (406) | (484) |
| = Free cash flow after lease payments | (18) | (11) | (5) | 227 | 539 |
Unaudited
| As of 31 March | As of 31 December | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (Euros in millions) | 2020 | 2019 | Change % |
| A Liquidity | 654 | 781 | (16.3) |
| B Current financial assets (1) | 158 | 211 | (24.8) |
| Current financial debt (2) C |
1,202 | 801 | 50.2 |
| D=C-A-B Current net financial debt |
390 | (191) | (>100,0) |
| Non-current financial assets (1) E |
80 | 129 | (37.6) |
| Non-current financial debt (2) F |
3,554 | 4,180 | (15.0) |
| G=F-E Non-current net financial debt |
3,473 | 4,051 | (14.3) |
| Net financial debt (3) H=D+G |
3,863 | 3,860 | 0.1 |
(1) Current and non-current financial assets include handset receivables not yet due, net investments in the lease, positive fair value hedges for fixed interest financial liabilities as well as loans to third parties.
(2) Current and non-current net financial debt includes bonds, promissory notes and registered bonds issued, other loans, as well as lease liabilities.
(3) Net financial debt includes current and non-current interest-bearing financial assets and interest-bearing financial liabilities as well as cash and cash equivalents.
Note:
Handset receivables are presented in trade and other receivables on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG Investor Relations Georg-Brauchle-Ring 50 80992 München
Christian Kern, Director Investor Relations; (m) +44 7517 999208 Marion Polzer, Head of Investor Relations; (m) +49 176 7290 1221 Eugen Albrecht, Senior Investor Relations Officer; (m) +49 176 3147 5260 (t) +49 89 2442 1010 [email protected] www.telefonica.de/investor-relations
This document contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements and expectations about Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG (in the following "the Company" or "Telefónica Deutschland") that reflect the current views and assumptions of Telefónica Deutschland's management with respect to future events, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations which may refer, among others, to the intent, belief or current prospects of the customer base, estimates regarding, among others, future growth in the different business lines and the global business, market share, financial results and other aspects of the activity and situation relating to the Company. Forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections. The forward-looking statements in this document can be identified, in some instances, by the use of words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "believes", and similar language or the negative thereof or by forward-looking nature of discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such forward-looking statements, by their nature, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond Telefónica Deutschland's control and other important factors that could cause actual developments or results to materially differ from those expressed in or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in fuller disclosure documents filed by Telefónica Deutschland with the relevant Securities Markets Regulators, and in particular, with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin). The Company offers no assurance that its expectations or targets will be achieved.
Analysts and investors, and any other person or entity that may need to take decisions, or prepare or release opinions about the shares / securities issued by the Company, are cautioned not to place undue reliance on those forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance.
Except as required by applicable law, Telefónica Deutschland undertakes no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events and circumstances after the date of this presentation, including, without limitation, changes in Telefónica Deutschland's business or strategy or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
The financial information and opinions contained in this document are unaudited and are subject to change without notice.
This document contains summarised information or information that has not been audited. In this sense, this information is subject to, and must be read in conjunction with, all other publicly available information, including if it is necessary, any fuller disclosure document published by Telefónica Deutschland.
None of the Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates or by any of its officers, directors, employees, advisors, representatives or agents shall be liable whatsoever for any loss however arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this document its content or otherwise arising in connection with this document.
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These written materials are especially not an offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Japan. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption there from. No money, securities or other consideration from any person inside the United States is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained in these written materials, will not be accepted.
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