During the third quarter, iliad, the parent company of Free, maintained good growth in its three markets. The group's turnover since the start of the year has increased by 9.7% compared to last year.
During the first nine months of the year, the iliad group recorded strong growth compared to last year and remains the European leader in revenue growth.
The French market
France, the group's historic market, also experienced sustained growth in turnover. During the third quarter, Free recorded an increase in its turnover of 8.4% compared to last year (9.2% since the start of the year).
Free thus gained 131,000 mobile customers over this three-month period. Its subscriber mix continues to improve with 75.7% of customers on the Free and Free 5G series packages thanks to the addition of 186,000 customers in this segment and the departure of 55,000 customers on the package. 2€.
Average mobile revenue is stable at +0.5% compared to last year and is still 12.5 euros per month per subscriber.
The fixed line is not left out but with lower growth. The operator thus gained 25,000 landline customers and recorded 137,000 new optical fiber contracts for an adoption of 80.3% among its customers, or 1.6 points more in one quarter.
Unlike mobile, the average bill increases more sharply. In one year, it increased by 3.7% to 36.6 euros per month and per subscriber.
Services turnover, which corresponds to customer billing, is up 7.5% compared to last year and reached 1.56 billion euros. Equipment sales increased by 23.3% in one year to reach 106 million euros.
In Italy
The situation in Italy is quite similar to France with a gain of 162,000 mobile customers and 36,000 fiber customers (the only network used). The operator is still the leader in mobile recruitment for the 26th consecutive quarter.
In Poland
The last market to be invested by iliad, Poland is also recording growth but the market is slightly less efficient than the other two. Indeed, Play gained 58,000 net new subscribers in mobile subscriptions but this is partly offset by the loss of 41,000 prepaid customers.
On the landline, net recruitment reached 12,000 units. The group puts this down to the strong competitive pressure that remains present in this market.
A result up 19.3%
These results on iliad's three markets allow it to post a sharp increase in EBITDAaL with growth of 14.3% over the quarter (13.6% since the start of the year). The net result is in line with an increase of 19.3% over the three quarters to 450 million euros.
Free cash flow increased by 44% during the third quarter to reach 1.4 billion euros.
These solid 3rd quarter results, combining strong growth and improved economic performance, demonstrate the strength of our brands, the impact of our innovations and the efficiency of our operations. Despite increased competition, we continue to gain market share in each of our geographies and we confirm our objective of reaching a turnover of 10 billion euros in 2024
Thomas Reynaud, CEO of the iliad group
