DIGI | RCS & RDS announced during this day the registration of a record for the revenues generated in all the markets in which it operates, reaching in 2019 receipts of 1.2 billion euros. We are talking about a substantial increase for DIGI | RCS & RDS compared to the previous record, in 2018 managing to slightly exceed the figure of 1 billion euros in receipts, and in 2019 it continued on this impressive positive trend, and will probably go higher than that.
DIGI | RCS & RDS recorded a 14.2% increase in revenues in 2019 compared to 2018, so over 100 million euros, and most of them came from Romania, where it has most of its clients. DIGI | RCS & RDS also managed to increase the number of revenue-generating units, i.e. customers, to 16.1 million in all the countries in which it is active, an 8% jump compared to 2018, i.e. over 1 million customers, and all the details you have them below.
"The consolidated revenues of Digi Communications NV, a leading company in the field of electronic communications, with operations in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy and the parent company of the operator RCS & RDS SA, reached approximately EUR 1,2 billion in 2019, according to the unaudited preliminary financial report published on Friday, February 21, 2020. In 2019, the company's consolidated revenues increased by 14,2% compared to 2018, from EUR 1.038,1 million to EUR 1.186 million, and adjusted EBITDA was 446 million EUR (including the impact of IFRS 16), which translates into an increase of 37,5% compared to the previous year (from EUR 324,6 million at 31 December 2018). In addition, the total number of revenue generating units (RGUs) increased by 8% at the end of last year to 16,1 million RGUs from 14,9 million RGUs at the end of 2018, the highest level of the total number of services offered by the company in its history.
Most of the market segments in which the company operates have contributed to the evolution of Digi Communications NV:
– pay-tv (cable and satellite television): + 5,4%, from 4,8 million RGU to 5,1 million RGU;
– internet and fixed data: + 9,8%, from 3,3 million RGU to 3,6 million RGU;
– telephony and mobile data: + 14,5% from 5 million RGU to 5,7 million RGU;
Romania
The group continued to strengthen its position in its main market, both in the cable TV and fixed Internet segments, with a 6,9% increase in the number of revenue-generating units (4,1 million RGU at 31 December 2019 vs. 3,8 million RGU as of December 31, 2018) and respectively a 9,8% advance of RGU in the internet and fixed data segment (2,8 million RGU as of December 31, 2019 vs. 2,5 million RGU, for the same period of the previous year).
The constant increase in the number of services for the main services in the portfolio was supported by the expansion of the optical fiber infrastructure, the optimization of the coverage of mobile communication networks and the high standards in the customer-care policy.
Hungary
Digi Communications NV's subsidiary in Hungary recorded 694.000 RGUs in the pay-tv segment. In terms of internet and fixed data services, Digi Hungary reached 750.000 RGU as of December 31, 2019, while mobile communication services in its own network, available since May 2019, recorded 99.000 RGU. And in this market, Digi continued its fiber optic network expansion project and successfully conducted a first live test of 5G technology in Budapest in November 2019.
Spain and Italy
Spain and Italy saw significant RGU progress, with a growth rate of 45% over last year, reaching 2,2 million RGUs at 31 December 2019, up from 1,5 million at the end of 2018.
During 2019, Digi Spain became the second largest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the market and the fifth mobile operator in Spain. The subsidiary thus marked its eleventh quarter of accelerated growth, adding another 166.000 RGUs to its portfolio in the last three months of last year.
SUSTAINED INVESTMENT IN A LONG-TERM VISION
Consistent with its sustained growth strategy, Digi continued to develop new projects for the adoption of cutting-edge technologies in order to maintain its competitiveness in key markets and invested EUR 318 million in 2019 in technological development, especially in Romania and Hungary . These projects aimed at expanding the coverage of the 4G network and the roll-out of the 5G network in Romania, the development of the 4G network and the fiber optic infrastructure in Romania, Hungary and Spain.
The company continued to adopt a prudent financing strategy, with a level of debt to EBITDA well below the average debt ratio of other traditional fixed communications operators in Europe. In 2019, Digi Communications posted a debt multiple of 2,6x**.”
