Euskaltel turns in solid subscriber gains

Spanish regional cable operator Euskaltel, which last week completed the acquisition of Zegona Communications-owned Asturias operator Telecable, has posted solid subscriber gains for the first half and reduced revenues in what it described as a highly competitive market.

Euskaltel saw particularly strong growth in the mobile segment, adding 35,000 new mobile lines in the first half, up 4.8% year-on-year. Some 79.6% of the group’s customers now take at least one mobile line from it.

The company also saw solid growth in pay TV, adding 10,000 connections in the first six months of the year, up 3.5%. Pay TV is now taken by 58.9% of the company’s base. Euskaltel highlighted its recently launched catch up service Te Lo Perdiste, on-demand platform Replayteka, NDVR, startover and premium content, which had increased usage and satisfaction with the pay TV service. Euskaltel also recently launched a new 4K Android TV box, a first for the market.

Euskaltel said that exactly two thirds – 66.7% – of its customer base now took three or four services, compared to 65.2% a year ago. The number of products taken on average grew from 3.4 to 3.5. Total residential revenue-generating units stood at 1.9 million, up by 31,000 year-on-year.

Euskaltel’s overall revenues dropped by 2.3% to €279.3 million for the six months, taken lower by the prior year impact of a Basque Country regional government contract. However, residential revenues grew by only 0.4% in what the company described as a “highly aggressive, competitive environment”.

EBITDA dipped from €139.3 million to €137.9 million, impacted by the company’s contribution to the funding of public service broadcaster RTVE under new rules. Adjusted EBITDA was up 0.6%.