Proximus sees growth in TV base despite lower spend

Belgian telecom operator Proximus saw growth in TV and fixed broadband customers in the first quarter, despite lower marketing, and saw its latest convergent offerings gain traction.

Proximus added 7,000 new TV subscriptions to its base in the first quarter, translating into an uplift of 2.8% year-on-year.

The number of fixed internet customers grew to 2,065,000 at the end March, up 8,000 lines over the first quarter and 2% year-on-year.

Dominique Leroy

Proximus added 29,000 customers to its Tuttimus and Bizz all-in convergent offers over the first quarter, bringing the total base to 538,000. As a result, 73% of 737,000 quad-play households and small offices are now on Proximus’ latest offers.

The operator posted a domestic underlying revenue of €1,096 million, 2.2% below that of the same period in 2018, with mobile responsible for the drop.

Proximus ended the first quarter with underlying revenue of €1.415 billion, down 1.8% compared to the same period in 2018.

Theunderlying EBITDA of the group for the first quarter totalled €463 million, a 2.1% increase.

“In the Consumer market we continued to attract customers on our main products, supported by our dual brand strategy and segmented offers. We grew our convergent customer base further, with customers benefitting from our attractive content and our gradually expanding fiber footprint. Especially our all-in offers continue to thrive with our Tuttimus and Bizz All-in base now reaching 538,000 subscribers,” said CEO Dominique Leroy.