- VodafoneZiggo closes 2023 with good financial results
- The fourth quarter saw a solid final sprint
- Both revenue and profit developed in line with the expectations throughout the year
VodafoneZiggo's revenue in the fourth quarter was €1,071 million – this represents revenue growth of 4.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. With this, the company achieved the highest quarterly revenue of 2023. It is also the strongest single-quarter growth in revenue since the start of the joint venture in 2017. The operational result (adjusted EBITDA) was €462 million this quarter.
The total turnover for the year 2023 was 1.2% higher than 2022 and rounded off amounts to over €4.1 billion. EBITDA for the whole of 2023 was €1.8 billion – this is 4.8% lower than for 2022. These results are better than the earlier forecast. This forecast was for an EBITDA drop in 2023 of around €100 million due to increased energy and salary costs – in the end, this drop amounted to €91 million.
CFO Ritchy Drost of VodafoneZiggo looks back on the past year positively: " VodafoneZiggo met all financial targets over 2023. In the fourth quarter, we launched a final sprint. In this, we achieved 4.5% revenue growth. This also made this the best revenue quarter of 2023 but, above all, the highest growth rate for VodafoneZiggo since the start of the joint venture in 2017. Revenue in the fourth quarter grew in all segments - both mobile and fixed and in both the consumer and business markets. Over 22% of annual revenue was reinvested in fixed and mobile networks, products and services. With all investments, we continue to execute our strategy to deliver maximum value to our customers".
VodafoneZiggo is growing again in the mobile market and also shows continuing strong performance in the business market. The number of mobile contracts grew by 40,000 in the fourth quarter. The number of business broadband customers grew by 5,000 in Q4.
In the fourth quarter, the number of broadband connections in the consumer market declined slightly. During this final quarter, this fall was 31,000 households – an improvement compared to the previous quarter. This better result was achieved through the introduction of new contracts and a successful Ziggo Sprinters campaign. In total, Ziggo now serves over 3.2 million customers with high-speed internet via its nationwide 1 Gbit/s network.
Ritchy Drost: “The competition in fixed broadband is unrelentingly stiff and this will remain so in the coming years. We are attractive to our customers by setting ourselves apart in terms of quality, stability, safety, as well as having the best entertainment and sports on offer. We also continuously offer extras for our customers through our Priority customer programme: Think tickets for concerts, for sports matches and for other events. At VodafoneZiggo, we look back fondly on 'The Tribute Battle of The Bands', when 50,000 enthusiastic fans attended three sold-out shows at the Ziggo Dome, thanks to an exclusive Priority offer."
Ritchy Drost also looks ahead briefly to the next year: “For our customers, 2024 is also going to be a great year. Starting from the coming football season, Ziggo Sport will have the exclusive broadcasting rights of UEFA European club football. We are expecting growth in operating profits. VodafoneZiggo is also continuing to invest in quality and delivering the best service and added value to customers. As a result, the investment rate will again be between 21% and 23% of the turnover this year."
Mobile
The number of mobile post-paid contracts grew by 40,000 last quarter. Growth was achieved in both business and consumer markets. Over the course of 2023, the number of contracts increased by 145,000. VodafoneZiggo now has over 5.6 million mobile customers.
Business market
The number of business broadband customers grew by 5,000 in the fourth quarter. Throughout 2023, the number of business connections grew by 24,000.
VodafoneZiggo's share of the business market grew for the fifth year in a row: within the B2B portfolio, a robust growth in turnover of 7.4% was achieved in the fourth quarter of 2023. VodafoneZiggo also continues to grow in the SOHO and SME customer markets.
Converged
48% of VodafoneZiggo customers are now ‘converged’; over 1.5 million customers now purchase services from both Ziggo (fixed) and Vodafone or hollandsnieuwe (mobile).
Considerable expansion of entertainment range
In the first quarter of 2023 HBO Max became available for customers with a Mediabox Next and Next Mini. The rest of the year was also characterised by the best range of entertainment content at Ziggo. For example, the picture quality for live TV on Ziggo GO improved and Ziggo introduced SkyShowtime in the second quarter. Later in 2023 VodafoneZiggo replaced the Movies & Series package with the full range of SkyShowtime.
Also in the third quarter, VodafoneZiggo introduced the Pathé Thuis rental film range on the Mediabox for customers. To end the year in style, the company launched the CANAL+ app with a range of quality European content on the Mediabox Next and Next Mini.
Introducing e-sim support for smartwatches
Since the end of October, Vodafone has been offering eSIM support for smartwatches. Customers pair their Apple Celullar Watch with their smartphone. This is one way VodafoneZiggo is offering its customers the best digital solutions to suit their needs. With Vodafone OneNumber, customers have the freedom to be connected anywhere.
Opening of Green Innovation Hub and Media Innovation Hub
VodafoneZiggo is currently a partner in three so-called ‘hubs’. These are social incubators based on the principle of Open Innovation. The Green Innovation Hub opened in Almere in early 2023. In September, this hub organised a special Minecraft Challenge with more than 100 students. The challenge focused on the future development of the Pampus residential area in Almere. In October 2023, the Media Park launched the Media Innovation Hub during Dutch Media Week. The third hub in the list is the long-established 5G hub at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.
All three hubs are located in economically and technologically strategic locations in the Netherlands. By participating in these hubs, VodafoneZiggo can combine its technological expertise with the broad capabilities of all participating partners. This in turn reinforces the positive social impact in terms of connectivity, entertainment and sustainability. One example of this is using technology to further reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Let me hear you say Yeah!
In the fourth quarter of 2023, VodafoneZiggo launched its first-ever employer campaign Let me hear you say Yeah! The aim of the campaign is to raise the profile of VodafoneZiggo as an employer. In a tight labour market, the company wants to stand out more and use the eye-catching video clip to show potential employees the opportunities and working atmosphere at VodafoneZiggo. The company is almost continuously looking for employees of all educational levels and in all age groups.
The results of the campaign have been very positive, with interest in the career website almost doubling. Also, Brand Awareness (knowing VodafoneZiggo as an employer), Brand Image and Brand Consideration (considering VodafoneZiggo as an employer) increased significantly.
New social plan, collective labour agreement on the way
In November 2023, VodafoneZiggo and trade union De Unie reached an agreement on a new Social Plan. The 7,000 employees were able to vote via an internal referendum. Almost 70% of the 4,000 votes cast were in favour of the negotiated draft proposal. The new Social Plan will apply from 2024 to 2026. The aim of this Social Plan remains to avoid redundancies and layoffs in the event of reorganisations as much as possible. Employees are guided from job to job as much as possible during a reorganisation and given maximum space and facilities to find a new job. The new Social Plan contains good agreements on a termination payment and wage supplementation.
VodafoneZiggo is currently negotiating a new collective labour agreement and hopes to reach an agreement on it soon.
Energy efficiency target achieved earlier
VodafoneZiggo is focusing on energy saving in its network. With the 2020 Energy Efficiency Plan, VodafoneZiggo aims to reduce the energy consumption of its networks by 20% within a four-year period. This despite the fact that customers' data use is rising every year. By implementing this plan and accelerating a variety of energy-saving initiatives, VodafoneZiggo already achieved this goal by the end of 2023. An example of the measures is switching off outdated systems or replacing them with more innovative and energy-efficient systems where possible.
VodafoneZiggo in Q4 2023
VodafoneZiggo in 2023
