Orange’s first quarter performance in its two main markets in Central and Eastern Europe was something of a mixed bag.
In Poland, the company ended March with 775,000 subscribers to its IPTV and DTH services. Although this was 9,000 more than three months earlier, it was 23,000 lower than the 798,000 posted in Q1 2016.
While the number of IPTV subscribers continued to increase – 254,000 in Q1 2017, compared to 200,000 a year earlier – Orange’s DTH customer total remained on a downward spiral. As of the end of March it stood at 521,000, down from 597,000 a year earlier.
On the financial front, it had revenues of PLN2,818 million (€667 million) in Q1 2017, or 0.5% more than in the same period last year. However, its EBITDA was 13.8% lower at PLN748 million and net income 60.2% down at PLN39 million.
Orange maintained a focus on convergence and fibre in the first quarter, launching its flagship Orange Love convergent offer in February. Its convergent base grew by over 100,000 customers, or 12%, in Q1.
Meanwhile, its fibre customer base grew by 29,000 in the first quarter. Orange’s fibre service was available to almost 1.7 million households and the company still aims to increase the network’s reach by 1 million homes this year.
In Romania, Orange was able to post a turnover of €246.2 million in Q1, or 4.6% more than in the same period last year. Importantly, this represented the eighth quarter of growth, with the main drivers being mobile and converged services.
Orange’s TV figures in Romania were particularly impressive. The cable and DTH service Orange Home TV had 342,000 customers as of the end of March, or 16.4% more than 12 months earlier.
Meanwhile, the number of downloads and updates to Orange TV Go reached 2.2 million at the end of Q1, up 25% on a year earlier, and the average monthly number of users of the app in Q1 was 75% higher than in Q1 2016.
Overall, Orange’s TV businesses in both Poland and Romania performed well in Q1 2017, as they also did in Spain and its home market France.
