Belgium incumbent telecoms operator Proximus said that its TV customer base totaled 1,631,000, with +5,000 new subscriptions in the second quarter of 2019 (+ 2.4% year-on-year).
The number of Fixed Internet customers of the operator grew to 2,071,000 end June, with +6,000 lines added in the second quarter (+1.9% year-on-year).
However, the traditional telephony business is down: by the end of June 2019, the total amount of Fixed Voice lines was 2,477,000, a decrease of 36,000 lines in the second quarter of 2019 (-4.8% year-on-year).
In aggregate, the Proximus Group ended the second quarter of 2019 with underlying revenue of EUR 1,413 million, -2.7% compared to the same period in 2018. Over the first six months of the year, the Proximus Group posted an underlying revenue of EUR 2,828 million, 2.2% below the same period of 2018.
The underlying EBITDA of the Proximus Group for the second quarter of 2019 totaled EUR 484 million, a decrease by 0.9% on a high comparable base. Over the first six months of 2019, the Proximus Group underlying EBITDA increased by 0.5% to a total of EUR 947 million.
“We managed to further grow our customer base in a highly competitive setting, through our dual brand strategy and segmented approach. For our Consumer segment we attracted new Internet and TV customers and achieved back-to-normal growth in mobile postpaid customers,” said Dominique Leroy, CEO of the Proximus Group.
“More and more households are convergent, with over 59% of the multi-play households taking fixed and mobile services from Proximus. The number of subscribers to our all-in offers Tuttimus/Bizz all-in increased to 552,000 by the end of June, and we also saw a good uptake of the convergent 3-Play offers Minimus and Epic combo.
“Based on our achievements so far, we reiterate our full-year 2019 outlook and will focus for the remainder of the year on the execution of our #shifttodigital strategy. In this regard, and almost five years after the launch of the current Proximus brand, we announced our new brand promise “Think Possible”, making advanced digital experiences accessible to all our customers. We simultaneously launched 5 innovative, personalized applications and services that will make our customers’ everyday lives easier; among other things, with Proximus Pickx, a new TV interface and content platform.”
