Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries says the operator has improved its performance across most markets despite a challenging environment.
The operator, which runs cable broadband businesses in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Slovakia increased revenues by 11.7% year-on-year on a reported basis despite a series of subscriber losses.
“In 2023 we managed through a challenging environment, including cost of living and inflationary pressures and an increasingly competitive landscape for broadband, mobile and video services,” said Fries. “Despite that, we delivered strong Q4 and full year results with continued postpaid momentum and an improved performance in broadband across most markets.”
Only Virgin Media O2 added a net number new subscribers in the quarter to December 31, 2023 with 2,600 signatures.
In the Netherlands, Vodafone Ziggo dipped by 47,200, while Telenet (Belgium) lost 12,600 and Sunrise (Switzerland) 12,200. FMC penetration remains high at Sunrise, and there is also continued momentum in its secondary brand, yallo. However, Sunrise experiences delays in broadband activations, despite strong sales.
Telenet improved its performance through marketing campaigns, such as the Unlimited ONE campaign, and targeted hardware promotions. However churn remains high through a combination of a competitive environment and the continued impact of IT platform migration issues felt throughout 2023.
VodafoneZiggo’s customer loyalty benefits are helping Net Promotor Scores, but while mobile postpaid grew by 40,300 on the year, broadband contracted by 26,500. Consumer fixed ARPU increased 3.7% year-on-year as a result of the price increase implemented in July.
