Iliad breaks his own record again. The fourth mobile operator in Italy exceeds 8 million customers against 7,82 million in June. In the third quarter of 2021 alone, it acquired over 345 thousand customers, with a market share of 10,5%. It also grows turnover, looking only at the Italian market, which stands at around 207 million euros, an increase of 20,9% compared to 2020. In the nine months of the year, Iliad reached 590 million, with a growth of 22,1% . The positive performances of Iliad in Italy and France, together with the consolidation of Play in Poland thanks to the acquisition concluded through a takeover bid and the subsequent squeeze-out procedure.
At Group level, turnover reaches almost 2 billion (1,91) with a growth of 34,6% compared to the previous year. While in the first nine months the growth is 34%, for 5,63 billion euros. The French company surpasses 40 million users across Europe, of which 33,7 million mobile users and 7,1 million users for fixed network services
As for the distribution network, in Italy, Iliad has 23 Flagship Stores, over 1.500 Simboxes distributed at Iliad Corners and large-scale retailers, over 450 Iliad Points and over 2.000 Iliad Express points at supermarkets, bookstores and large-scale retailers.
In addition, the operator does not intend to give up on launching its services fixed network after the postponement announced in recent months.
On the other side, Vodafone recorded revenues of 22,48 billion euros in the first half of the year (+5%), driven upwards by revenues from services (+2,8% to 19,1 billion with a small contraction in Italy and Spain) . While the adjusted Ebitda, after the leasing contracts, grew by 6,5%, equal to 7,6 billion euros against the 7 billion of the first half of fiscal 2021. While the to evaluate for the period they decreased, going from 1,5 billion euros in 2020 to 1,3 billion.
The operating result also decreased, reaching 2,6 billion (-21,9%). But as the British group makes known, in comparison with last year we must keep in mind the gain of 1 billion deriving from the operation which involved Vodafone Australia.
Vodafone has reviewed guidance upwards for the entire year. With adjusted Ebitdaal for fiscal 2022 at between €15,2-15,4 billion, while estimates for adjusted free cash flow have been raised to at least €5,3 billion (versus a previous forecast of at least 5,2 billion euros).
But the telecommunications sector, as thriving as one might think, has been experiencing a setback in recent years and for once the pandemic is not to blame. According to a survey by the Mediobanca Research Area, between 2016 and 2020 telco revenues decreased by 2,7%, with the mobile network suffering the most over the fixed one. In Italy in the first half of 2021, the drop in turnover in mobile services is concentrated in the leading operators (Tim, Wind Tre and Vodafone) with a cumulative drop of 420 million euros. While the growth of Iliad and Fastweb continues.
Among the main defendants, the price war and the need for new investments for optical fiber which collides with another characteristic problem of our country: bureaucracy. The construction of an ultra-broadband system or infrastructure is subject to a fairly long and complex authorization process. Furthermore, for operators to be competitive on prices may not be sustainable in the long term, given that they may see their investors (especially foreign ones) decrease for more profitable sectors.
In this context, what is the solution? According to the CEO of the English operator, Nick Read, only mergers can turn the situation around. The union between several players on the European market would make it possible to reverse the negative trend of recent years with a return of capital on the European market.
According to some rumors, the operator is targeting a merger with its rival Tre in the United Kingdom, which already in 2016 saw its proposal for a merger with O2, owned by Virgin Media, rejected.
