French service provider Iliad Group added 872,000 revenue-generating units to its total in the first quarter, including 790,000 mobile and 82,000 fixed subscribers, as it ramped up its international expansion drive.
Iliad, which operates under the Free brand in France, said it ended the quarter as first in its domestic market in terms of recruiting new customers both in fixed and mobile for the first time since 2013.
The group added 56,000 fixed and 127,000 mobile customers in France during the three months to March.
In Italy, Iliad said it added 320,000 new RGUs in the quarter, holding onto its place as the fastest growing mobile player.
In Poland, its Play subsidiary saw strong growth from the influx of refugees from Ukraine, which saw the number of prepaid mobile customers grow by 43,000 following a decision to distribute SIM cards free of charge to those fleeing the war.
Overall in Poland, Iliad’s base grew by 370,000 RGUs, including 344,000 mobile adds.
In Poland, Iliad also consolidated cable operator UPC Polska during th quarter, establishing it as a converged player in fixed and mobile in all three European countries in which it is active.
The company now has 13.7 million mobile and seven million fixed customers in France, 8.8 million mobile customers in Italy and
Iliad grew its EBITDAaL line by 6.14% over the quarter to 714 million. Revenue grew by 5.1% to over €1.9 billion, including an 6.1% uplift in France and growth of 13.9% in Italy, offset by a decline of 1.9% in Poland due to the impact of regulatory changes.
“Outside of these very good results and the 900,000 new subscribers recruited over the last three months, this first quarter carries great symbolic weight. From now onwards Iliad Group, in the three countries where it operates, is present at the same time in mobile and in fixed thanks to the launch of our fixed offering in Italy and the acquisition of UPC Polska in Poland. In France, Italy and Poland, Iliad is henceforth a convergent operator with the power to ensure that it maximises to the full the complementarity of its offerings,” said Thomas Reynaud, CEO of Iliad Group.