Q4 results and annual financial statements 2024 of Tele Columbus AG
- Annual turnover EUR 426.3m (-5.7% YoY) – decline due to lower TV revenues and one-off effects
- Normalized EBITDA 2024 slightly down to EUR 186.6m (-3.4% YoY) due to lower TV revenues and one-off effects
- Reported EBITDA 2024 amounts to EUR 138.5 million (-3.3% YoY)
- EUR 30.4m more sales in Internet and Telephony (+17.1% YoY)
- Investments in financial year 2024 increase to EUR 215.6 million (+17.7% YoY)
- Management Board expects stable revenues with decreasing CapEx and increase in reported EBITDA due to lower one-off expenses in 2025
Berlin, April 30, 2025. Tele Columbus AG (“Tele Columbus”, “the Company” or “the Group”), one of Germany’s leading fiber network operators, today published its results for Q4 and FY 2024.
Tele Columbus ended 2024 with revenues of EUR 426.3 million (-5.7%), mainly due to declining TV revenues as a result of elimination of cable TV fees from ancillary rental costs. Growth in the Internet and Telephony segment continued in the 4th quarter with 21,500 new customers. In Q4 2024, 56% of all new customers opted for bandwidths of 500 Mbit/s or faster.
The combination of strong new customer growth in Internet and Telephony and rising demand for higher bandwidths led to an increase in sales in the Internet and Telephony segment of EUR 30.4 million in 2024 compared to the previous year, which corresponds to growth of 17.1%.
TV business impacted by elimination of levy eligibility
The elimination of cable TV fees from ancillary rental costs, which has been legally applicable since July 1, 2024, continued to affect the TV customer base compared to the previous quarter. The total number of TV households in Q4 2024 decreased year-on-year to 1.1 million (-38.7% YoY), but remained stable compared to Q3 2024. Premium TV products (pay TV) showed constant growth with an increase of 38,000 customers in 2024. The hybrid TV platform PŸUR TV HD, which allows cable TV and streaming services to be bundled, has further increased the attractiveness of the cable connection for end customers.
The average number of products (RGUs) per customer rose from 1.82 to 2.11 in the 2024 financial year. Product ARPU amounted to EUR 14.20 in 2024 and was therefore 15.5% higher than the previous year’s figure of EUR 12.30. The increased demand for high-quality broadband products with a reduced customer base due to the abolition of the right to levy fees for television had a significant impact on this.
Significant increase in investments
Investments in network infrastructures remain at a high level and increased steadily over the course of 2024 due to seasonal factors. CapEx amounted to EUR 69.5 million excluding leasing in Q4 2024. At EUR 215.6 million excluding leasing, investments in the financial year 2024 as a whole were up 17.7% on the previous year’s figure of EUR 183.1 million.
Transformation process, refinancing and the decline in TV segment affect EBITDA
Normalized EBITDA for the 2024 financial year amounted to EUR 186.6 million and was slightly down on the previous year at EUR 193.1 million (-3.4%). This is due to the decline in revenue as a result of the elimination of the TV levy and a non-recurring effect from construction services in the 2023 financial year. Increased personnel expenses also had an impact on earnings.
Compared to the previous year (EUR 143.3 million), reported EBITDA for 2024 fell slightly to EUR 138.5 million (-3.3%). Non-recurring expenses within the scope of TV apportionment eligibility, legal and consulting costs, the refinancing and transformation process to split the Group into a network company and a service company fell slightly compared to the previous year.
Liquidity
Cash flow from operating activities improved significantly in 2024 to EUR 182.9 million compared to EUR 130.6 million in the previous year (+40% YoY) thanks to selective capital allocation and working capital management.
Forecast for the 2025 financial year
Based on the results for the 4th quarter and financial year 2024, the Executive Board expects the following for the financial year 2025
- a stable revenue situation
- an increase in reported EBITDA due to reduced one-off expenses
- significantly lower investments compared to 2024
About Tele Columbus AG
Tele Columbus AG is one of the leading fiber-optic network operators in Germany with a reach of three million households. Under the PΫUR brand, the company offers high-speed Internet including telephone as well as more than 200 TV programs on a digital entertainment platform that combines classic television with video entertainment on demand. On the basis of open networks, the Tele Columbus Group implements customized cooperation models together with the housing industry and municipalities for high-performance supply with gigabit bandwidths via optical fiber to the home (FTTH). Carrier services and business solutions are provided for business customers under the PŸUR Business brand based on the company’s own fiber-optic network and data centers. The subsidiary RFC primarily provides service, maintenance and installation in network levels 2, 3 and 4 throughout Germany. The regional company MDCC provides Magdeburg with multimedia services for business and residential customers. The network of the Tele Columbus Group is completely powered by green electricity. Tele Columbus AG has its headquarters in Berlin and offices in Leipzig, Unterföhring/Munich, Hamburg, Ratingen and Chemnitz.
Disclaimer
This release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the Company’s current knowledge and expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.
This release contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Normalized EBITDA and Capex, and operating measures, such as RGUs, ARPU, and Unique Subscribers calculations. These non-GAAP financial and operating measures should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to measures of the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows as presented in accordance with IFRS. The non-GAAP financial and operating measures used by the Company may differ from, and not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.
All information contained in this release has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this release, including forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
