Press release

Interim results - download PDF

• Encouraging revenue and EBITDA growth achieved across the Group;
• UK margin improved in line with target;
• Positive EBITDA delivered in Germany, ahead of target;
• Tight control of capital expenditure and working capital enabled Group to generate positive cash flow.

Financial highlights

(Comparative period refers to 6 months ended 30 September 2001)

Group:

• Total customer base grew by 8.9% to 18.3 million
• Service revenue grew by 16.3% to £2,086 million
• Total revenue grew by 11.5% to £2,341million
• EBITDA increased to £378 million (2001 : £135 million)
• Post-tax loss reduced to £(277) million (2001 : £(387) million)
• Capital expenditure reduced to £427 million (2001 : £623 million)
• Net debt at 30 September was £609 million (31 March : £617 million)

O2 UK:

• Service revenue grew by 10.8% to £1,331 million
• EBITDA grew by 19.6% to £391 million
• EBITDA margin increased to 26.6% (2001 : 23.9%)
• Capital expenditure was £148 million (2001 : £257 million)

O2 Germany:

• Service revenue grew by 32.7% to £438 million
• EBITDA was £1 million (2001 : £(114) million)
• Capital expenditure was £57 million (2001 : £161 million)

"These results demonstrate good progress towards the financial goals we set out at the time of our demerger last year. We are delivering revenue, EBITDA and cash flow growth, by focusing on improving operational performance, running the business cohesively, and building our platform of mobile data services. As the mobile market continues to evolve, we remain well positioned to achieve further improvements in our operating and financial performance, and to deliver enhanced shareholder value."

David Varney, Chairman mmO2 plc

Second quarter operational highlights:

Group:

• Customer base grew by 3% quarter-on-quarter, to 18.3 million
• 532,000 net new customers added, of which 70% post-pay
• Data as % of service revenues increased to 15.6% (Q1 : 14.6%)

O2 UK:

• 278,000 net new customers added, of which 171,000 post-pay
• Blended ARPU was £238, 3.0% higher than at the start of the year
• Contract churn reduced to 29% (Q1 : 30%)
• Data as % of service revenue increased to 15.3% (Q1 : 14.1%)

O2 Germany:

• 204,000 net new customers added, of which 161,000 post-pay
• Customer base grew to 4.29 million, of which 52.3% post-pay
• Blended ARPU was £210, 7.7% higher than at the start of the year
• Pre- and post-pay SAC and churn continued to decline

"Our O2 brand and attractive customer propositions are gaining increasing recognition and acceptance among high-value customers in all our markets. The momentum we have built up in the key UK and German markets continued into the second quarter, with growing numbers of high-value customers acquired, and strong growth in ARPUs, which are on course to hit our full-year targets. We also saw good customer additions in Ireland and the Netherlands, and further progress in data revenue growth in these businesses. Going forward, we will continue to drive profitable growth across the Group, focusing on high-value customers, while keeping SAC and churn under control"

Peter Erskine, Chief Executive mmO2 plc

Interim results - download PDF

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