Mobile operator Three UK today reported its latest results up to 30 June 2023. Among them, it was revealed that the company’s 5G-based mobile broadband network is now operational at more than 4,400 sites in more than 610 towns (up from 4,250 at the end of 2022). . Urban – Achieved 61% outdoor population coverage (up from just 60%).
I’ll summarize. Back in March 2023, there was information that Three UK’s new 5G network would achieve 60% UK population coverage in December 2022 (here). The fact that this number is only one point higher in today’s announcement would seem to suggest that its rollout has been significantly delayed, but part of the problem may be that the easiest dense urban locations It may be almost complete now.
A possible merger with Vodafone could be another reason. Because we don’t want to waste money on overbuilding 5G if we have a good chance of getting approval (see here). But if that’s one of the reasons, and we don’t yet know if that’s true (we’ve contacted Three UK), this operator risks losing ground to competitors such as his EE. There may be.
Robert Finnegan, Chief Executive of Three UK, said:
“We are proud to have successfully grown our business in the first half of the financial year, increasing our customer base and delivering increased profit margins. I would like to thank you for your continued efforts.
While the ongoing rollout of 5G has been successful, it is clear that we are at a tipping point. We’re planning for the future because strong connectivity continues to be important to the way we live and work. Our EBITDA continues to be below our capital expenditures, which remains unsustainable.
In June, we announced a business combination agreement with Vodafone. This is an important step in our efforts to build the UK’s digital future and create a business that will build Europe’s leading 5G network. As well as building a best-in-class network for coverage and reliability, we will provide the scale you need to invest, grow and compete, driving economic growth, innovation and jobs across the UK. ”
The results show that Three’s network now carries 29% of UK mobile data traffic (Enders analysis), up from 28% at the end of 2022, and average monthly data usage per customer. claims as much as 24.4GB (gigabytes). . The latter is up 17% year-on-year, but strangely, it’s actually down from the 25.1 GB figure announced at the end of last year (as usage typically increases) very strange).
Other key highlights of 2023 H1 results
➤ Revenue increased by 4% to £1.23bn (H1 2022: £754m), as a result of an increased active customer base and net customer service revenue of £816m (2022: £754m) : 1.18 billion pounds)
➤ B2B customer base grew 86% year over year, reaching milestone of 500,000 customers
➤ Active customer base increased by 7% or 661,000 year-on-year, bringing the total to over 10.5 million (H1 2022: 9.9 million)
➤ MARTY base increased by 36% YoY
➤ 5G home broadband base increased by 174% YoY
➤ Operating profit increased by 19%, primarily as a result of inflationary pressures
➤ Capital expenditure spend is reported to have fallen by 18% to £275m as a result of Cellnex funding passive infrastructure for new sites. Capital expenditure is primarily focused on meeting regulatory requirements such as SRN and high-risk vendor swap-outs (H1 2022: £334m)
➤ With a median fastest download speed of 265.75Mbps, Ookla has been certified as the UK’s fastest 5G network (Q1-Q2 2023) for the fifth time in a row.
