H3G FY 2011 results: UK strengthens more, Italy weakens further
H3G’s European operations slightly improved underlying service revenue growth, and EBIT margin improved from 0% to 3%, but the latter figure was flattered by a change in handset subsidy accounting; without this change, EBIT would likely have been negative
The UK and Italian performances further diverged, with UK growth accelerating in H2 to +13%, and Italy decelerating to -14%, despite a renewed (and expensive) push for contract subscribers in Italy |
Mobile, Telecoms |
April 2012 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q4 2011: from bad to worse
In this presentation we show our analysis of revenue growth trends for mobile operators in the top five European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). The historical analysis is based on the published results of the operators, although they include our estimates where their data is inconsistent or not complete. A copy of the underlying data in spreadsheet format is available to our subscription clients on request. |
Mobile, Telecoms |
March 2012 Access this report
|
Themes from Mobile World Congress
Mobile operators, services and handset makers are diverging – they all come to the MWC but have increasingly little to say to each other as their businesses move in very different directions
In the context of -5% European mobile revenue growth, the MNOs at the MWC were a sober bunch, focusing on industrial services, defensive moves around messaging, and a (not unreasonable) plea to regulators for some relief |
Mobile, Telecoms |
March 2012 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q3 2011: The outlook bleakens
In this presentation we show our analysis of revenue growth trends for mobile operators in the top five European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). The historical analysis is based on the published results of the operators, although they include our estimates where their data is inconsistent or not complete. A copy of the underlying data in spreadsheet format is available to our subscription clients on request |
Mobile, Telecoms |
November 2011 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q2 2011: MTR cuts hit but stable underlying
In this presentation we show our analysis of revenue growth trends for mobile operators in the top five European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). The historical analysis is based on the published results of the operators, although they include our estimates where their data is inconsistent or not complete. A copy of the underlying data in spreadsheet format is available to our subscription clients on request |
Mobile, Telecoms |
August 2011 Access this report
|
H3G H1 2011 results: UK strengthens, Italy weakens
After strong underlying improvements in growth and profitability in 2010, in H1 2011 H3G Europe’s service revenue growth was steady at 3% and margins only slightly improved to (underlying) EBIT breakeven
In the UK, service revenue growth accelerated to 7% (from -1% in H2 2010), with EBIT maintained at about breakeven, as the UK company’s ongoing strong contract subscriber growth fed through
Italy suffered roughly the opposite fate, with service revenue growth falling to -8%, as its recent subscriber losses fed through, and EBIT remained firmly negative |
Mobile, Telecoms |
August 2011 Access this report
|
Mobile user survey 2011: More smartphones, more usage of smartphones
The most dramatic observation from our survey is the surge in mobile data service usage: 48% of UK mobile users now use a data service at least once a month, up from just 30% last year. This increase is substantially all from the increased number of internet-centric smartphones (i.e. iPhone, BlackBerry and Android handsets) in the base |
Mobile, Telecoms |
June 2011 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q1 2011
In this presentation we show our analysis of revenue growth trends for mobile operators in the top five European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). The historical analysis is based on the published results of the operators, although they include our estimates where their data is inconsistent or not complete. |
Mobile, Telecoms |
May 2011 Access this report
|
H3G 2010 results: improving to breakeven
H3G Europe improved its revenue growth and margins in 2010, albeit not by as much as its headline figures claimed. It is currently growing at 5% with EBIT at around breakeven
Given that its parent company is likely to want to keep EBIT positive, it is likely to be constrained on future investment in subscriber growth, limiting its potential going forward |
Mobile, Telecoms |
April 2011 Access this report
|
UK 4G spectrum consultation: preserving the big 4
Ofcom is proposing to design the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum auctions to ensure that the UK mobile market remains at four players, through a complex set of rules largely designed to help H3G get the spectrum it needs to remain competitive
However, the sting in the tale is that Ofcom expects H3G to pay around £600m for this spectrum, which it may not want to do, and it is not clear what the backup plan would then be |
Mobile, Telecoms |
March 2011 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q4 2010: Growth improves, but outlook deteriorates
European mobile revenue growth improved very slightly in Q4 2010, up by 0.1ppt in reported and 0.2ppts in underlying terms, but remained negative
While the improvement is welcome, growth remains very subdued compared to pre-recession levels, especially in Italy and Spain, which continue to lag the growth of the UK, Germany and France
The outlook for mobile revenue growth is bleak, with severe MTR cuts in Germany and the UK likely to drive growth down again over the next six months |
Mobile, Telecoms |
March 2011 Access this report
|
Mobile revenue growth and outlook Q3 2010: smartphones surge, revenue doesn't
European mobile revenue growth improved by 0.8ppts in Q3 to reach -0.3%, but all of this improvement and more was due to easing regulatory pressures, with underlying growth actually declining marginally
GDP growth continues to improve year-on-year, but in the current low confidence environment underlying mobile revenue growth is not (yet) responding. Smartphone sales are surging, but their net impact on revenue is hard to discern |
Mobile, Non-UK Telecoms, Telecoms |
November 2010 Access this report
|
H3G H1 2010 results: underlying stagnation
H3G Group’s reported results claimed strong growth and rapidly improving profitability, but, taking out the effect of an accounting change, an acquisition and some one off income, underlying revenue was flat and profitability improved only marginally
The parent company is still guiding to positive EBIT from the H3G group for the full 2010 year, but this will require either further creative accounting or very strictly controlled spending on subscriber acquisition, at the expense of future revenue growth |
Mobile, Telecoms |
August 2010 Access this report
|
H3G 2009 full year results: steadily loss-making
H3G Group organic service revenue growth was just 0.2% in Europe in 2009, with EBITDA now roughly breakeven and cashflow remaining firmly stuck in negative territory, and lower subscriber net adds driving most of the EBITDA improvement |
Mobile, Telecoms |
March 2010 Access this report
|
H3G H1 2009 results: falling short
H3G’s H1 2009 results showed some improvement on revenue growth and profitability on a very weak H2 2008, but it is still growing very slowly while barely EBITDA positive
The company has at last admitted that it will not be EBIT positive in 2009, and without some major changes we doubt it ever will be |
Mobile, Non-UK Telecoms, Telecoms |
August 2009 Access this report
|
H3G 2008 results: Italy drags the group down
H3G group’s H2 2008 results showed a 5% decline in revenue on a constant currency basis and a return to strongly negative underlying EBITDA, with a margin of -17% in H2 2008 and -8% for the year as a whole, versus a margin of -1% in 2007
The UK performed reasonably well, with 11% revenue growth and improving margins, albeit still being cashflow negative, but Italy suffered from an 18% revenue decline and falling margins |
Mobile, Non-UK Telecoms, Telecoms |
March 2009 Access this report
|
European mobile market consolidation
The planned merger of Vodafone and H3G in Australia has raised the question of what consolidation could occur in Europe, although a direct analogy is not appropriate because Vodafone is much weaker in Australia (#3 operator) than it is in the larger European countries, and so would face much more regulatory scrutiny in Europe |
Mobile, Non-UK Telecoms, Telecoms |
February 2009 Access this report
|
H3G H1 2008 results and datacard economics
H3G Group’s H1 2008 results showed static revenue and EBITDA slipping back into negative territory, neither of which bode well for the company’s target of being EBIT positive next year |
Mobile, Telecoms |
September 2008 Access this report
|
H3G H1 2007 results: slow improvements, unreasonable expectations
H3G Group’s growth continued to slow in H2 2007, and it is now growing at just 6%, versus 10% 6 months ago, with falling ARPU combining with static subscriber net additions |
Mobile, Telecoms |
April 2008 Access this report
|
H3G/T-Mobile network sharing: joining at the hip
H3G and T-Mobile have agreed to fully share their 3G networks, with their networks being roughly doubled to a combined 13,000 sites over the next two years |
Mobile, Telecoms |
December 2007 Access this report
|