VodafoneZiggo is struggling in the consumer segment of the broadband market and lost about 100,000 customers last year. However, the telecom operator did record a slight increase in revenue in 2023 to a total of €1.2 billion.
VodafoneZiggo indicated in a note to its 2023 annual figures that the consumer broadband market is highly competitive. The telecom operator still serves 3.2 million broadband customers, which is under considerable pressure.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, for example, it lost 31,000 broadband customers, but the telecom operator still calls this slight compared to previous quarters. In total, VodafoneZiggo lost as many as 100,000 broadband customers throughout 2023. In particular, customers are increasingly switching to fiber providers.
Mobile segment and business market
In the mobile segment, VodafoneZiggo is seeing an increase in customers. Throughout 2023, the telecom operator recorded 145,000 new subscriptions taken out. The telecom operator now has more than 5.6 million mobile customers.
Within the business market, VodafoneZiggo also recorded good results. The number of broadband customers in this segment increased by 5,000. The B2B portfolio continues to grow. The telecom operator also expands its position in the SME and SOHO segment.
Financial results 2023
In all of 2023, VodafoneZiggo posted revenues of €4.1 billion. This was a slight increase of 1.2 per cent compared to 2022. With this, the telecom operator said it achieved its targets despite the highly competitive market. Still, the revenue results were as expected.
The increase in revenue in the fourth quarter of last year was the fastest growing since the merger between Vodafone and Ziggo in 2017. In this particular quarter, the telecom operator’s revenue rose 4.5 percent to €1.07 billion.
However, when looking at operating profit, it fell 4.8 percent in 2023 from a year earlier. In an explanation, VodafoneZiggo CFO Ritchy Drost said that this loss is mainly due to inflationary pressures that were very high last year.
VodafoneZiggo has not yet expressed any expectations for 2024. However, it is known that CEO Jeroen Hoencamp, who has led the telecom operator since the merger, will hand over the baton in May this year. Who will be Hoencamp’s successor is not known.
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