T-Mobile Polska’s 2023 results Customers appreciate quality - a strong year by T-Mobile.

At the end of 2023, the number of T‑Mobile mobile customers stood at 12.6 million - a result that was achieved despite the deactivation of about 250,000 SIM cards offered as part of the relief efforts for refugees from Ukraine. Importantly, T‑Mobile also achieved positive number portability results in each of the four quarters of the year. At the same time, the number of fixed broadband customers increased to 260,000, up more than 100,000 from 2022.

 

Continuously growing in popularity among customers were service bundles that include entertainment or fiber internet in addition to voice services. The latter, in particular, is gaining in popularity, which is also linked to the expansion of T‑Mobile's fixed-line internet coverage. Last year, the operator entered into wholesale agreements with the operator Vectra and Polski Światłowod Otwarty, which in time will allow it to reach up to 10 million Polish households with its offer. At the end of the year, the number of households within reach of the fiber-optic offering reached 6.4 million. The increase in the number of customers and an increase in the number of people choosing a greater number of services and higher tariff plans providing users with more options, as well as growth in all business market segments with a particular focus on the areas of ICT and security, translated into an increase in the company's yearly revenues by PLN 362 million, or 5.5% (y/y).

In 2023, we have taken a major step forward in terms of quality of customer care, service, the increased variety of offers and tailoring them to customers' needs. We can clearly see that our convergent offer is gaining in popularity, and the expansion of fiber optic service coverage as well as the recently launched 5G Even More network make it possible to reach more customers with a complete range of services. An important element of our customer appreciation strategy was also the launch of Magenta Moments, the first such program among Polish operators in which free bonuses and discounts prepared in cooperation with the best Polish and international partners await customers – said Andreas Maierhofer, CEO of T‑Mobile Poland – However , we still see the impact of rising costs due to inflation, which limited the growth dynamics of EBITDA AL growth in the first quarter. Despite this, we improved each quarter, especially in Q4 which lead to an full-year EBITDA AL growth of 1%. We intend to continue to invest in the best customer experience based on superior network and service quality and customer care as well as convergent solutions for individual and business customers.

In 2023, the operator recorded a visible increase in operating expenses, which include a 40% increase in electricity costs compared to 2022, as well as the cost of rents and fees denominated in contracts in euros. Outlays for employee salaries also increased as a consequence of the decision to raise salaries taken at the end of 2022. Among the factors that will help in the long term to limit the impact of energy cost increases on T‑Mobile's results, one of the most important is the establishment of 3 photovoltaic and 2 wind farms under the vPPA deal, producing green energy for the T‑Mobile contract. This, combined with revenue growth, resulted in an increase in the full-year EBITDA AL to PLN 1.79 billion, 1% higher than the previous year. Looking at the fourth quarter alone, the EBITDA AL result grew 5.3% year-on-year.

 

The last year would be challenging in itself, because of all the headwinds we had to endure related to difficult economy and especially: inflation. But the fact that under these conditions we executed a massive network rollout aimed at providing our customers with the best 5G experience makes it an even more notable achievement – said Juraj Andras, CFO of T‑Mobile Polska – Thanks to a proven strategy, as well as a solid commercial and financial performance we managed to succeed in all that, but also to provide the company the solid foundation for growth. The fact that in executing our vPPA contract we combined our care for environment and delivery of concrete financial goals shows that our commitment for sustainable growth really yields great effects.

Other key developments for the company include the opening of T Hub, a unit aimed at implementing projects for the entire Deutsche Telekom Group. These include such areas as application systems engineering, innovations in network services or global connectivity solutions.

In 2023, T‑Mobile has been consistently fulfilling goals of its ESG strategy. When it comes to environment protection, it focused on changes that will bring it closer to achieving full climate neutrality as early as 2040, but it also did not forget the vitally important area of circularity. In social activities, the company focused on projects targeting Generation Z and seniors, in which it educated on safe Internet use.

T-Mobile focuses on convergence and the best customer experience

For T‑Mobile, the past year has been mainly about developing and selling convergent services, as well as providing the best customer experience. In 2023, the operator expanded the portfolio of its MagentaTV service by 29 new channels, providing access to 159 channels in total as part of its TV packages. The company has also increased the number of titles in its VOD collection, offering customers access to more than 1,000 videos.

In the case of fiber offerings, the number of orders has increased by 20% over 2022, while the number of TV services sold increased by as much as 87%. The share of bundled service sales from the operator has increased as well. Currently, 60% of the fiber contracts signed at T‑Mobile are sold in bundles, i.e. combining at least two services, i.e. combining at least two services.

In 2023, T‑Mobile became the first in the market to enable a free 90-day trial of unlimited internet via e-SIM without having to switch operators or sign a contract. The end of the third quarter saw the premiere of Red Bull MOBILE's subscription-based no-obligation offer by T‑Mobile with unlimited internet for six months also available with an eSIM card. In the fourth quarter the operator launched its Magenta Moments customer appreciation programme, which has already accumulated 850k users.

Additionally, good results were achieved by the sales of devices branded with the T brand: the next edition of T Phone, as well as T Tablet. The latter achieved an impressive 70% share of the operator's sales in the Android tablet segment.

Continued growth in the business segment

Over the course of the year in the B2B segment, T‑Mobile recorded growth in both the smaller business and corporate customer areas. Among small businesses, the refreshed MagentaBIZNES tariffs continue to enjoy success, resulting in a growing customer base. What is more, customers are increasingly reaching for the highest tariff variants and contracts with fiber. To meet the cybersecurity needs of SME customers, in October T‑Mobile offered them the "Protection on the Network" service, which is a comprehensive security solution for mobile devices that does not require a heavy burden on the budget or the need to hire additional IT specialists.

Also in the corporate area, interest in ICT and cyber security services remained remarkably high. In response, T‑Mobile offered its customers "Secure Internet" - a service that makes it possible to fully secure a company's Internet connection without intervening in the customer's infrastructure. Other innovative products introduced this year for the high end of the market include "Business Internet Pro," which enables quick changes and secures the customer's network, and the "Workspace as a service," where the customer receives properly configured employee hardware and IT support from T‑Mobile without incurring investment expenditures. Another area of growth was smart city solutions, including those that help protect the environment. T‑Mobile, together with the City of Wroclaw, launched a project to monitor water in the Oder River, using a special buoy to measure water levels in real time and relaying the measurements to researchers.

The operator ended the year in the business segment with the introduction of a comprehensive T Business offer, combining the competencies of T‑Mobile and T‑Mobile Polska Business Solutions (formerly T-Systems) to respond even better to the needs of the most demanding customers through an even closer combination of the two companies' competencies and closer cooperation.

Network quality Even More

In the area of technology, T‑Mobile has introduced a number of projects geared toward the continuous improvement of the quality of service for customers, and in particular the preparation for the launch of a significant number of base stations of the 5G Even More network, which operates in the 3.x GHz band. To this end, T‑Mobile not only upgraded more than 1,300 base stations, but also carried out a program to expand the fiber-optic links connecting them to the T‑Mobile network. During 2023 alone, T‑Mobile built 700 km of its own fiber-optic links, and the percentage of C-band stations connected by optical links at the end of December reached 87%.

The second important decision from the point of view of network development was the shutdown of the third-generation network. At the beginning of the year, T‑Mobile decided to accelerate the process so that the last 3G stations would be out of service by the end of April. A project to launch LTE900 coverage based on the frequency resources recovered in this way has been implemented - this allowed us to offer customers a newer, faster and more efficient technology, which will further support the operation of the 5G Even More network.

At the end of the year, a total of 12332 base stations were operating in the magenta network. 60% of the country's population was within range of the 5G network delivered using DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) technology based on 2.1 GHz frequencies, and the 5G Even More - operating in the C-band - will be available on more than 2,000 base stations in the first half of 2024 and will cover more than 26% of the population.

Responsible business

T-Mobile continued its climate-centric efforts in 2023. It has already met all of its electricity needs from 0-emission sources since 2021, and in 2023 the company focused on reducing its own emissions. In the space of 12 months, it managed to reduce them by 28%. During the same period, wind farms and photovoltaic installations built for the implementation of T‑Mobile's vPPA, as well as photovoltaic installations installed at the operator's facilities, produced a total of 68.2 GWh of energy, thereby contributing to the reduction of its carbon footprint by about 50,000 tons.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, T‑Mobile's concern for the planet was intertwined with initiatives for excluded communities. As part of its Christmas campaign, the company joined forces with Noble Parcel and engaged its customers in the "Old phones work wonders" campaign. The more they found in special containers in the operator's showrooms, the greater the support for the organization - up to one million zlotys!

In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2023, T‑Mobile consistently implemented activities that support the fight against digital exclusion. First, it launched a new educational campaign #HEJTOUT, in partnership with the SEXEDPL Foundation. Its goal is to equip young people with tools and strategies to minimize the negative psychological effects of experiencing hate, but also to draw the attention of their adult environment to the problem. What's more, the brand has announced a partnership with Success University, which aims to enable young women to realize their dreams and take their first steps in the fascinating world of IT with the support of experts and experienced industry practitioners.

However, supporting the youngest generation is not the end of the company's activities in this area, as it has become involved in the activities of the Digital Seniors Coalition, which brings together 22 private organizations, including the largest chambers, unions, federations or foundations specializing in new technologies and digitization in the broadest sense. Its main goal is that by 2030 at least 70% of seniors in Poland will use the Internet and digital services, and 70% of companies offering digital services and products will have an offer and communication tailored for them.