Iliad meets goal to become Europe’s 5th largest telecoms operator

By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Stephanie Hamel

(Reuters) -France’s Iliad said on Thursday it had reached its goal to become Europe’s fifth largest telecoms operator by the number of customers, after it recorded 50 million total subscribers in the first half of 2024.

The group, which already was the fifth biggest fixed broadband operator in Europe, has been aiming to bring in more retail mobile subscribers.

“We now count 50 million subscribers in France, Poland and Italy, and as many as 61 million with our investment in Swedish operator Tele2,” CEO Thomas Reynaud said in a statement.

Iliad in February bought a nearly 20% stake in Tele2 from investment firm Kinnevik for around $1.3 billion, becoming its largest shareholder.

The unlisted group, founded and majority owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel, has been pushing for consolidation in the European telecommunications space, including a failed bid to merge its Italian operations with those of Vodafone in January. Vodafone later sold its Italian business to Swisscom.

Reynaud said during a press call that consolidation in Italy was not something Iliad was actively pursuing anymore, and its focus was now on expanding its share in the country’s fixed-line market.

Iliad’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases (EBITDAaL) – a core operating earnings measure used by many European telecom companies – grew 13.2% to 1.86 billion euros ($2.07 billion) in the first six months of 2024.

The operator also stood by its annual revenue target of 10 billion euros, after reporting 10.3% growth to 4.9 billion euros in the first half.

In France, where it operates under the Free brand, Iliad now has 22.8 million subscribers, while its second biggest market Poland recorded 15.3 million subscribers through mobile provider Play and cable operator UPC. In Italy, the total number of subscribers was 11.5 million at the end of June.

($1 = 0.9003 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Stéphanie Hamel in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)