Finance
French telco Iliad set to beat cash flow target with Italian market boost
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Iliad is on track to exceed its €2B cash flow target, driven by Italian market growth and OpCore stake sale. The company explores mergers in France and Italy.
By Leo Marchandon and Alban Kacher
(Reuters) -Iliad will likely exceed its yearly operating free cash flow target of 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) aided by improved demand in Italy and returns from selling a part of its stake in unit OpCore, the French telecom group said on Wednesday.
The company is exploring merger and acquisition options in France and Italy, and investing in data centre projects through OpCore.
Over the first nine months of the year, Iliad saw 25% growth in its free cash flow, chiefly driven by the Italian market where cash flow was 2.5 times higher than last year.
Combined with the proceeds from selling half of its stake in OpCore, this allowed the company to reduce its net leverage to a 2.3 multiple at the end of September. That compares to a net debt amounting to 2.7 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at the end of 2024.
Asked about a potential tie-up with rival Wind Tre in Italy, CEO Thomas Reynaud said Iliad had nothing to report for now, but remained open to any opportunity to consolidate the Italian market.
"If an opportunity for consolidation were to arise, we would look at it seriously," Reynaud said.
Low-cost mobile operator Iliad's entrance to the Italian market in 2018 was part of EU antitrust remedies to clear the merger of CK Hutchison’s 3 Italia with Wind Tre in 2016.
The French group had sought to buy Vodafone's Italian operations in 2024 and tried to clinch a deal to combine with state-backed Telecom Italia earlier this year, but with no success.
Iliad's EBITDA after leases - a core operating profit measure used by many European telcos - rose 5.6% to 3 billion euros in the January-September period, driven by strength in France and Poland in particular.
In France, Free brand subscriber numbers grew slightly to 23.2 million. Customers in Poland increased to 15.6 million, while Italy added a net of 300,000 subscribers to 12.8 million at the end of the reporting period.
($1 = 0.8633 euros)
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Alban Kacher in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Cash flow refers to the total amount of money being transferred into and out of a business, especially as affecting liquidity. It is crucial for maintaining operations and ensuring that a company can meet its financial obligations.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred or combined. They are often used as a strategy for growth and expansion.
EBITDA stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a financial metric used to assess a company's operating performance and profitability.
Net leverage is a financial ratio that measures a company's debt levels relative to its earnings. It is calculated by dividing net debt by EBITDA, indicating how many times a company can pay off its debt with its earnings.
A telecommunications company provides services related to the transmission of information over distances, including phone, internet, and data services. They play a vital role in connecting people and businesses.
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