Key highlights include:
•Strong demand for superfast 4G services: 4G customer base reaches 318k after just five months of trading, firmly on track to meet target of more than one million 4G customers by the end of 2013; over 1,600 medium and large companies using 4G; network rollout to reach 70% UK population by year end.
•Secured UK’s spectrum portfolio for superfast 4G data services: acquired 2x5MHz of 800MHz and 2x35MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum for £589m; now hold industry-leading 36% share of UK mobile spectrum, an unrivalled foundation for the future.
•Steady underlying service revenue performance: service revenue excluding regulatory Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) and roaming cuts of -0.4% (Q4 2012: +1.5%) year-on-year (yoy) following macroeconomic/competitive pressures; including regulatory impact -5.4% yoy (Q4 2012: -3.9%).
•Attracting high value customers: postpaid mobile net adds of 166k (Q1 2012: 151k) (excluding MVNOs and M2M), the best Q1 postpaid net adds performance since the creation of the company; 53% (Q1 2012: 49%) of mobile customers now on postpaid plans that deliver five times higher Average Revenue Per Customer (ARPU) than prepaid; in-line with industry shift toward postpaid and reflecting post-Christmas seasonality, prepaid customers decreased by -571k (Q1 2012: -494k).
Neal Milsom, Chief Financial Officer of EE, commented: “Today’s results are in-line with our expectations, and we are making good progress focusing on high value segments. We’re announcing 318,000 4G customers after just five months of trading, strong postpaid net adds and continued growth in our underlying average revenue per user. We expect to strengthen our industry leadership position in the year ahead as the 4G roll out continues and we introduce double-speed 4GEE.”