Iliad Q3 sales up 29.4 percent, driven by Free broadband (France)French telecommunications group Iliad reported a turnover up 29.4 percent to EUR 307 million in the third quarter, compared with EUR 237.2 million in the year-earlier period. Iliad added 141,000 net customers in the quarter, with ISP subsidiary Free reaching 2.77 million ADSL subscribers at the end of September, up from 2.63 million three months earlier. Consolidated broadband turnover, including intersector revenues, rose by 35.9 percent to EUR 299.2 million, while consolidated traditional telephony sales were down by 54.7 percent to EUR 7.7 million.
Broadband ARPU increased to EUR 35.3 per month, from EUR 35 euros in the second quarter 2007 and EUR 33.5 in the third quarter of 2006. The traditional telephony business continued to suffer from the success of VoIP. The total number of Onetel subscribers fell to 180,000 subscribers as of 30 September, versus 194,000 on 30 June. ARPU has stayed at around EUR 10 since the fourth quarter of last year. Furthermore, Kedra’s revenues decreased by 81% between the third quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007, due to the large increase in direct interconnection with mobile operators.
Iliad reiterated its key targets for 2007: to reach more than 2.8 million broadband subscribers by the end of the year (rising to 4 million broadband subscribers by 2010); to have an unbundling rate of 80 percent of subscribers by the end of 2007 and 85 percent of subscribers in the long term; to maintain a EUR 20 average gross margin per unbundled subscriber; to pursue the innovative and profitable growth strategy; and to have eight equipped FTTH NROs providing horizontal coverage of 241,000 homes by the end of 2007.
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