“We have gone from being a newcomer in France to being the sixth European operator. Thomas Raynaud, CEO of Iliad (photo) is pleased with a “year of record growth”.
The group founded by Xavier Niel has two reasons to congratulate itself: with its subsidiaries in Italy and Poland, it attracted 2.7 million additional subscribers, to reach a total of 45.9 million users. In France, it recorded 862,000 new fixed and mobile subscribers, a record for the last decade.
With a pro forma organic growth of 6.9% and a turnover of 8.4 billion euros, Iliad now considers itself a major player in Europe. After the 2021 financial year, described as pivotal, the French group is reaping the benefits of its international development, ahead of its Odyssey 2024 strategic plan.
Growth in Poland and Italy
In Italy, a hypercompetitive market, Iliad Italia has exceeded one million mobile subscribers and is completing its first landline marketing with 109,000 Italian households won over by the Freebox. On 4G/5G, Iliad signed a partnership with WindTre last January to cover the sparsely populated areas of the peninsula.
In Poland, the acquisition for 1.5 billion euros of the Polish cable operator UPC Polska, effective from 1er April, allows Iliad to become the second operator in the country. The synergy with Play, another local operator taken over, is beginning to bear fruit with 506,000 new subscribers in mobile and 181,000 in fixed.
Become one of the top three European operators
With operating cash flow of 1.2 billion euros, up 75%, Iliad says it is on the lookout for any market opportunity, particularly in Italy. A little over a year ago, Vodafone Italy rejected its takeover offer. The operator could also set up in a new geography.
“An acquisition must have an industrial meaning”, tempers Thomas Raynaud. “The objective is not to plant one more flag on a new country. The managing director of Iliad is showing his ambition to eventually rank among the top three European operators. For this, it intends to continue in the philosophy of Free, driven by innovation and the break with incumbent operators.
A new Freebox in the starting blocks
To image this bias, Iliad recalls its latest announcements. On the French market, Free is the only operator not to have increased its prices. It undertakes to block its mobile plans at 2 and 19.99 euros until 2027. With Free Flex, the operator makes it possible to acquire a smartphone by spreading its price free of charge over 24 months.
More recently, Free launched a free video-on-demand service for its OQEE Ciné landline subscribers. Funded by advertising, its catalog includes more than 300 films. The operator is also starting to tease the launch of the future Freebox, which should take place by the end of the year. On Instagram, a short video posted on March 15 reveals a file titled “Proto Freebox_V9”, preceded by the famous rocket.
Upcoming offers in cybersecurity
These general public announcements should not overshadow Iliad’s ambitions in the business market. Launched in March 2021, Free Pro has doubled its turnover in one year, reaching 200 million euros. The operator is now setting a target of 400 to 500 million euros by 2025.
Aimed primarily at SMEs and ETIs, Free Pro also has a few major accounts among its references, including Alcatel Submarine Networks, for which it has installed a private 5G network.
Also present on the cloud market with its subsidiary Scaleway, Iliad will present new offers in the field of cybersecurity in a few weeks.