Iliad continues to display its European ambitions. While its objective is to climb among the top three operators in the Old Continent, the parent company of Free is grabbing places.
Currently number six in Europe, it should enter the top five this year by reaching 10 billion euros in revenue. The telecoms group founded by Xavier Niel is, in fact, driven by positive dynamics.
In 2023, it achieved a turnover of 9.24 billion euros, growing 10.4%. At 11.3%, the increase is even higher than the last quarter. EBITDAaL – earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation – amounted to 3.44 billion euros, up 4.2%. On the other hand, net profit fell by 58% to peak at 318 million euros.
More than a million additional subscribers in France
Iliad has progressed equally in the three countries where it is present, France and Italy. On its domestic market, it crossed the 6 billion euro turnover mark for the first time. “ Leader in recruiting new subscribers », Free a 
recruited 787,000 net new mobile customers and 234,000 fixed line (ADSL and fiber).
In France, the telecom operator has thus passed the symbolic bar of 15 million mobile subscribers and 5 million fiber subscribers.
Iliad sees in its good performance the success of keeping its prices unchanged while its competitors have increased the price of their offers to compensate for the impacts of inflation. On the principle of communicating vessels, SFR’s current setbacks have also served its cause.
Cyber and AI in BtoB
In the BtoB market, where it is clearly lagging behind Orange Business, SFR Business and Bouygues Telecom Entreprises, Iliad has worked hard in 2023. The group has invested in the field of cybersecurity by taking a majority stake in the publisher French ITrust and by launching the Free Pro Cyber XPR.
Its cloud subsidiary, Scaleway, intends to become a European AI champion after equipping itself with a latest generation computing platform. Personally, Xavier Niel participated in the launch of Kyutai, a non-profit laboratory dedicated to open research in artificial intelligence. Furthermore, Iliad has set up a data science team to promote the contributions of AI.
Newly appointed Deputy Managing Director of Iliad, Aude Durand (photo) knows these files well. In charge of the group’s AI strategy, she led the creation of Kyutai in Paris. She is also president of Scaleway and Free Pro.
What will be the next prey?
Rejected from the acquisition of Vodafone in Italy, Iliad can console itself with its organic growth. Also a leader in recruiting new subscribers on the peninsula, Iliad Italia ended 2023 with 1.16 million net new mobile subscribers. A figure that allows the Italian subsidiary to reach the milestone of ten million mobile customers less than six years after its launch. On landlines, Iliad Italia ended the year with 98,000 new subscribers.
Again repeated in Poland. In 2023, Play was the leader in recruitment on both mobile and fixed lines with 336,000 and 397,000 net new subscribers respectively. The Polish operator has thus surpassed the mark of 13 million active mobile subscribers.
In the coming months, Iliad could add a new country to the map. At the end of February, Xavier Niel’s group took a 19.8% stake in the Swedish operator Tele2 for 1.16 billion euros. What could be the future prey?
Its general director, Thomas Reynaud “ don’t forbid anything ». However, he sets conditions. “ The operation must make sense, generate synergies with the rest of the group, for a price consistent with the market. » Finally, the acquired operator must share the Free state of mind, like Tele2, qualified ase “Maverick of the Swedish market “.
Photo credit: Alexis Anice