Liberty Global Reports Q2 2023 Results

Liberty Global plc today announced its Q2 2023 financial results.

CEO Mike Fries stated, “We saw improved sequential Adjusted EBITDA performance in Q2, underpinning the confirmation of all full-year guidance targets across our core FMC operations. Demand for reliable high-speed connectivity remains strong and despite communicating price adjustments across our footprint, we delivered broadly stable aggregate¹ net adds in the second quarter. Looking forward to H2, these price adjustments should increasingly help to offset anticipated headwinds from energy and labor costs currently affecting our FMC businesses. Despite tough macro conditions, we continue to invest heavily in future-proofing our fixed and mobile networks and position ourselves for long-term value creation. Given our ample liquidity⁴ at Q2, as well as confidence in our 2023 distributable cash flow outlook, we are announcing an increase of our share repurchase program to a minimum of 15% of shares outstanding from 10% previously.

Commercial momentum in Q2 was affected by the announcement and/or implementation of price increases throughout our markets. While these adjustments will support Adjusted EBITDA through the second half of the year, we have already seen an impact on our Q2 subscriber activity, reporting an aggregate loss of 60,000 net broadband subscribers. Mobile trends have shown more resiliency and we added 50,500 aggregate postpaid net subscribers in Q2 across our footprint. On the financial front, we have yet to see the full impact of the aforementioned price actions. As expected, the previously-flagged phasing related to the timing of prices increases together with continued cost inflation impacted our Adjusted EBITDA result in the second quarter.

On the strategic front, Q2 was another busy quarter. We are pleased with the strong shareholder support for the now pending transition of our jurisdiction of incorporation from England and Wales to Bermuda. This change will greatly facilitate the planning and execution of corporate transactions aimed at enhancing shareholder value. Despite this change, which is expected to take effect in Q4, we maintain our unwavering commitment to our businesses in the U.K. and the rest of Europe. We will continue to provide market-leading products and services to our customers, prioritize in-country employment, and make crucial investments in critical infrastructure. Additionally, in July we acquired over 93% of Telenet’s shares in the tender offer that we launched in Q2, and the offer will reopen in late August to allow investors who missed the initial acceptance period the opportunity to tender their shares. Results of the upcoming acceptance period will be announced during the third quarter.

We are well positioned to achieve all of the 2023 full-year guidance metrics at our operating companies, as well as $1.6 billion of Distributable Cash Flow⁽ⁱ⁾ at Liberty Global. This positive outlook is backed by shareholder distributions from our joint ventures in the U.K. and the Netherlands and Adjusted Free Cash Flow from our consolidated operating companies in Switzerland and Belgium. Furthermore, our balance sheet remains robust, with approximately $5.5 billion of total liquidity, including $2.7 billion in corporate cash⁽ⁱⁱ⁾, and no material debt maturities until 2028. Our stock continues to offer appealing value at its current price levels. We have already repurchased ~$740 million worth of stock as of July 21 and we are announcing an increase to our buyback target to a minimum of at least 15% of shares outstanding for 2023."

Q2 Operating Company Highlights

Sunrise (Consolidated)

Strong mobile performance, while headwinds in fixed continue; Reiterating all 2023 financial guidance

Operating highlights: Continued momentum in mobile delivering strong postpaid net adds in the quarter of 23,100. As anticipated, broadband net adds softened this quarter on the back of reduced promotional intensity in the main brand and a slight increase in churn, which resulted in a modest Q2 contraction of 2,800 customers. Additionally, we announced a price adjustment of ~4% in May. FMC penetration remains high at 58% across Sunrise's broadband base.

Financial highlights: Revenue of $816.2 million in Q2 2023 increased 6.5% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 1.0% on a rebased⁵ basis. The rebased decrease was largely driven by a decrease in fixed subscription revenue due to ARPU pressure on main brand offerings that was only partially offset by strong trading momentum in flanker brands. Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.6% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 0.1% on a rebased basis to $287.1 million in Q2 2023, including $3 million of costs to capture⁶. The rebased decrease was mainly due to the decline in revenue, partially offset by lower costs to capture and labor spend. Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions of $164.7 million in Q2 increased 10.2% YoY on a reported basis and 2.9% on a rebased basis, including $14 million of opex and capex costs to capture.

Telenet (Consolidated)

Telenet formally launched new NetCo as Wyre and started building in July

Operating highlights: Telenet lost 5,400 mobile postpaid RGUs in Q2, and its broadband base contracted by 5,000 net adds, reflecting the June price adjustment, a temporary system issue during the migration of customers to its new IT platform and an intense competitive environment. Both video and fixed-line telephony net adds continued to decline, mainly driven by macroeconomic trends and shifting consumer preferences. Meanwhile in May, the European Commission approved the Telenet-Fluvius agreement to build Belgium's network of the future. This new infrastructure company, Wyre, started building early July and will allow the joint venture to deploy fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) across Flanders over time.

Financial highlights: Revenue of $767.0 million in Q2 2023 increased 11.3% YoY on a reported basis and 1.0% on a rebased basis. The increase in rebased revenue was primarily driven by (i) higher subscription revenue and (ii) an increase in B2B revenue. Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.4% on a reported basis and 5.0% on a rebased basis to $346.0 million in Q2. The increase was driven by an $11.2 million decrease in costs associated with the one-time benefit from expected settlements of certain operational contingencies, as contemplated in Telenet's guidance. Reported and rebased Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions increased 1.5% and 3.4%, respectively, to $184.0 million in Q2.

VMO2 (Non-consolidated Joint Venture)

VMO2 laid strong foundations in the first half of 2023 and continue to focus on building commercial momentum, realizing synergies of the JV and future proofing its networks

Operating highlights: VMO2 remains focused on meeting customer needs and increasing convergence. The fixed customer base contracted by 24,700 net adds in Q2, with an increase in disconnections due to the implementation of price rises over April and May. Broadband performance was more resilient with a 15,300 net reduction in Q2, while the average download speed across the company's broadband base increased 34% YoY to 332Mbps, approximately 5x higher than the national average. During Q2, VMO2 built 175,500 premises, the majority of which were FTTH built for the nexfibre JV. In mobile, VMO2's 5G connectivity expanded to more than 2,800 towns and cities and remains on track to deliver 5G services to more than 50% of the entire U.K. population this year.

Financial highlights (in U.S. GAAP)⁷: Revenue⁸ of $3,391.5 million in Q2 2023 increased 5.9% YoY on a reported basis and 1.0% YoY on a rebased basis, primarily due to the net effect of (i) an increase in mobile revenue driven by consumer price rises and (ii) a decrease in consumer fixed revenue, with each revenue category as defined and reported by the VMO2 JV. Adjusted EBITDA⁸ increased 7.5% YoY on a reported basis and 2.6% YoY on a rebased basis to $1,138.8 million, including $19 million of opex costs to capture, primarily due to the realization of synergies and implementation of price rises, partially offset by higher energy costs. Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions⁷ increased 26.5% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 17.6% YoY on a rebased basis to $468.0 million, including $56 million of opex and capex costs to capture.

For more information regarding the VMO2 JV, including full IFRS disclosures, please visit its investor relations page to access the Q2 earnings release.

VodafoneZiggo (Non-consolidated Joint Venture)

Commercial momentum in mobile and convergence continued

Operating highlights: VodafoneZiggo continues to improve its commercial momentum, as FMC households⁹ grew by 9,000 in Q2 to over 1.5 million households in total, and FMC SIMs increased by 11,500 in Q2 to more than 2.6 million, delivering significant Net Promoter Scores and customer loyalty benefits. Mobile postpaid SIMs grew 37,500 to 5.2 million, while mobile postpaid ARPU declined 0.7% YoY, primarily driven by ARPU decline in B2B. Total internet RGUs declined by 31,000 in the quarter, as a 35,400 decline in Consumer RGUs was only partially offset by a 4,400 increase in B2B RGUs. Fixed ARPU remained stable YoY.

Financial highlights: Revenue increased 2.1% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 0.2% YoY on a rebased basis to $1,088.4 million in Q2. The relatively flat rebased result was primarily driven by a decline in the B2C fixed customer base, partially offset by growth in mobile postpaid and B2B fixed. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 1.2% on a reported basis and 3.6% on a rebased basis to $484.9 million in Q2, primarily driven by higher energy and wage costs related to inflation. Reported and rebased Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions decreased 4.4% and 7.1%, respectively, to $228.3 million in Q2.

Q2 ESG Highlights

Our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda maintained strong momentum in the second quarter, which included the introduction of our new People Planet Progress strategy. The new strategy sets out our company’s priorities and plans to address the most important issues facing society and our environment today – building on the progress we have made over the years, and deepening our focus on the areas we aim to impact most.

In People, we champion diversity, equity and our culture of Belonging. We are committed to enhancing digital equity and skills and engaging with our communities to create positive change for the generations to come. In Planet, we are working to reduce our environmental footprint, innovating for circularity and energy efficiency across our products and networks, and enabling industries beyond our own to become greener through digitization. In Progress, we commit to being a transparent and trusted company with fair and sustainable practices, throughout our organization and value chain. We are setting ambitious, multi-year goals to direct our roadmap and demonstrate the progress we make across our priorities.

We are also launching our Corporate Responsibility Report for 2022, which highlights our progress over the last year across our agenda. A few of our key achievements include:

• Supported 20 active Employee Resource Groups across Liberty Global Group;
• Volunteered nearly 9,300 hours across the Liberty Global Group and achieved over 42% volunteering rate at Liberty Global Netherlands, U.K., and U.S.;
• Reduced Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 25% since our base year of 2019 and are on track to achieve our science-based reduction target of 50% by 2030 as well as our ambition to be Scope 1 & 2 carbon neutral before then;
• Reduced transport-related CO2 emissions by 85% and avoided 135 tons of virgin plastic for our Apollo box alone;
• Established a People Planet Progress Committee, establishing board level governance for strategic ESG matters;
• Conducted in-depth internal reviews and our first double materiality assessment to identify the most material issues to help shape our new strategy;
• Conducted the company’s first climate risk assessment, in alignment with TCFD (Task force for climate-related financial disclosures).

Liberty Global Consolidated Q2 Highlights

• Q2 revenue increased 5.3% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 0.6% on a rebased basis to $1,848.0 million
• Q2 earnings (loss) from continuing operations decreased 122.4% YoY on a reported basis to ($511.3 million)
• Q2 Adjusted EBITDA decreased 7.4% YoY on a reported basis and 7.6% on a rebased basis to $601.4 million
• Q2 property & equipment additions were 19.1% of revenue, as compared to 19.2% in Q2 2022
• Balance sheet with $5.5 billion of total liquidity
  • Comprised of $1.6 billion of cash, $2.3 billion of investments held under SMAs and $1.6 billion of unused borrowing capacity¹⁰
• Blended, fully-swapped borrowing cost of 3.2% on a debt balance of $15.3 billion

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Customer Growth

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Earnings (Loss) from Continuing Operations

Earnings (loss) from continuing operations was ($511.3 million) and $2,282.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and ($1,224.8 million) and $3,357.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Financial Highlights

The following tables present (i) Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions for each of our reportable segments, including the non-consolidated VMO2 JV and VodafoneZiggo JV, for the comparative periods and (ii) the percentage change from period to period on both a reported and rebased basis. During the first quarter of 2023, we changed the terms related to, and approach to how we reflect the allocation of, charges for certain products and services that our centrally-managed technology and innovation function provides to our consolidated reportable segments (the Tech Framework). For additional information, see the Appendix. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions are non-GAAP measures. For additional information on how these measures are defined and why we believe they are meaningful, see the Glossary.