Proximus meets profit target early but expects growth to slow
Telecom company Proximus met the profit target from its three-year strategy a year ahead of schedule but expects lower profit growth for 2025, according to its annual results, published on Friday.
Group revenue rose by 1.6 per cent to EUR 6.43 billion and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) by 3.1 per cent to EUR 1.85 billion.
Commercially, Proximus reported a strong fourth quarter, including a net gain of 30,000 mobile subscription customers. In mid-December, however, Romanian operator Digi entered the market in Belgium, offering cheaper subscriptions. The first effects of this are “largely in line with our expectations”, said CEO Guillaume Boutin.
For 2025, in a “challenging market structure”, Proximus expects to keep turnover and EBITDA stable in its home markets, whereas in 2024 they grew by 3.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. In its international business, the group expects to achieve around 20 per cent EDBITDA growth.
The company says it reached the peak of capital spending in 2024. It is negotiating with Wyre, the joint venture of Telenet and Fluvius, about a rollout of fibre-optic connections in less densely populated areas in Flanders, and expects to conclude negotiations by the end of June. It has not given a timeframe for Wallonia, where it is in talks with Orange.
Boutin announced at the beginning of February that he would be leaving Proximus in May to join the British group Vodafone. The company intends to appoint an interim CEO, as no replacement is expected to be found before Boutin's departure.
Meanwhile, Digi Communications, the Romanian parent company of Digi Belgium, released annual figures on Friday without reporting its first results in Belgium. On Thursday, Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Digi Belgium had dismissed five directors with immediate effect.
© PHOTO ANP / HOLLANDSE HOOGTE / PETER HILZ
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