United Internet with successful first half-year 2022
- Customer contracts: + 290,000 to 26.97 million contracts
- Sales: + 4.5% to EUR 2.901 billion
- EBITDA: + 3.5% over like-for-like prior-year figure to EUR 655.1 million
- EBIT: + 3.3% to EUR 414.9 million
- 2022 guidance confirmed
Montabaur, August 4, 2022. United Internet AG can look back on a successful first six months of 2022. In the first half of 2022, the company continued to make investments in new customer contracts and the expansion of existing customer relationships, and thus in sustainable growth. The total number of fee-based customer contracts was raised by 290,000 to 26.97 million contracts. Of this amount, 120,000 contracts were added in the Consumer Access segment (+290,000 operating growth less -170,000 contracts due to the German Telecommunications Act effect) and 130,000 contracts in the Business Applications segment. A further 40,000 contracts were gained in the Consumer Applications segment. Due to seasonal effects, ad-financed free accounts were 450,000 down on December 31, 2021, but still 140,000 accounts above the comparative prior-year reporting date of June 30, 2021.
Sales grew by 4.5% in the first half of 2022, from EUR 2,775.6 million in 2021 to EUR 2,901.1 million.
Prior-year earnings were impacted by a (non-period) positive effect of EUR 39.4 million. Without consideration of this earnings effect and additionally adjusted for positive non-cash valuation effects from derivatives of EUR 0.9 million in the previous year and EUR 4.6 million in the first half of 2022, the Group’s key earnings figures developed as follows: EBITDA rose by 3.5%, from EUR 632.9 million in the previous year to EUR 655.1 million, and EBIT by 3.3% from EUR 401.6 million to EUR 414.9 million. These earnings figures include expenses incurred for the construction of 1&1’s mobile communications network of EUR -16.1 million (prior year: EUR -14.9 million), as well as costs for the announced additional marketing activities of IONOS to raise brand awareness in its most important European markets of EUR -13.2 million. There were also increased electricity costs of EUR -11.1 million.
Earnings per share (EPS) fell from EUR 1.15 in the previous year to EUR 1.03 and EPS before PPA from EUR 1.35 to EUR 1.23 (in each case without consideration of the non-period positive effect on earnings in 2021 and the positive valuation effects from derivatives in 2021 and 2022). This decline in EPS was mainly due to a year-on-year decrease in the financial result, which was impacted in part by the subsequent measurement of financial derivatives (EPS effect: EUR -0.03; prior year: EUR +0.02), as well as – with regard to the result from associated companies – the prorated negative result of Kublai GmbH, which was only partially included in the comparative figures for the first half of 2021 as the takeover of Tele Columbus AG was still ongoing (EPS effect: EUR -0.09; prior year: EUR -0.02).
Outlook 2022
On completion of the first six months, United Internet can confirm its full-year guidance for 2022. The company continues to expect an increase in consolidated sales for the year as a whole to approx. EUR 5.85 billion (prior year: EUR 5.646 billion). EBITDA 2022 is likely to be on a par with 2021 (EUR 1.259 billion). This EBITDA forecast includes costs for the 1&1 network rollout of approx. EUR 70 million (prior year: EUR 38 million), as well as approx. EUR 30 million for additional marketing activities of IONOS to raise brand awareness in its most important European markets. It also includes increased electricity costs of approx. EUR 20.0 million. Capex is expected to be between EUR 800 million and EUR 1 billion (prior year: EUR 290 million).