EQS-News: freenet makes a solid start to the 2025 financial year and confirms guidance

freenet makes a solid start to the 2025 financial year and confirms guidance

• Subscriber base increased by almost 100 thousand to 10.240 million (year-end 2024: 10.149 million)
• Revenues increased moderately by 1.7% to EUR 604.4 million (prior year: EUR 594.5 million)
• Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 126.1 million at the prior year's level (EUR 127.1 million)
• Adjusted EBITDA in the TV business grew noticeably (+8.4%)
• Free cash flow increased by 1.7% to EUR 75.8 million (prior year: EUR 74.5 million)
• Guidance for the full year 2025 confirmed

Büdelsdorf, 21 May 2025 - freenet AG [ISIN DE000A0Z2ZZ5] today published its results for the 1^st quarter of the 2025 financial year after close of trading (Xetra). All key figures relate exclusively to continuing operations.

Q1 results confirm guidance for the 2025 financial year

freenet has made a successful start to the 2025 financial year and confirms its guidance for the current financial year. The company recorded pleasing customer growth in both its mobile communications and TV business. With 10.240 million subscribers at the end of the 1^st quarter, this corresponds to an increase of almost 100 thousand net new subscribers compared to the end of 2024 (10.149 million). Based on the development of subscribers in both product-related segments, freenet increased its revenues moderately by 1.7% to EUR 604.4 million (prior year: EUR 594.5 million).

In total, freenet generated adjusted EBITDA of EUR 126.1 million in the 1^st quarter of 2025, on a par with the prior year (EUR 127.1 million). The Mobile Communications segment made the expected stable EBITDA contribution, while adjusted EBITDA in the TV and Media segment grew noticeably. Cash conversion remained high at around 60% of EBITDA, meaning that free cash flow increased by 1.7% to EUR 75.8 million (prior year: EUR 74.5 million).

Subscriber growth leads to moderate increase in revenues

in million		31.03.2025	31.12.2024		abs. change	rel. change
Subscribers		10.240	10.149		0.091	0.9%
Postpaid customers		7.654	7.600		0.053	0.7%
App-based tariffs1		0.110	0.112		-0.002	-2.1%
waipu.tv subscribers		2.000	1.941		0.060	3.1%
freenet TV subscribers (RGU)		0.476	0.496		-0.020	-4.0%
in EUR million		Q1 / 2025	Q1 / 2024		abs. change	rel. change
Revenues		604.4	594.5		9.9	1.7%
o/w Mobile Communications segment		505.1	498.5		6.6	1.3%
o/w Service revenues		422.9	424.6		-1.7	-0.4%
o/w TV and Media segment		99.7	93.4		6.3	6.7%

At the end of the 1^st quarter, a total of 10.240 million subscribers were using freenet's services, spread across mobile communications, waipu.tv and freenet TV. These are almost 100 thousand more subscribers than three months priorly (year-end 2024: 10.149 million). The German mobile communications market is currently characterised by increased competition, which is reflected in a large number of new offers and tariff models in almost all price segments. freenet is responding to these market conditions by continuously optimising its own tariff portfolio with a focus on competition. A net total of 53.4 thousand new postpaid contracts were gained in mobile communications, almost three times as many as in the prior-year period (19.2 thousand).

In the TV and Media segment, waipu.tv recorded an increase of 59.8 thousand subscribers in the 1^st quarter 2025 (prior-year period: 138.6 thousand) after a record year 2024 with almost 600 thousand net new subscribers. The decline compared to the same quarter last year is due to the end of the marketing of waipu.tv by Telefónica at the end of the 3^rd quarter 2024, resulting in noticeable portfolio effects. These effects will continue to have an impact throughout the entire year 2025. Otherwise, customer growth continued at a high level. This confirms the long-term market dynamics, which are characterised by the shift away from traditional transmission ways such as cable TV towards internet-based television such as waipu.tv. Accordingly, the freenet TV subscriber base also showed the expected decline of 19.9 thousand to 476.5 thousand (year-end 2024: 496.3 thousand).

Group revenues rose moderately to EUR 604.4 million in the 1^st quarter (prior year: EUR 594.5 million), reflecting the positive customer development in both the mobile communications and TV business. Revenues in the Mobile Communications segment rose to EUR 505.1 million in the 1^st quarter compared to the same period of the prior year (EUR 498.5 million). The service revenues, which are included in this figure, remained stable compared to the same quarter of the prior year, although postpaid ARPU fell by EUR 0.3 to EUR 17.4 (prior year: EUR 17.7). The decline is essentially due to the significant customer growth in the discount segment in the 4^th quarter 2024. This development should be levelled out over the course of the year as a whole to such an extent that the existing guidance of stable postpaid ARPU development remains valid. Revenues in the TV and Media segment grew noticeably by 6.7% to EUR 99.7 million (prior-year period: EUR 93.4 million). The revenue development reflects the significantly higher average customer base of waipu.tv. The reduction in revenue at freenet TV due to the ongoing decline in the customer base was more than compensated by waipu.tv.

Adjusted EBITDA in Mobile Communications stable, while TV business grows noticeably

in EUR million		Q1 / 2025	Q1 / 2024		abs. change	rel. change
Adj. EBITDA2		126.1	127.1		-1.0	-0.8%
o/w Mobile Communications segment		103.4	104.1		-0.8	-0.7%
o/w TV and Media segment		29.7	27.4		2.3	8.4%
EBITDA		126.1	127.1		-1.0	-0.8%
Free cash flow		75.8	74.5		1.3	1.7%

Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA at freenet totalled EUR 126.1 million in the 1^st quarter, almost on a par with the prior year (EUR 127.1 million). In the Mobile Communications segment, adjusted EBITDA totalled EUR 103.4 million and was also in line with the prior year's figure (EUR 104.1 million). The development is mainly characterised by higher marketing expenses for the freenet mobile brands. The result is therefore in line with the segment guidance of between EUR 420 million and EUR 440 million for the year as a whole (prior year: EUR 427.3 million). With adjusted EBITDA totalling EUR 29.7 million, the TV and Media segment recorded noticeable growth of 8.4% compared to the same quarter of the prior year (EUR 27.4 million). The significantly higher average customer base of waipu.tv also had a positive impact here, with its contribution to earnings more than offsetting the expected decline in adjusted EBITDA at Media Broadcast. For the year as a whole, the Executive Board expects adjusted EBITDA of between EUR 115 million and EUR 135 million for the TV and Media segment (prior year: EUR 102.9 million).

Based on the stable overall development of adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow totalling EUR 75.8 million was generated. Compared to the prior year (EUR 74.5 million), this corresponds to an increase of 1.7%, which is primarily due to the change in net working capital.

The solid business development confirms the guidance for the Group to achieve an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 520 million to EUR 540 million by the end of the year (prior year: EUR 503.1 million) and a free cash flow of EUR 300 million to EUR 320 million (prior year: EUR 292.3 million).

Conference Call

The conference call on the results for the 1^st quarter of 2025 will take place on Thursday, 22 May 2025 at 10:00 a.m. (CEST). All interested parties can follow the conference call via webcast (listen-only mode). A recording will be made available afterwards.

Further documents to this publication

fn.de/downloadsir

fn.de/24fy

¹ freenet FUNK and freenet FLEX customers

² The reporting and guidance of freenet AG focuses on the adjusted EBITDA in order to improve the comparability of the operating performance between the financial years in the event of one-off effects. The free cash flow, which forms the basis for the distribution of the dividend, is not adjusted for one-off effects in order to facilitate the calculation of the expected distribution potential.

 

Note

In the interests of clear and transparent presentation, alternative performance measures (APMs) are used in the financial statements of freenet AG and in ad hoc disclosures in accordance with Art. 17 MAR in addition to the disclosures defined by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Information on the use, definition and calculation of APMs can be found in the 2024 Annual report.

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Phone: +49 (0)40/ 513 06 778

E-Mail: ir@freenet.ag

Website: fn.de/investors

 

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