EU and US could reach trade deal this weekend - Reuters
Introduction & Market Context
Belgian telecommunications leader Proximus (EBR:PROX) presented its Q1 2025 results on May 9, showing resilience in a competitive market environment. The company reported growth in both its domestic and global operations, continuing the positive momentum seen in its 2024 performance.
The results were presented by Jan Van Acoleyen, acting Group CEO, and Mark Reid, Group CFO, who highlighted the company’s multi-brand strategy and network investments as key differentiators in the Belgian telecom market.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
Proximus reported solid financial results for the first quarter of 2025, with Group EBITDA increasing by 2.8% year-over-year to €481 million. The company’s domestic operations showed resilience with revenue growth of 1.2%, reaching €1,216 million, while domestic EBITDA increased by 1.5% to €430 million.
The following chart illustrates the company’s performance across domestic, global, and group segments:
Proximus Global, the company’s international division, delivered particularly strong results with EBITDA growth of 15.3% year-over-year. This impressive performance was driven by a 4.1% increase in direct margin (at constant currency) and lower operating expenses as synergies from previous acquisitions began to materialize.
As shown in the following breakdown of Global Direct Margin:
The company’s free cash flow position also improved significantly, with reported FCF increasing from -€128 million in Q1 2024 to €81 million in Q1 2025. This improvement was attributed to higher EBITDA, positive changes in working capital, and lower capital expenditures.
Strategic Initiatives
Proximus continues to make significant progress in its fiber network deployment, a cornerstone of its long-term strategy. By the end of Q1 2025, the company’s fiber footprint had expanded to cover over 38% of homes passed, with more than 600,000 fiber connections activated.
The following chart shows the company’s fiber expansion progress:
The fiber strategy is yielding commercial benefits, with customers on fiber connections generating approximately €5 more in average revenue per customer compared to copper connections. The company reported a migration rate of approximately 68% from copper to fiber.
Proximus is also advancing discussions on fiber collaboration with potential partners, particularly for mid-dense and rural areas that represent approximately 70% of the deployment scope.
The company’s multi-brand strategy continues to deliver results in the competitive Belgian market. Proximus positions its three brands—Proximus (premium), Mobile Vikings (mid-end), and Scarlet (budget)—across different price and value segments to address various customer needs and counter competition from new market entrants like Digi.
Asset Disposal Program
Proximus is making significant progress with its asset disposal program, which is designed to strengthen the company’s financial position and provide additional investment capacity. The company has confirmed €330 million in proceeds and remains on track to deliver more than €500 million by 2027.
The following chart details the progress of the asset disposal program:
Key transactions include the sale of the company headquarters for €30 million (received in Q4 2023) and an additional €63 million (expected in Q2 2025), the sale of the datacenter business for €130 million (closed in Q1 2025), and the sale of Mobile Towers Luxembourg for €108 million (expected to close in Q2 2025).
Forward-Looking Statements
Proximus maintained its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting broadly stable revenue with growth in underlying EBITDA across domestic, global, and group segments. The company expects capital expenditures of approximately €1.3 billion for the year and intends to return a gross dividend of €0.60 per share to shareholders.
The outlook for 2025 is summarized in the following chart:
The company’s financial position remains strong, with near-term funding needs covered until 2028 and credit ratings of BBB+ from S&P and A3 from Moody’s.
Detailed Financial Analysis
Breaking down the domestic revenue performance, Proximus reported that revenue from services increased by 1.9% year-over-year in Q1. Residential customer services revenue grew by 3.1%, supported by the January 2025 price indexation and continued customer growth.
Business revenue increased by 1.5%, including a strong increase in IT services (+4.3%) and products (+13.3%), while traditional services like Fixed Voice continued to decline (-6.6%).
The Group EBITDA growth of 2.8% was driven by improvements in direct margin that outpaced increases in operating expenses, as shown in the following detailed breakdown:
Proximus continues to invest in its network infrastructure, with Q1 2025 Group CapEx at €270 million, down from €294 million in the same period last year. The company is on track to deliver its full-year CapEx outlook of approximately €1.3 billion, representing an 8.5% reduction compared to the previous year.
The company’s financial position has been strengthened by the proceeds from asset disposals, particularly the €130 million received from the sale of the datacenter business in Q1 2025:
As Proximus continues to execute its strategic initiatives and navigate the competitive telecommunications landscape, the company’s focus on fiber deployment, multi-brand strategy, and operational efficiency positions it well for sustainable growth in the coming quarters.
Full presentation:
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.