Wanadoo revenues up 29 percent for third quarter 2003
October 28 2003 - 2:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Wanadoo revenues up 29 percent for third quarter 2003 Paris,
October 28 /PRNewswire/ -- * Wanadoo tops two million broadband
customers in Europe: one in four Wanadoo subscribers now has
broadband service * Access, Portals and e-Merchant segment posts
48-percent surge in revenues for third quarter: * 252,000 new
broadband customers recruited in third-quarter 2003, including
138,000 in September alone * Portals revenues continue to climb,
rising 47 percent for third quarter * International businesses
account for 35 percent of total revenues. * Directories segment
revenues advance 7 percent for third-quarter 2003: * 19-percent
upswing in revenues from online directories for third quarter,
including 57 percent jump for Internet directories * Revenues from
print directories up 4.5 percent in France for third-quarter 2003.
Wanadoo had revenues of 679 million euros for the third quarter of
2003, up 29 percent over the third quarter of 2002. Growth stemmed
from Wanadoo's two business segments, both of which posted
increases. Revenues from the Access, Portals and e-Merchant segment
surged 48 percent, while the Directories segment experienced a
7-percent rise in revenues for third-quarter 2003. For the 9 months
ended September 30, 2003 Wanadoo had revenues of 1,906 million
euros, representing growth of 32 percent versus the year-earlier
period. Olivier Sichel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Wanadoo said: "Wanadoo has surpassed the two-million customer
milestone for broadband services in Europe - almost one out of four
customers - confirming our commitment to being the European leader
in Internet services and directories. Broadband Internet is
generating ever-greater demand among our customers and is now an
integral component in all our businesses. Revenues from access,
portals and Internet directories posted growth of nearly 50 percent
for the third quarter of 2003. These solid results should enable
Wanadoo to achieve its 2003 objectives. Drawing on our innovation
capabilities, Wanadoo is readying the Internet services of tomorrow
with trailblazing products like the eXtense Playstation 2 pack,
Internet photo albums, videomessaging and more. Network games,
exchanging pictures and video over the Internet and other
applications have taken on an exciting new dimension. These
services, all linked to Internet access, open up dynamic
opportunities for Wanadoo and new possibilities for our customers."
Wanadoo topped 2 million broadband customers in September 2003 At
September 30, 2003 Wanadoo had 8.893 million Internet access
customers in Europe, including 2.071 million broadband customers
(ADSL and cable). Wanadoo added 252,000 broadband customers during
the third quarter of 2003, including 138,000 in September alone.
Growth in Wanadoo's broadband customer base stemmed primarily from
ADSL access, which represented 1.836 million customers at end
September 2003, with an additional 239,000 customers in the third
quarter 2003. Broadband customers accounted for 23.3 percent of the
Wanadoo Internet Access customer base at September 30, 2003, up
from 20.7 percent at end June 2003. Consolidated revenues for
third-quarter 2003 / 2002 (in millions of euros) 3rd quarter 3rd
quarter Change(*) 2002 2003 Internet Access, Portals, 292 431 48%
e-Merchant(1) of which international revenues 100 146 47% Internet
Access 256 390 52% Portals 20 30 47% e-Merchant 15 12 -23%
Directories 235 251 7% France 230 247 8% International 5 4 -21%
Other and intra-group transactions 1 -4 NM Total Wanadoo revenues
527 679 29% of which international revenues 105 150 44% (*)
Calculated from non-rounded figures Consolidated revenues for 9
months ended September 30 2002/2003 (in millions of euros)
September 30 September 30 Change(*) 2002 2003 Internet Access,
Portals, 808 1,241 54% e-Merchant(1) of which international 264 434
65% revenues Internet Access 715 1,112 55% Portals 61 97 59%
e-Merchant 32 33 1% Directories 636 673 6% France 609 651 7%
International 27 22 -20% Other and intra-group 1 -8 NM transactions
Total Wanadoo revenues 1,445 1,906 32% of which international 291
457 57% revenues (*) Calculated from non-rounded figures Internet
Access, Portals and e-Merchant segment: revenues jump 48 percent
for third-quarter 2003 Revenues from the Internet Access, Portals
and e-Merchant segment reached 431 million euros for the third
quarter of 2003, up 48 percent over third-quarter 2002. For the 9
months ended September 30, 2003, Internet Access, Portals and
e-Merchant segment revenues totalled 1,241 million euros, a
year-to-year increase of 54 percent. Revenues from this segment
were up 48 percent in France and 65 percent from international
operations. International revenues accounted for 35 percent of
Wanadoo's Internet Access, Portals and e-Merchant business for the
first nine months of 2003, compared with 33 percent for the first
nine months of 2002. Revenue growth from the Internet Access
business derived from the following factors: * Growth in the
Wanadoo customer base in France, with more favourable distribution.
Wanadoo's customer base in France totalled 4.363 million active
subscribers at end September 2003, up from 4.230 million at end
June 2003. At September 30, 2003 Wanadoo had 1.564 million
broadband subscribers, of whom 1.488 million have ADSL service.
Internet Access revenues (3) in France rose 51 percent for the
first nine months of 2003. * Growth in ADSL customer base in the
U.K. Wanadoo had 2.604 million customers in the U.K. at end
September 2003, including 969,000 customers with a pay dial-up
subscription and 123,000 broadband customers. Pay subscribers
accounted for 42 percent of the customer base at end September
2003. Internet Access revenues (3) in the United Kingdom rose 49
percent for the first nine months of 2003. * Migration of customer
base to enhanced services in Spain and the Netherlands. Wanadoo had
1.417 million customers in Spain at end September 2003, including
148,000 with ADSL service, which represents 10.4 percent of the
total, up from 9 percent at end June 2003. Wanadoo had 500,000
customers in the Netherlands at end September 2003, including
236,000 broadband customers. This represents 47 percent of the
customer base, up from 42.7 percent at end June 2003. Wanadoo's
Internet Access revenues (3) advanced 43 percent on a pro forma (1)
basis in Spain and 39 percent in the Netherlands for the nine
months ended September 30, 2003. Wanadoo's Portals segment had
revenues of 30 million euros for the third quarter of 2003, an
increase of 47 percent. This includes 19 million euros from online
advertising, up 66 percent, due in part to the consolidation of
Eresmas. For the first nine months of 2003 Portals segment revenues
totalled 97 million euros, a rise of 59 percent. This includes 54
million euros from online advertising, a 54-percent increase over
the year-earlier period. The alapage.com e-Merchant site booked
607,000 orders during the first nine months of 2003, representing a
29 percent increase in order volume versus the 2002 period.
Directories segment posts 7-percent upswing in revenues for third
quarter 2003 For the third quarter of 2003 the Directories segment
had revenues of 251 million euros, up 7 percent over the third
quarter of 2002. Total revenues from the Directories business in
France climbed to 247 million euros for the period, a rise of 8
percent versus third quarter 2002. Revenues from online directories
- advertising and site creation, spanning both Minitel and Internet
- totalled 61 million euros for third quarter 2003, advancing 19
percent over the year-earlier period. Revenues from Internet
directories in France and Spain (pagesjaunes.fr and qdq.com) were
up 57 percent in the third quarter of 2003 compared with third
quarter 2002. The number of Internet advertisers on pagesjaunes.fr
and qdq.com rose to 264,000 at September 30, 2003. For the first
nine months of 2003 the Directories segment had revenues of 673
million euros, up 6 percent over the same period in 2002. Revenues
from directories in France rose 7 percent versus the year-earlier
period to reach 651 million euros. Online directories revenues
(advertising on Minitel and Internet plus site creation) generated
revenues of 177 million euros for the first nine months of 2003, an
increase of 19 percent over the first nine months of 2002. Revenues
from online directories accounted for 26 percent of total revenues
for the Directories segment for the nine months ended September 30,
2003. Recent events Wanadoo has sold its offline games distribution
subsidiary Wanadoo Edition (2002 revenues 28million euros) to MC2
Entertainment. This sale allows Wanadoo to focus on online games
with the Goa label and provides the Wanadoo Edition catalogue with
access to the North American market via MC2's Canadian subsidiary
Microids Canada. Wanadoo also sold France Animation, a production
subsidiary specialised in youth programming, to Antefilms
Production. This sale marks Wanadoo's withdrawal from the audio and
video content production businesses, sharpening its focus on
Internet services and directories. Outlook Wanadoo confirms its
financial targets for 2003: - Revenue growth of 25 to 30%, -
Operating income before depreciation and amortisation multiplied by
3, - Positive operating income before depreciation and amortisation
for the Access, Portals and e-Merchant segment - A positive
operating income before depreciation and amortisation - CAPEX (4)
Division Indicator End Sept. End Sept. Change 2002 2003 Internet
Access customers (thousands) 7,138 8,893 +25% Pages viewed
(millions per Portals(2) month) 1,461 3,623 +148% Cumulated orders
on e-Merchant alapage.com (thousands) 470 607 +29% Advertisers on
the Internet Directories (thousands) 223 264 +18% Notes (1)
Eresmas, which was consolidated as of November 2002, is not
consolidated for the first nine months of 2002. Figures for Wanadoo
Belgium, which was deconsolidated at the beginning of March 2003,
are included only for the first two months of 2003. (2) Total
monthly audience for all Wanadoo properties. (3) Access (or
connectivity) revenues: revenues from subscriptions and payments by
telephone operators for non-subscription offers. Does not include
revenues from portals, online services or e-commerce. (4) CAPEX
(capital expenditures): acquisitions of tangible and intangible
assets About Wanadoo Wanadoo, a subsidiary of France Telecom, is
one of Europe's leading Internet and directories companies with, at
September 30, 2003, 8.9 million Internet Access customers, 3.6
billion pages viewed per month and, at December 31, 2002, more than
638,000 advertisers in Directories. Wanadoo is a leading Internet
media services provider in France and U.K. and the ndegrees 2 in
Spain. Wanadoo is also present in the Netherlands. Wanadoo is
expanding its Internet operations through, amongst others,
broadband Internet access with more than 2 million ADSL and cable
subscribers. Wanadoo recorded EUR 2 billion in revenues in 2002 and
has approximately 7,000 employees. Wanadoo is listed on Euronext
Paris. Further information on Wanadoo can be found on the company's
web site at: http://www.wanadoo.com/. DATASOURCE: Wanadoo Press
Contacts: Tel: +33 1 44 44 93 93, Nilou du Castel, , Caroline Ponsi
/ Sebastien Goales, , , Investor Relations: Tel: +33 1 58 88 75 68,
Vincent Gouley,
Copyright