United Internet (UTDI) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue grew 1.9% to €6.33 billion, with customer contracts rising by 590,000 to 29.02 million and a stable business model based on electronic subscriptions.

• EBITDA was €1,294 million, stable year-over-year despite higher network rollout costs; EBIT declined 15.3% to €638.7 million due to increased depreciation.

• EPS dropped to -€0.28, mainly due to a €0.99 impairment on Kublai/Tele Columbus and €0.30 one-off tax effects.

• Proposed dividend for 2025: €0.40 per share regular, plus €1.50 one-off catch-up dividend for 2018–2023.

• Discontinued "Energy" and "De-Mail" business fields, with minor impact on sales and negative EBITDA/EBIT contributions.

Financial highlights

• Group revenue increased by 1.9% year-over-year to €6,329.2 million; free cash flow after leasing was €47.4 million.

• EBITDA margin at 20.5%; EBIT margin at 10.1%.

• CapEx for 2024 was €774.6 million, mainly for fiber optic and mobile network investments.

• Net bank liabilities increased to €2.70 billion; equity ratio stable at 46.5%.

• Free cash flow after leases improved to €47.4 million from -€85.0 million in the prior year.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 revenue expected at approximately €6.4 billion, with EBITDA targeted at €1.35 billion, including a €-20 million impact from national roaming provider change.

• Cash CapEx for 2025 projected at €800 million, focused on mobile and fiber network expansion.

• Free cash flow for 2025 anticipated to be similar to 2024, with a positive trend expected as investments phase out.

• Dividend policy remains at 20–40% of adjusted net income.