O2 invests over £1 billion to drive growth

Telefónica UK Limited (O2) today announces Q4 and full year results for the 12 month period to 31 December 2018.

Full year highlights

• Strong customer growth with continued sector leading loyalty
• 501,000 contract net additions (282,000 excluding M2M)
• Market leading contract churn at 1.0 per cent
• Total base stands at 6 million
• Total revenue growth of 5.4 per cent year-on-year – now ten consecutive quarters of mobile service revenue growth
• Further OIBDA expansion to £1.65 billion, up 11.8 per cent year-on-year
• Investing over £1 billion for customers
• O2 confirms 5G network to launch in 2019

Mark Evans, CEO, Telefónica UK commented: “I’m pleased to report another strong set of full year results including half a million contract net additions and our tenth consecutive quarter of mobile service revenue growth, as we delivered another year of growth in revenues and profitability. In 2018, we focused on delivering against our mobile-first, customer-led strategy, launching stand-out propositions, winning landmark business accounts and investing over £1 billion for our customers.

“We also continue to work hard to pave the way for 5G. Our work through our FTSE 100 trials will now be expanded to our Wayra accelerator hubs, to encompass start-ups and scale-ups. We are excited to work with UK companies, big and small, to build the 5G Economy. This is critically important as mobile is one of the UK’s most powerful opportunities to strengthen our economy and improve the lives of British people.”

5G development

O2 today announces it will bring 5G to the UK this year, commencing the rollout of next-generation mobile services in the four corners of the UK. Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London will be the first to benefit from O2’s 5G network. Other areas of the UK will enjoy rollout from 2020 to coincide with the wider availability of 5G handsets.

Following demand from its FTSE 100 5G testbed callout, O2 is working closely with leading British businesses to harness the possibilities of the new technology. To help build a 5G Economy, O2 is also creating 5G innovation spaces across the country including in its Wayra accelerator hubs. The spaces will provide 5G services to start-ups and scale-ups alongside national launch.

O2 announced in January 2019, its intention to extend its existing network sharing partnership to include 5G. This will enable O2 to offer 5G services to more customers over a wider geographic area, and to do so at a lower cost. The announcement also included O2’s plan to extend greater network autonomy in a number of larger cities, providing it greater flexibility to meet the needs of its customers. In addition, the plans which remain subject to regulatory approval, include the intention to upgrade transmission networks with higher capacity optical fibre cables, to facilitate an enhanced 5G experience.

TelecomTV note: You can access the full financial information here.