GO subsidiary Cablenet reports double-digit growth for 2021
Cablenet Communications Systems plc, a subsidiary in which GO plc holds 63.4% share, has reported €53.5m in revenue during 2021, a healthy 14% growth over 2020. This double-digit growth in revenue was driven, largely by the significant growth in the overall subscriber base, which recorded a 30% increase over the previous year.
Cablenet was the first foreign registered company to be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange, back in August 2020. The €40m bond offering was expected to support further growth for Cablenet. In line with such expectations, its performance has since gone from strength to strength, delivering healthy returns for shareholders.
“Achieving such an industryleading growth rate, on the back of the challenges brought about by the pandemic, not to mention the highly penetrated and mature market environment simply demonstrates the strengths of our human assets, our strategic clarity and execution efficiency,” said Yiannos Michaelides, CEO at Cablenet.
“2021 was marked by our full entry as a Mobile Network Operator in the Cyprus market. Our innovative product concept, which is predominately targeted toward post-paid customers offers unlimited data, voice and SMS allowances, at prices affordable to the entire market, fully reflecting our traditional ‘value’ proposition to consumers,” explained Michaelides.
“As a result of our mobile entry, we have experienced an increase of around 110% in our mobile subscriber base to reach just over 46,000 mobile subscribers and an increase of 157% in our mobile service revenue. Our market share in the post-paid mobile segment has subsequently grown by approximately 3 percentage points, a very notable increase by all market standards in such a short period of time,” he continued.
This strong endorsement by the market encouraged further investment in our mobile network, in particular our 4G and 5G frequency spectrum.
On the fixed services side, solid growth continued, recording increased momentum in the second half of 2021 where Cablenet captured 62% of the market net additions. The expansion of the network into new areas of Cyprus continued to meet demand from both homes and businesses, honouring Cablenets commitment to cover approximately 80% of the country’s households by 2025.
Cablenet also embarked on the renewal of its TV offering, with the launch of additional Sports and other thematic channels. Sports TV customers in fact grew by 20% during the period under review.
“We are committed to making a difference in the market and this is marked by the introduction of our new Brand tagline, Cablenet for a better life. Our ambition is to translate our commercial, operational and technological innovation into tangible benefits to our customers, and in doing so, leave a positive impact on the community and the environment. This commitment and our concerted efforts have been recognised by our customers, as we have taken the lead in terms of customer satisfaction in both fixed and mobile services,” said Michaelides.
“Our long-term strategic objective remains the same – to continue growing our market shares in all services which can be delivered on a national basis. To that end, we will need to remain focused on the tools that are crucial to us achieving that objective, our brand equity, our human talent and our customers, and an undeniable passion for excellence,” concluded Michaelides.
Commenting on these results, Cablenet’s chairman Nikhil Patil and CEO at GO plc said: “We are truly encouraged by the stellar performance of the company in 2021. These results are testament to the forward-looking strategy which the company’s executive management team has crafted and executed. We are excited by what the future holds as we continue to leverage on the strengths of both companies and gain efficiencies across the Group, in order to drive increased value for our respective customers and shareholders. This remarkable performance further solidifies the mutual trust between the Maltese and Cypriot markets.”
• 14% growth in revenues
• 30% growth in subscriber base
• 110% growth in mobile subscribers