Liberty Global Reports Q3 2022 Results

Q3 financial performance highlighted by accelerating Adjusted EBITDA growth at VMO2¹, VodafoneZiggo and Telenet

Continued to deliver aggregate² broadband and postpaid mobile net additions across core FMC markets

Ongoing investment in fixed network upgrades and 5G coverage to support our leading FMC market positions

Attractive share repurchases of $1.7 billion for 2022, reiterating 10% buyback floor for 2023

Reconfirming all full-year 2022 guidance targets

DENVER, Colorado–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Liberty Global plc today announced its Q3 2022 financial results.

CEO Mike Fries stated, “Despite the macroeconomic challenges in Europe we clearly have a resilient business model, as demonstrated by our solid results in Q3. Connectivity remains an essential service with strong demand across our footprint for reliable and seamless access to high-quality fixed and mobile networks. We also remain focused on supporting our customers who are experiencing higher living costs by offering connectivity services that are both affordable and robust. Simultaneously, we are offsetting the impact of high energy and labor costs by driving digital initiatives, taking reasonable price increases and executing on synergies in the U.K. and Switzerland.

In Q3, we delivered aggregate² broadband and postpaid mobile growth of 186,000 new subscribers, supported mostly by broadband subscriber gains in the U.K. and positive postpaid trends across all our core FMC markets. Financially, we reported stable to growing revenues in Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, with the latter two markets supported by recent price adjustments. Synergy execution, price rises and strong cost controls supported strong Adjusted EBITDA growth in the U.K., Belgium and all the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the continued realization of synergies in the U.K. is expected to drive cash flow growth throughout the remainder of the year.

We continue advancing our network development strategies. Each of our markets has attractive investment opportunities utilizing combinations of FTTH and DOCSIS and we are already offering gigabit speeds to customers across nearly 100% of our footprint. In the U.K. we continue to advance our Lightning build-out while upgrading the existing HFC network to FTTH. We are also setting up the new fiber JV with Infravia to build the additional 5 to 7 million homes that we announced last quarter, which will give us significantly greater reach to exploit fixed-mobile convergence.

We are reiterating all of the original, full-year guidance metrics at our operating companies and $1.7 billion⁽ⁱ⁾ of Full Company³ Distributable Cash Flow⁴ at Liberty Global. Liberty Global’s balance sheet remains strong with ~$4 billion⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ of cash and ~$5 billion of total liquidity,⁵ providing appealing optionality against an increasingly challenged macro environment. Our attractive share buyback of $1.7 billion this year was supported by our strong cash flow generation and the compelling value in our stock. We have retired 50% of our total shares outstanding since 2017 and we remain committed to our 10% repurchase floor of shares outstanding in 2023.”

Q3 Operating Company Highlights

Sunrise (Consolidated)

Continued strong mobile postpaid intake; Revenue growth in Q3 supported by mobile and B2B momentum

Operating highlights: Sunrise continues to deliver strong mobile performance, supported by robust B2B delivery and its flanker brand yallo which continues to perform well as the business generates revenue growth in Q3. Sunrise continues to reinforce yallo’s full service offerings, launching yallo Free TV for new and prospective customers, and has also launched a Smart Upgrade program through a partnership with Apple. The Sunrise rebranding continues to resonate with strong postpaid mobile performance across all brands, achieving 42,000 net adds in the quarter. Broadband performance was flat as expected in Q3 given the ongoing phase out of the UPC brand. Supported by a strong mobile offering together with the powerful fixed line network, FMC penetration remains high at 57% of Sunrise’s broadband base.

Financial highlights: Revenue of $789.8 million in Q3 2022 decreased 4.9% YoY on a reported basis and increased 1.5% YoY on a rebased⁶ basis. The rebased increase was largely driven by (i) low margin business wholesale revenue and (ii) strong trading momentum in yallo and handset revenues, partially offset by a decrease in fixed subscription revenue due to subscriber losses and ARPU pressures. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.6% on a reported basis and 2.3% on a rebased basis to $302.5 million in Q3 2022, including $6 million of opex costs to capture⁷. The rebased decline was largely driven by a more limited tailwind from synergies following the annualizing of MVNO synergies, the impact of fixed ARPU declines and increased investments in yallo and digitalization projects. Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions of $161.8 million in Q3 decreased 17.4% YoY on a reported basis and 10.8% on a rebased basis, including $35 million of opex and capex costs to capture. While Sunrise is integrating the two businesses, costs to capture have short term impacts but are incurred to promote future synergies, more efficient operations and enhanced operations and profitability.

Telenet (Consolidated)

Continued FMC customer expansion; Improved financial trends in Q3 2022; FY 2022 outlook unchanged

Operating highlights: Continued growth of Telenet’s FMC customer base in Q3 2022 was driven by continued uptake of “ONE(Up)” bundles as growth in the mobile customer base accelerated with 18,000 postpaid mobile net additions. Telenet also recently entered into a binding agreement with Fluvius to develop “the data network of the future” in Flanders. Both companies will contribute their fixed network assets to incorporate a new infrastructure company “NetCo” that will invest in the evolution of the current HFC network into a FTTH network.

Financial highlights: Revenue of $665.1 million in Q3 2022 decreased 12.0% YoY on a reported basis and increased 3.1% on a rebased basis. The increase in rebased revenue was primarily driven by (i) higher fixed subscription revenue following the June price increase and (ii) an increase in mobile roaming revenue. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 13.7% on a reported basis and increased 4.8% on a rebased basis to $318.7 million in Q3. The increase in rebased Adjusted EBITDA reflects the aforementioned revenue performance, partially offset by the impact of higher inflation on energy costs and staff-related expenses. Reported and rebased Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions decreased 25.2% and 8.2%, respectively, to $176.3 million in Q3.

VMO2 (Non-consolidated Joint Venture)

VMO2 delivers strong strategic and operational progress combined with accelerating Adjusted EBITDA growth¹

Operating highlights: VMO2 continued growing its fixed and mobile customer base in Q3 while announcing the U.K.’s fastest WiFi guarantee. Growth in VMO2’s fixed customer base and continued demand for fast, high-quality connectivity drove Q3 broadband net additions to 19,000. Postpaid mobile continued to show growth with net adds of 47,000 during the quarter. Average speed across the company’s broadband base increased 29% YoY and now reaches 261Mbps, more than 4x the national average. Less than a year after the launch of VMO2’s first FMC bundle, a significant milestone has been achieved with more than 1 million customers taking a Volt bundle, highlighting our rapid and substantial progress in fixed-mobile convergence. Meanwhile, Project Lightning has passed 330,000 premises since the start of the year and the company remains on-track to deliver over 500,000 premises in 2022.

Financial highlights (in U.S. GAAP): Revenue of $3,042.1 million in Q3 2022 decreased 15.8% YoY on a reported basis and 1.7% YoY on a rebased basis. This was due to the net effect of (i) a decline in consumer fixed revenue due to a change in customer mix, (ii) a decline in B2B fixed revenue and (iii) an overall increase in mobile revenue driven by an increase in service revenue partially offset by a decline in handset revenue. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 10.1% YoY on a reported basis and increased 8.1% YoY on a rebased basis to $1,060.5 million, including $16 million of opex costs to capture. The YoY increase in Adjusted EBITDA was supported by the realization of synergies, cost efficiencies, and a $35 million one-time non-cash benefit following the resolution of a legal matter, partially offset by increased energy costs. Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions decreased 30.0% YoY on a reported basis and decreased 11.0%⁸ on a rebased basis to $355.4 million, including $76 million of opex and capex costs to capture. P&E Additions increased 21.5% YoY to $705.1 million.

For more information regarding the VMO2 JV, including full IFRS disclosures, please visit their investor relations page to access the Q3 earnings release.

VodafoneZiggo (Non-consolidated Joint Venture)

Solid financial performance; Reconfirming 2022 guidance

Operating highlights: VodafoneZiggo continues to improve its commercial momentum despite increased promotional intensity in the Dutch market. At September 30th, VodafoneZiggo is passing 2.5 million converged SIMs and 1.5 million converged households⁹, which continues to drive improvement in Net Promoter Scores and reduce churn. VodafoneZiggo delivered 67,000 mobile postpaid additions in Q3 and grew mobile postpaid ARPU. Total broadband RGUs declined by 9,000 in Q3 while B2B broadband RGUs continued to record solid growth, with 6,000 added in the quarter. More than 90% of VodafoneZiggo’s fixed network footprint is connected to Gigabit speeds and on track to deliver nationwide coverage in December. Successfully implemented an average 3.5% price increase as of July 2022 which helped generate rebased revenue growth in Q3.

Financial highlights: Revenue declined 13.6% on a reported basis and increased 1.0% on a rebased basis to $1,041.7 million in Q3. The increase in rebased revenue was primarily driven by ARPU growth and mobile postpaid and B2B fixed customer base growth, partially offset by B2C fixed customer base decline. Mobile service revenue grew 7.2% in Q3, recording the highest quarterly growth in five years. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 13.3% on a reported basis and increased 1.3% on a rebased basis to $501.4 million in Q3. The rebased increase was primarily driven by the aforementioned revenue growth and incremental cost efficiency measures, effectively mitigating higher energy costs related to inflation. Reported and rebased Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions decreased 24.3% and 11.5%, respectively, to $290.2 million in Q3. The rebased decrease was primarily driven by higher investment in customer premises equipment.

Q3 ESG Highlights

During the third quarter, we continued to progress our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda across our business. As a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC), Liberty Global participated in the European Parliament Pilot Project that aims to develop digital solutions in support of key sectors, to assess their respective net environmental impacts. Liberty Global’s “Reducing Herbicides Solutions”, developed by Sunrise, was among the first round of six case studies selected. The solution uses high resolution images taken by drones, and sent through 5G networks to detect weed locations, allowing farmers to distinctly target and reduce the use of herbicides and their associated emissions. Also in the quarter, VodafoneZiggo became the first Dutch telecoms provider to introduce electric scooters as a mode of city transport for technicians. The idea came from Ziggo’s own technicians, and provides an emissions reduction of 99% for every kilometer traveled compared to a diesel van. This initiative not only supports VodafoneZiggo’s ambition to halve the company’s environmental impact by 2025, but also serves customers in zero-emission zones, where vehicles with carbon emissions will not be allowed in the coming two years. On the Social front, VMO2 partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to help provide tablets and data to people in need across the U.K. Tackling both digital equity and e-waste, the partnership is helping people improve their digital skills while enabling access to essential services, and supporting the circular economy – all part of the company’s Better Connections Plan and goals. Lastly, Liberty Global and its subsidiaries have been carefully monitoring the impacts of high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, to both our people and customers across our markets. In recent weeks, the company has extended financial support to employees who need it most, while operations such as VMO2 are helping to keep people connected by donating data to serve those most affected.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) continues to be a focus for us, reinforcing an inclusive work environment, where our people know their voices are heard, valued, respected and everyone feels they belong. Our dedicated DE&I Council continues to work with colleagues across the Liberty Global footprint to ensure DE&I is embedded into everything we do, including the products we design, the decisions we make, the communities in which we operate and the relationships we have with our customers, suppliers, and shareholders. We are accelerating across our priorities of inclusivity and representation in the workplace. Underpinning our strategic pillars of Gender, LGBTQIA+, Ability, Race and Ethnicity, and Multigenerational. We strongly believe in driving an inclusive culture through education, improving our practices, and measuring our progress. We have developed conscious inclusion training which our leaders and employees are attending to drive empowerment and capability of action towards a more inclusive culture. Continuing our focus on taking potential bias out of our recruitment practices, we have developed an inclusive hiring training, currently rolled out across our talent acquisition teams and hiring managers.

Liberty Global Consolidated Q3 Highlights

• Q3 revenue decreased 8.2% YoY on a reported basis and increased 3.7% on a rebased basis to $1,746.3 million
• Q3 earnings from continuing operations increased 670.5% YoY on a reported basis to $2,431.7 million
• Q3 Adjusted EBITDA decreased 12.5% YoY on a reported basis and increased 1.6% on a rebased basis to $664.0 million
• Q3 property & equipment additions were 21.3% of revenue, as compared to 19.1% in Q3 2021
• Balance sheet with $5.3 billion of total liquidity
  • Comprised of $1.6 billion of cash, $2.4 billion of investments held under SMAs and $1.3 billion of unused borrowing capacity¹⁰
• Fully-swapped borrowing cost of 3.2% on a debt balance of $13.3 billion

Customer Growth

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Earnings from Continuing Operations

• Earnings from continuing operations was $2,431.7 million and $315.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $5,789.6 million and $12,889.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively

Financial Highlights

The following tables present (i) revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions for each of our reportable segments, including the non-consolidated VMO2 JV and VodafoneZiggo JV, for the comparative periods and (ii) the percentage change from period to period on both a reported and rebased basis. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA less P&E Additions are non-GAAP measures. For additional information on how these measures are defined and why we believe they are meaningful, see the Glossary.

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Leverage and Liquidity

• Total principal amount of debt and finance leases: $13.3 billion
• Average debt tenor: Approximately 6 years, with ~94%not due until 2028 or thereafter¹¹
• Borrowing costs: Blended, fully-swapped cost of debt was 3.2%
• Liquidity: $5.3 billion, including (i) $1.6 billion of cash at September 30, 2022, (ii) $2.4 billion of investments held under SMAs and (iii) $1.3 billion of aggregate unused borrowing capacityunder our credit facilities

Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements with respect to our strategies, future growth prospects and opportunities; expectations regarding our and our businesses’ financial performance, including Rebased Revenue, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Distributable Cash Flow at the consolidated level, as well as the 2022 financial guidance provided by our operating companies and joint ventures; expectations of any macroeconomic dynamics that may be beneficial or detrimental to the company; expectations with respect to the integration and synergy plans at the VMO2 JV and at Sunrise, including the timing, costs and anticipated benefits thereof; expectations regarding network and product plans and initiatives; the expected progress of Project Lightning in the U.

Contacts

Investor Relations
Michael Bishop +44 20 8483 6246

Amy Ocen +1 303 784 4528

Michael Khehra +44 78 9005 0979

Corporate Communications
Bill Myers +1 303 220 6686

Matt Beake +44 20 8483 6428

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