Segment results

Swisscom’s reporting focuses on the operating divisions Swisscom Switzerland and Fastweb. The other business divisions are grouped together under Other Operating Segments. Swisscom Switzerland comprises the customer segments Residential Customers, Business Customers and Wholesale, along with the Infrastructure & Support Functions business division. Fastweb is a telecommunications provider for residential and business customers in Italy. Other Operating Segments primarily comprises Swisscom Directories Ltd (localsearch), Swisscom Broadcast Ltd (radio transmitters) and cablex Ltd (network construction and maintenance).

The Infrastructure & Support Functions business division does not charge any network costs or management fees to other segments for its services. The remaining services between the segments are charged at market prices. Network costs in Switzerland are budgeted, monitored and controlled by the Infrastructure & Support Functions segment, which is managed as a cost centre. For this reason, no revenue is credited to the Infra­structure & Support Functions segment within the segment reporting, with the exception of the rental and administration of buildings and vehicles. The results of the Residential Customers, Business Customers and Wholesale segments thus correspond to a contribution margin before network costs.

Swisscom Switzerland

Swisscom Switzerland’s revenue decreased slightly by 0.6% or CHF 23 million to CHF 4,044 million. Revenue from telecoms services decreased by 1.2% or CHF 33 million to CHF 2,689 million. Of the decrease, CHF 25 million (–3.1%) is attributable to the Business Customers segment; revenue from telecoms services in the Residential Customers segment remained almost stable at CHF 1,919 million (–0.4%). In contrast, revenue from IT services with business customers rose by 1.6% to CHF 583 million. Market saturation is reflected in fewer connections and declining subscriber bases for broadband retail (–0.7%) and TV (–2.1%). Fixed network telephony (–7.2%) is significantly affected by its substitution with mobile telephony. In mobile telephony, the number of subscribers increased slightly (+0.6%), while the customer structure changed due to an increase in postpaid lines (+164,000) and a similarly strong decrease in prepaid connections (–126,000). The share of secondary and third-party brands in the Residential Customers segment rose from 25% to 30%.

The operating expense decreased by 5.6% or CHF 131 million. Direct costs fell slightly by 0.5% to CHF 816 million. The costs for subscriber acquisition and retention increased, while the costs for purchasing services and merchandise decreased. Indirect costs fell by CHF 127 million (–8.5%) and were influenced primarily by non-recurring items in connection with provisions for legal proceedings. In the first half of 2023, provisions for legal proceedings of CHF 10 million (net) were reversed with an effect on EBITDA. In the same period of the previous year, provisions of CHF 82 million had been recognised with an effect on EBITDA. Excluding these items, indirect costs fell by CHF 35 million (–2.5%). In telecommunications, cost savings of CHF 40 million were realised through efficiency improvement measures and optimised network maintenance. In the area of IT services, indirect costs rose by CHF 5 million. Headcount increased year-on-year by 1.0% to 13,054 FTEs. The increase can be attributed primarily to the acquisition of Axept Business Software AG in the current financial year. Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up by 6.2% or CHF 108 million to CHF 1,856 million. Without the non-recurring items mentioned, it increased by 0.9% or CHF 16 million. The decline in revenue from telecoms services was more than compensated for thanks to ongoing cost-cutting measures. Capital expenditure increased by 8.7% or CHF 66 million to CHF 821 million mainly due to the expansion and upgrading of transport networks. Swisscom plans to increase fibre-optic coverage (FTTH) to around 55% by the end of 2025, and to 70–80% by 2030.

Fastweb

Fastweb’s revenue rose year-on-year by 4.3% or EUR 52 million to EUR 1,251 million. Competition remained fierce. The customer base in the fixed-network business (end-customer and wholesale) grew by 2.1% overall to 3.16 million. Although this fell by 3.0% to 2.63 million in the end-customer business as a result of the value strategy pursued by Fastweb and due to the challenging market environment, the number of ultra-fast broadband connections provided by Fastweb to other operators rose to 532,000 (+37.8%). Among end customers, the share of ultra-fast broadband connections increased by 3 percentage points to 88%. The number of mobile access lines increased by 538,000 (+19.2%) to 3.34 million, with bundled offerings continuing to play an important role here. 42% of broadband customers used a bundled offering combining fixed network and mobile. Revenue from residential customers increased by 1.4% or EUR 8 million to EUR 580 million, mainly as a result of the greater mobile customer base. Revenue from business customers increased by 6.0% or EUR 30 million to EUR 527 million, driven by the strong market position in the area of public administration. Revenue from wholesale business increased by 11.9% or EUR 15 million to EUR 141 million due to the higher number of subscribers.

Operating expense and operating income before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased due to revenue growth and were influenced by the recognition of provisions for legal proceedings in the amount of EUR 13 million in the first half of 2023. Without this effect, operating expense rose by EUR 44 million (+5.5%) and EBITDA by 2.0% or EUR 8 million to EUR 411 million. Capital expenditure fell by 0.7% to EUR 297 million due to a decrease in customer-driven investment. Headcount increased by 8.2% or 237 FTEs to 3,117 FTEs as the company took on external staff and the growth created a need for more personnel.

Other Operating Segments

Revenue in Other Operating Segments remained almost stable year-on-year at CHF 501 million (+0.2%). Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 33.7% or CHF 28 million to CHF 55 million due primarily to one-off charges in connection with customer projects and lower operating income from localsearch (advertising and directory platform business for Swiss SMEs). Accordingly, the profit margin fell to 11.0% (prior year: 16.6%). Headcount increased by 2.0% or 66 FTEs to 3,326 FTEs, partly as the result of an acquisition in the previous year.

Depreciation and amortisation, non-operating results

Net income rose by 8.0% to CHF 848 million. The increase in operating income was partly offset by the deterioration in the financial result. The financial result decreased mainly due to positive effects of CHF 62 million from the valuation of interest rate swaps at market value in the previous year. Income tax expense was CHF 203 million (prior year: CHF 200 million), corresponding to an effective income tax rate of 19.3% (prior year: 20.3%).