Iliad grows in Q1: profit driven by data centre sales
The French telecommunications group closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR 522 million. CEO Reynaud referred to Italy: 'M&A is a possibility, not a necessity'
2' min read
2' min read
2025 is off to a good start for Iliad. The French telecommunications group closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR 522 million, more than five times the EUR 93 million of the same period last year. But the jump is largely explained by an extraordinary transaction: the sale of 50% of the subsidiary OpCore (which groups Iliad's data centres in France and Poland) to the InfraVia fund, which yielded EUR 466 million.
Net of the one-off event, the accounts remain solid. Consolidated revenue rose 4.3% to EUR 2.535 billion, driven by growth in the three key markets: France (+3%), Italy (+9.4%) and Poland (+5.3%). Ebitdaal - the operating indicator adjusted for depreciation, amortisation and stock options - came to EUR 931 million, +6% year-on-year, with a slightly improved margin (36.7%).
The most interesting dynamic for the Iliad group (50.7 million total users in the territories in which it operates) comes from Italy and Poland. In the Italian market, Iliad picked up 218 thousand new mobile users and 40 thousand in fibre, bringing revenues to 298 million (+9.4%) and Ebitdaal to 89 million (+24%). The accounts in the Peninsula - where Iliad has exceeded 12 million users - remain in the red, but the loss is almost halved from 61 to 36 million, as is the operating loss, which is halved from 42 million to 21 million.
As for the timing and possible negotiations for an integration with Tim, CEO Thomas Reynaud, reports Reuters, threw water on the fire. "In Italy, consolidation makes sense for everyone, industry, companies and citizens. For Iliad, it's an opportunity, but not a necessity," he said, adding, "Many people talk about consolidating the telecommunications market in Italy, but there are no discussions going on."
In Poland, growth is more moderate but steady: EUR 607 million in revenues (+5.3%) and EUR 264 million Ebitdaal (+13.1%). The situation in France is more cautious. The domestic market slowed down after years of strong expansion: revenues grew by 3% to EUR 1.63 billion and Ebitdaal stopped at +0.9%, penalised by rising costs - especially personnel (+10%) - and an increasingly competitive mobile market.
