French operator intends to increase margins, and become second biggest mobile and major fibre player.
Bouygues Telecom said on Friday that it intends to increase its subscription revenues by at least 40% by 2026 while increasing its profitability, with fibre and the integration of Euro Information Telecom (EIT) as its main drivers.
It plans to add 3 million fibre customers and to integrate its recently approved under acquisition, EIT, into its operations: EIT is a subsidiary of the banking group CIC-Credit Mutuel, which specialises in mobile telephony.
Exclusive distribution
In addition to gaining 2 million new subscribers, Bouygues has also gained an exclusive distribution partnership: Crédit Mutuel and CIC networks have 4,200 local branches and 30,000 customer advisers
The operator is a family-run company that derives most its sales from construction, but telecoms is its fastest-growing division. At the end of September, it had 12.3 million mobile subscribers at the end of September, compared with Altice’s 14.6 million and Orange’s 22.5 million.
The operator said it has been successfully implementing a “sustainable and profitable growth strategy,” which according to its CEO, Richard Viel, “[makes] Bouygues Telecom the operator with the fastest sales growth on the French market and among the very first in Europe”
More growth
Further spurs to growth include new initiatives in B2B and wholesale, as well as B2C sectors, and making better use of the expertise and skills of its employees.
The financial targets of the Ambition 2026 strategic plan are to generate in 2026:
• over €7 billion in sales from services;
• EBITDA after leases of around €2.5 billion with an EBITDA after leases margin of around 35%; and
• free cash flowof around €600 million.
Bouygues Telecom is celebrating 25 years since its launch and says it was the first to offer quad play and has consolidated its position in the smartphone circular economy with its a 4R mobile strategy (Repair, Recover, Refurbish, Recycle).