Digi has presented its economic balance for the first quarter, which shows a rise in the Bucharest Stock Exchange, where it is listed, 15% since the beginning of the year. This fact occurs just after the 23% drop experienced during 2022. They are currently the fifth national operator with more than four million registered customers during the first quarter of 2023.
Its level of growth could even be higher if the merger with Orange and MoreMobile, currently under review by the competition authorities of the European Commission. If carried out, it would be consolidated as the fourth operator in Spain.
The growth of the Romanian telecommunications company is due to its aggressive rates, criticized by its main rivals for being considered unfair competition and branding it as a disruptive player in the Spanish market. Digi customers pay an average of less than 10 euros per monthwhich allowed the company to register 363,000 broadband customers and 824,000 mobile lines in the country during 2022.
Taking as a reference the last report presented by the analysts of barclaysthe company is recommended to overweight. Precisely at a time when investors have the possibility of making acquisitions both in Spain and in Romania, they also want to offer clients the option of fixed-mobile convergent rateswith more cross-selling and increasing the penetration ratio, as well as the scale economics.
Your growth forecasts
From Digi’s management leadership, it is expected that the company’s numbers in Spain will continue to grow until they reach 640 million euros at the end of the yearcompared to the 503 million euros harvested in 2022. If these figures are obtained, it would represent 37% of the capital of the Romanian group, closing the month of April with one million broadband lines in the Spanish market.
The growth forecasts are even higher for the coming years, since it is estimated that its turnover in Spain will touch 767 and 885 million euros in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Digi’s EBITDA in Spain is expected to reach €94 million in 2023rising to 120 million in 2024 and 148 million in 2025.
The keys to the merger of Orange and MásMóvil
Although the negotiations between the two telecommunications companies were announced in March and concluded in July 2022, they are still pending approval from the Spanish and European authorities, which is expected to arrive in the second quarter of 2023.
The competent bodies impose a series of remedies or legal requirements to authorize the merger. The most important would be compulsory sale, at a minimum price, of part of the infrastructure of the new conglomerate, in such a way that another operator would be in charge of exploiting the mobile and duplicate fiber network. There is also the option of increase obligations to share network or sell brands.
Faced with this incipient market opportunity, operators of the stature of Digi, Finework either Avatel They have shown their interest in these remedies, although for this both Orange and MásMóvil as well as the European Commission have contacted them to find out their intentions and set optimal conditions for both parties.
The last recorded cyberattack
The last few hours have been really critical for the Romanian telecommunications company in detecting unauthorized access to one of your systems to obtain information about the company’s customers. Although Digi denies that crucial data such as ID or full bank account number has been obtained, the company has announced that it has security mechanisms in place to quickly prevent this type of threat.
In addition, they have agreed reinforce security mechanisms and policy, reviewing their systems and placing the investigation of what happened in the hands of the competent authorities. At all times, and they have wanted to qualify it in their statement, they have ensured for accountability and transparency informing your customers at the moment.
