Even if Wind Tre pivots as Fastweb’s subsidiary advances the carrier’s interests, the carrier remains the frontrunner to sign a deal with Vodafone Italy
Swisscom has announced a 1.9% salary increase in 2024, following negotiations between the company and its social partners, the trade union Syndicom and the employees’ association Transfair. The increase will benefit approximately 10,000 Swisscom employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.
To account for inflation, most employees will receive a general salary increase, but the amount of the increase will vary depending on position within the pay range. A further portion of this amount will go towards individual salary increases. Employees whose salary exceeds the salary range will be paid a lump sum.
Given the current vulnerabilities in all markets, the Transfair union said that while it expected further expansion, the agreement was an “acceptable compromise given market conditions”. The paid deal follows the company’s fiscal 2023 results last week, in which profits rose 4.9%, primarily due to its Fast Web business in Italy.
The group’s EBITDA in 2023 was 4.62 billion Swiss francs ($5.29 billion), compared with analysts’ expectations of 4.61 billion Swiss francs ($5.29 billion), according to consensus compiled by the company. Fastweb’s revenue increased to 2.63 billion euros (up 6.1% year-on-year). Swisscom expects sales of around CHF 11 billion in 2024 (up from CHF 11.07 billion last year). It expects full-year EBITDA to be in the range of CHF 4.5 billion to CHF 4.6 billion.
The Italian carrier grew revenue from both its business and wholesale markets, as well as its customer base, even as its core broadband market struggled in a competitive market. “Our Italian subsidiary Fastweb is also starting to move. The company has been growing continuously for 10 years,” said Christoph Eschlimann, CEO of Swisscom.On top of that).
Italy’s twists and turns
The Italian market is rapidly consolidating, and Vodafone Group recently confirmed it was in “active discussions” with Swisscom over the fate of its local unit. Vodafone last month rejected a proposal from Iliad to combine its Italian operations, saying it was “pursuing other transactions”. Iliad later confirmed that Vodafone had rejected a 50:50 amendment to create a new operator with a total enterprise value of €14.7 billion.
If Vodafone and Iliad had combined, they would have become the Italian market leader, overtaking Telecom Italia and CK Hutchison’s Wind Tre. Following a speed-dating approach to partnerships in the Italian market, CK Hutchison announced that the sale of his 60% of network assets to his EQT Infrastructure in Sweden, which was first agreed on May 12, 2023, will be It has just been announced that the project has been terminated due to prior conditions. Closing is not met by the agreed longstop date of February 12, 2024. ”
CK Hutchison said it will continue to explore the possibility of alternative infrastructure transactions that could create value for the company, including a potential infrastructure transaction with EQT Infrastructure if the right opportunity arises.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Italia’s partnership with Fastweb, which has a fiber-optic network and provides mobile through a network sharing agreement, will not face as tough regulatory hurdles as the partnership with Iliad, but the potential synergies low, analysts said. Reuters. A Swisscom spokesperson declined to comment on the matter in an email to Reuters, saying the company would not issue any further statements.