Proximus: Domestic EBITDA Up by 1.9%, Proximus Global Weighs on Group
On Wednesday, Proximus Group announced its first quarter results for 2026, marked by a clear divergence between its two business segments. While the domestic segment saw an increase in EBITDA and maintained a strong customer base, Proximus Global experienced a significant decline in margins and revenue, impacting the group's overall profitability. This duality raises questions about the group's ability to improve its international operations.
Domestic Stability, Customer Gains Grow Despite Competitive Pressure
The domestic segment concluded the first quarter of 2026 showing relative resilience. Domestic EBITDA reached 435 million euros, up by 1.9% year-on-year pro forma, supported by a stable direct margin and a 1.7% decrease in operating expenses. This cost control primarily resulted from the reduction in provisions for property taxes following the sale of the headquarters in 2025, and cost-cutting efforts that offset wage indexing and transformation investments.
Commercially, the domestic segment recorded net gains of 17,000 Mobile Postpaid cards in a highly competitive environment. Convergent offers attracted an additional 14,000 customers to the residential segment, bringing the convergent base to 1,234,000 customers, an annual increase of 4.3%. The total number of fiber lines (residential and Business) reached 776,000 by the end of March, marking an increase of 45,000 lines over the quarter. Conversely, TV lost 14,000 subscriptions and fixed voice lost 53,000, confirming the structural erosion of these traditional services.
Domestic Revenue Slightly Down Despite Positive Signals
The underlying revenue of the domestic segment was set at 1,184 million euros, down by 1.7% year-on-year pro forma. This decrease was mainly due to a contraction in IT hardware revenue in the B2B sector, which compared to an exceptionally high base in 2025. The residential segment, however, saw a 1.5% growth in overall revenue, driven by a 2.3% increase in customer service revenue, fueled by commercial performance and price adjustments related to inflation in January 2026.
Convergent revenue grew by 4.2% year-on-year. The Business segment, on the other hand, experienced a 6.0% pro forma decline, affected by the contraction in IT hardware. Business services contracted by 2.3%, reflecting the erosion of traditional fixed voice and competitive pressure on mobile services, partially offset by an increase in internet revenue.
Proximus Global: Recovery Underway Amidst Headwinds
Proximus Global continued to face structural challenges in the first quarter of 2026. Its revenue fell by 18.8% year-on-year to 354 million euros (-12.5% at constant exchange rates). EBITDA decreased by 34.3% (-28.7% at constant exchange rates) to reach 33 million euros, although the decline in direct margin was limited compared to the previous two quarters.
This deterioration resulted from a less favorable mix of destinations for P2P Voice & Messaging activities and the structural decline in the CPaaS SMS market, particularly single-use password solutions. However, the group has begun to invest in targeted growth initiatives, with operating expenses amounting to 70 million euros, down by 4.6% annually but up by 3.8% quarterly.
