It has an investment plan of 2,000 million in case it is a beneficiary of the ‘remedies’ of the merger between Orange and MásMóvil
MADRID, 10 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Digi plans to launch its VoLTE (voice over long term evolution) service in the last quarter of the year, that is, 4G calls, something in which the company has invested one million euros and which involves a improvement in the quality of calls, while not contemplating raising their prices despite the inflationary scenario.
This was stated by the CEO of Digi in Spain, Marius Varzaru, in an interview with Europa Press, in which he also indicated that the VoLTE service will be applied to all the company’s clients for free.
“We hope that by the fourth quarter of this year we will launch VoLTE services for our clients, which is one more step to complement and also improve the quality of the technological offer that we have for our clients,” stated the manager.
On the other hand, and in a context in which, according to various analysts, Digi is the best positioned to take on the possible ‘remedies’ that may be imposed to give the green light to the merger of Orange and MásMóvil in Spain, Varzaru has indicated that the company, if it finally takes over the assets that both Orange and MásMóvil have to divest from, would be in a position to invest around 2,000 million euros in the next seven years.
“For us the ‘remedies’ are not a prize, we consider them a responsibility. We have the commitment to make significant investments to be the winners of the ‘remedies’ of the merger. If we get hold of them, we will be able to invest 2,000 million in a plan within 7 years that would generate the hiring of 1,500 employees,” he stated.
Along these lines, for Varzaru the most interesting assets that could be captured are those linked to the mobile telephone spectrum, networks, equipment and antennas.
“We believe that in order to maintain the level of competition in the market, what is important is that part of the mobile telephony spectrum or the networks, equipment and antennas that MásMóvil has leased could be relevant and interesting assets that would be necessary to be able to maintain the level of competition,” he stressed.
In this scenario, Varzaru is confident that Digi will become the fourth major operator in the Spanish market. However, the manager has ruled out that the company is going to carry out merger or acquisition operations to gain volume.
“We are a company that grows organically and we like this model. We are ‘business builders’ and we are focused on this model,” he stressed.
On the other hand, he has also stressed that at this time there is no intention to incorporate funds or new shareholders to Digi in Spain.
Regarding the prospects for the end of this year, Varzaru has indicated that the company’s objective is to end the year with a turnover of around 600 million euros (compared to 501 million in 2022), which would mean a year-on-year increase. 20%
On the other hand, the company’s forecasts aim to end the year with a gross operating profit (Ebitda) of 100 million euros, 25% more than the 80 million euros of the previous year.
As for customers, their estimates include closing the year with 4.5 million mobile lines and 1.25 million broadband customers. In this sense, at the end of the first half of 2023 the company had 4.3 million mobile lines and 1.1 million broadband customers.
Likewise, Varzaru has indicated that Digi will begin to offer pay television services in Spain. “In recent years we understand that, through what our clients transmit to us, there is a demand to offer a complete service and we are working in our style on a pay television model developed within the house”, he highlighted.
In this way, the company’s plan is to offer this type of services “in the coming quarters” to “complement” its offer, something with which they consider that they will “provide additional value” to their clients through a “quality product at a competitive price.”
Regarding the possibility of embarking on new lines of business, Varzaru has ruled out that Digi is going to offer energy services, as other companies in the sector have already done.
On the other hand, Digi’s chief executive in Spain has assured that the company is not considering raising its rates despite the inflationary environment.
“As for the evolution of inflation for the coming years, we believe that we can maintain our business model. It is also a business model that is beginning to demonstrate that it is profitable and efficient and can offer quality products at very competitive prices. and at the same time create value for society, because in the end we are creating a lot of employment,” he highlighted.
“We believe that we will be able to continue and maintain this price level that we have for the coming years under this inflation estimate,” he added.
