Sunrise said its revenue in Q1 2025 declined by 3.3 percent year-on-year to CHF 722.1 million, impacted by weaker device sales due to subdued demand for newly launched mobile phones and a reduction in TV gifting volumes bundled with broadband subscriptions.
Customer growth partially offset these declines, and the right-pricing strategy affected revenue, Sunrise said.
Adjusted EBITDAaL increased slightly by 0.4 percent to CHF 240 million, driven by cost efficiencies and phased marketing spend.
However, adjusted EBITDAaL less Capex declined by 10.7 percent to CHF 96.9 million, primarily due to increased investments in network infrastructure and customer premises equipment (CPE).
Capex of Sunrise rose by 9.5 percent to CHF 143.1 million, representing 19.8 percent of revenue, reflecting significant investments in the 5G SA network and customer equipment.
Adjusted free cash flow (FCF) was CHF -116.5 million, influenced by higher Capex, semi-annual interest payments, and supplier payments, typical for the first and third quarters.
Sunrise maintained its guidance for the full 2025 financial year, expecting broadly stable revenue, stable to low-single-digit growth in adjusted EBITDAaL, a Capex-to-revenue ratio of 15–16 percent, and adjusted FCF in the range of CHF 370–390 million.
In Q1 2025, Sunrise strategically focused on long-term customer relationships over short-term acquisitions by implementing price increases and reducing promotional activities, resulting in slower customer growth but slightly higher operating profit year-on-year.
The introduction of 5G Standalone (5G SA) positioned Sunrise as the only European operator with a nationwide 5G SA network, reinforcing its leadership in network innovation. The company continued to emphasize customer loyalty with the upcoming “Swiss Connect” mobile portfolio, aimed at reducing churn and deepening customer relationships.
Additions of Sunrise subscribers included 12,000 mobile postpaid RGUs and 5,000 broadband Internet RGUs, with a stronger performance in B2B broadband partially offset by lower inflow in B2B mobile. Customer churn declined, and the fixed-mobile convergence rate (FMC6) increased by 1.5 percentage points to 58.3 percent as of March 31, 2025, reflecting successful cross-selling efforts, Sunrise said.
TelecomLead.com News Desk
