PARTNER COMMUNICATIONS REPORTS

THIRD QUARTER 2021 RESULTS1

QUARTERLY ADJUSTED EBITDA2 TOTALED NIS 250 MILLION

NET DEBT2 TOTALED NIS 666 MILLION

QUARTERLY CELLULAR SUBSCRIBER GROWTH TOTALED 49 THOUSAND

PARTNER'S FIBER-OPTIC SUBSCRIBER BASE TOTALS MORE THAN 200 THOUSAND

AS OF TODAY

THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS IN BUILDINGS CONNECTED TO PARTNER'S FIBER- OPTIC INFRASTRUCTURE TOTALS MORE THAN 660 THOUSAND AS OF TODAY

COMPLETION OF MAJOR ROLLOUT PHASE OF FIBER-OPTIC INFRASTRUCTURE

BROUGHT FORWARD TO END OF 2022 INSTEAD OF DURING 2023

Third quarter 2021 highlights (compared with third quarter 2020)

  • Total Revenues: NIS 837 million (US$ 259 million), an increase of 5%
  • Service Revenues: NIS 672 million (US$ 208 million), an increase of 6%
  • Equipment Revenues: NIS 165 million (US$ 51 million), a decrease of 2%
  • Total Operating Expenses (OPEX)2: NIS 467 million (US$ 145 million), a decrease of 2%
  • Adjusted EBITDA: NIS 250 million (US$ 77 million), an increase of 23%
  • Profit for the Period: NIS 24 million (US$ 7 million), an increase of NIS 29 million
  • Adjusted Free Cash Flow (before interest)2: NIS 9 million (US$ 3 million), a decrease of NIS 12 million
  • Cellular ARPU: NIS 48 (US$ 15), a decrease of 6%
  • Cellular Subscriber Base: approximately 3.02 million at quarter-end, an increase of 9%
  • Fiber-OpticSubscriber Base: 192 thousand subscribers at quarter-end, an increase of 72 thousand subscribers since Q3 2020, and an increase of 19 thousand in the quarter
  • Homes Connected (HC) to Partner's Fiber-Optic Infrastructure: 624 thousand at quarter-end,an increase of 192 thousand since Q3 2020, and an increase of 53 thousand in the quarter
  • Infrastructure-BasedInternet Subscriber Base: 365 thousand subscribers at quarter-end,an increase of 54 thousand subscribers since Q3 2020, and an increase of 11 thousand in the quarter
  • TV Subscriber Base: 226 thousand subscribers at quarter-end, an increase of 2 thousand subscribers since Q3 2020, and an increase of 3 thousand in the quarter3.
  1. The quarterly financial results are unaudited.
  2. For the definition of this and other Non-GAAP financial measures, see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this press release.
  3. In the second quarter of 2021, the Company removed from its TV subscriber base approximately 21,000 subscribers who had joined the company at various times and had remained in trial periods of over six months without charge or usage.

1

Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel, November 29, 2021 - Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner" or the "Company") (NASDAQ and TASE: PTNR), a leading Israeli communications provider, announced today its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

Ms. Osnat Ronen, Chairperson of Partner's board of directors, noted:

"Partner continues to execute its business strategy, maintain a strong balance sheet, continue the accelerated fiber deployment, grow in the cellular segment, and hit its financial goals. The Company achieved a quarter of healthy growth in its core operations, in both the cellular and fixed-line segments. On behalf of Partner's Board of Directors, I would like to thank Partner's management, headed by Avi Zvi, for their efforts and for the good results."

Commenting on the results for the third quarter 2021, Mr. Avi Zvi, CEO of Partner, noted:

"Partner exceeded the three million cellular subscribers mark for the first time in almost a decade, and continued to reduce the churn rate to the lowest level since 2011. This achievement is a major part of our strategy to invest in customer service and technology, in order to maintain our customers' high loyalty levels owing to their satisfaction with the service we provide.

Along with the improvement in operational indicators, the Company has been engaged over recent months in assembling a new management team and formulating Partner's strategy for the coming years, continuing the 5G cellular network deployment and, of course, accelerating the 'Private Fiber' infrastructure deployment, that expands the Company's value chain, from a services provider to a provider of services and infrastructure.

As of today, Partner has more than 222 thousand fiber-optic subscribers, from within over 662 thousand households in dozens of municipalities around the country that have the ability to connect to Partner's fiber-optic network without delay. By the end of 2022, we expect that approximately one million households will be able to connect and enjoy Partner's fiber-optic experience across the country.

In an era of frequent technological changes that have an impact on consumer behavior, Partner aspires to position itself as a leading company in the Israeli communications market on account of its standing as the driving force in the fiber-optic revolution in Israel and being the first to implement a 'Super-Aggregator' model in television services.

Indeed, during the current quarter we continued to transform the Partner Group and its work processes to become simpler and more accessible, in particular regarding our customers' service experience, at the same time as working to preserve the human capital which is the source of the Company's strength.

In the last few days we were notified of the signing of an agreement for the sale of the controlling shares of Partner to a group of investors led by Shlomo Rodav and Avi Gabbay. This acquisition,

2

should it be completed subject to the required approvals, is first and foremost a vote of confidence in Partner's strength and in the capabilities of the Company and its employees.

I would like to thank Partner's devoted employees and the Board of Directors for striving for excellence, for setting challenging goals and for their full backing."

Mr. Tamir Amar, Partner's Deputy CEO & Chief Financial Officer, commented on the results:

"This was another quarter where growth in cellular service and fiber-optic service subscribers together with a moderate return of roaming service revenues led to service revenues growth. These factors, along with relatively low OPEX, resulted in a double digit growth rate in Adjusted EBITDA compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Our cellular subscriber base exceeded three million subscribers for the first time since 2012, an increase of 49 thousand in the quarter, of which 16 thousand were subscribers of voice packages provided to students with a fixed twelve-month package by the Ministry of Education. The churn rate in the third quarter of 2021, which totaled 6.4% compared to 7.3% in the corresponding quarter last year, was positively impacted by the Jewish holiday period that was held in the third quarter this year and by the continued decline in the level of subscriber switching in the market. ARPU totaled NIS 48 in the quarter compared to NIS 51 in the corresponding quarter last year, the decrease mainly reflecting the continued price erosion, although to a lesser degree, together with an ease in the impact of COVID-19 as was reflected in a decrease in interconnect revenues from incoming calls, on the one hand, and a moderate increase in roaming service revenues on the other hand, as stated above.

In the fixed-line segment, the acceleration of the fiber-optic deployment continues. The Company now expects to complete the major rollout phase of its fiber-optic infrastructure by the end of 2022, earlier than the previous expectation to complete the major rollout phase during the year 2023.

The number of Homes Connected (HC) within buildings connected to our fiber-optic infrastructure reached 624 thousand at the end of the quarter, an increase of 53 thousand in the quarter compared to an increase of 36 thousand in the corresponding quarter last year, despite the negative impact of the Jewish holiday period on the number of workdays. Partner's fiber-optic subscriber base totaled 192 thousand at the end of the quarter, reflecting a 31% penetration rate from potential customers in connected buildings. Partner's fiber-optic subscriber base increased by 19 thousand in the quarter, similar to the increase in the corresponding quarter last year, and by 53 thousand since the beginning of the year.

Regarding our television services, as a result of tariff updates, a significant decrease in the rate of growth of the customer base was recorded, with the subscriber base growing by three thousand in the third quarter of 2021.

The level of OPEX decreased compared to the corresponding quarter last year, impacted mainly by decreases in interconnect expenses and in wholesale internet expenses, which were partially

3

offset by an increase in payroll and related expenses, largely reflecting the positive impact of COVID-19 on payroll expenses in the corresponding quarter last year.

Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2021 totaled NIS 250 million, an increase of 23% compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Looking ahead, the Company expects that in the fourth quarter of 2021, due to the continued increase in air travel, the moderate recovery in roaming service revenues will continue compared to the corresponding quarter last year, but to a lesser degree than in third quarter due to the impact of seasonality. However, a retreat is possible in the future in view of possible implications of COVID-19 variants for air travel.

Adjusted Free Cash Flow (before interest and including lease payments) for the quarter totaled NIS 9 million, and CAPEX payments for the quarter totaled NIS 172 million.

Net debt stood at NIS 662 million at the end of the quarter, compared with NIS 646 million at the end of the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of NIS 16 million. The Company's net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio was 0.8 at the end of the quarter, demonstrating the continued financial robustness of the Company."

4

Q3 2021 compared with Q3 2020

NIS Million (except EPS)

Q3'20

Q3'21

Comments

The increase reflected growth in fixed-line and cellular

Service Revenues

631

672

services from subscriber growth in cellular and fiber-

optics, with an increase in cellular roaming services

The decrease reflected lower revenues in the fixed-line

Equipment Revenues

169

165

segment that was partially offset by a higher volume of

equipment sales in the cellular segment

Total Revenues

800

837

Gross profit from equipment sales

38

37

The decrease mainly reflects decreases in interconnect

expenses and in wholesale internet expenses, which

OPEX

475

467

were partially offset by an increase in payroll and related

expenses, largely reflecting the positive impact of COVID-

19 on payroll expenses in Q3 2020

Operating profit

20

49

Adjusted EBITDA

204

250

Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage

26%

30%

of total revenues

Profit (Loss) for the period

(5)

24

Earnings (Losses) per share

(0.03)

0.13

(basic, NIS)

Capital Expenditures (cash)

147

172

Adjusted free cash flow (before

21

9

interest payments)

Net Debt

646

662

Key Performance Indicators

Q3'20

Q2'21

Q3'21

Change QoQ

Post-Paid: Increase of 49 thousand from Q2'21

Cellular Subscribers (end of

2,762

2,970

3,019

(including 16 thousand voice packages from

period, thousands)

Ministry of Education)

Pre-Paid: Unchanged from Q2'21

Monthly Average Revenue per

51

48

48

Cellular User (ARPU) (NIS)

Quarterly Cellular Churn Rate (%)

7.3%

7.2%

6.4%

Fiber-Optic Subscribers (end of

120

173

192

Increase of 19 thousand subscribers

period, thousands)

Homes Connected to the Fiber-

Optic Infrastructure (HC), (end of

432

571

624

Increase of 53 thousand households

period, thousands)

Infrastructure-Based Internet

Subscribers (end of period,

311

354

365

Increase of 11 thousand subscribers

thousands)

TV Subscribers (end of period,

224

223

226

Increase of 3 thousand subscribers.

thousands)

5

This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.

Attachments

  • Original Link
  • Original Document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

Partner Communications Company Ltd. published this content on 29 November 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 29 November 2021 08:09:08 UTC.