Silknet, a leading telecoms operator in Georgia, reported a strong financial performance in 2022, with a revenue growth of 14.4% y/y, primarily driven by mobile data, - according to Galt&Taggart report.
The company’s impressive performance extended into the 1Q23, with revenue up 19.0% y/y, reaching GEL 125.4mn. This growth in 1Q23 was primarily driven by organic growth as well as the repackaging and pricing adjustments.
The company maintained its revenue market shares in key segments - mobile, fixed broadband, pay-TV and fixed voice in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA reached GEL 284.1mn, marking a noteworthy 24.8% y/y increase in 2022. Furthermore, in 1Q23 the adjusted EBITDA was up 31.8% to GEL 78.9, with the appreciation of GEL contributing positively to improved profitability both in 2022 and 1Q23. The company successfully achieved significant deleveraging by reducing its net debt to EBITDA ratio to 1.6x in 2022 and further to 1.3x in 1Q23 from 3.3x in 2020.
We anticipate a low double-digit revenue growth in 2023, driven by mobile data. The growth will be supported by prevailing industry trends such as increased use of digital services for work and entertainment, e-commerce, data-heavy social media platforms and greater tourism revival to some extent. Fixed broadband and Pay-TV revenues are also expected to grow, while fixed voice revenues will continue to decline. Overall, we expect commercial revenue to increase by 13.7% y/y to GEL 486.6mn in 2023, while we forecast the company’s adjusted EBITDA to reach GEL 322.9mn in 2023, translating into a solid 60.8% EBITDA margin including IFRS 16.
