Spanish fibre operator Jazztel has applied to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for €150m in financing to help fund a €590m fibre network rollout project.
The EIB said that the application is currently under appraisal.
Specifically, the financing…
Spanish fibre operator Jazztel has applied to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for €150m in financing to help fund a €590m fibre network rollout project.
The EIB said that the application is currently under appraisal.
Specifically, the financing will be used to roll out Jazztel’s fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network. The project includes investments in the backbone network and IT systems.
The Madrid-based operator is deploying its FTTH network in several cities simultaneously, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga and Seville.
In its Q1 report, Jazztel said the fibre roll-out was progressing in a “satisfactory” manner, according to schedule and business plan estimates.
In its 2013-2017 business plan, the company says it aims to reach about two million broadband users by 2017 (equal to a 16% market share), including 600,000 on the fibre network. It aims to reach more than 2.3 million mobile customers by the end of 2017.
Jazztel posted revenues of €541.7m for Q1 2013, up 12% from Q1 2012. EBITDA stood at €41.1m, up 5% from the same period last year. Net debt at the end of Q1 this year totalled €33.3m, down 57% on the Q1 2012 result. The net debt/EBITDA ratio equalled 0.19x. In its Q1 report, Jazztel noted that its minimal debt puts it in a “very comfortable position to undertake its FTTH investments”.
In May, the operator signed a €60m financing agreement with BBVA to fund equipment purchases from Chinese vendor Huawei.
