CANAL+ Cyfrowy adds 170,000 subscribers in 2009

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

CANAL+ Cyfrowy – Very Good Financial Results For 2009

In 2009 CANAL+ Cyfrowy achieved very impressive operational results, with EBITDA of PLN 244 m and revenues of PLN 1,279 m. CYFRA+ also expanded its customer base to 1.55 m (from 1.38 in 2008).

2009 was a successful year for CANAL+ Cyfrowy, which despite more difficult market conditions, the Company achieved very good results. In comparison to 2008, the client base of CYFRA+ grew by 12% (from 1.38 to 1.55 m), revenues increased by 24% (from PLN 1,034 to 1,279 m), and EBITDA increased by 10% (from PLN 222 to 244 m). The Company’s results demonstrate that its business strategy is effective and successful.

“We achieved very good sales results in 2009, similar to one or two years ago, in spite of an unfavourable market situation. This is a trend that we are going to continue. Our aim is to maintain high profitability and to become a leader in terms of revenues. We make every effort to ensure our business activities are effective, we implement a consistent programming policy based on superior content and advanced technology, we support it with strong marketing efforts while, at the same time, focusing on maximizing the satisfaction of our subscribers. I am confident that 2010 will also be good for the Company, as was the previous year” – said Bertrand Le Guern, President of the Management Board, CANAL+ Cyfrowy.

Impressive financial results have been achieved due to, among others, effective marketing and sales strategies, an enhancement of the offer with new programs, channels and services, as well as fully capitalizing on the attractiveness and potential of CYFRA+. The results were also influenced by the fact that clients most often decided to choose higher packages and premium options as they value a rich programming offer.

Summary Of 2009

In 2009 CANAL+ Cyfrowy intensively developed a package of services based on state-of-the-art technologies. As the first platform in Poland, CYFRA+ introduced a multiroom service and enabled its subscribers to receive the signal of Terrestrial Digital Television owing to DVB-T tuners built in the HD decoders. 2009 was also a period of development of the VOD offer – e.g. CANAL+ Cyfrowy signed a contract with The Walt Disney Company Limited, under which CYFRA+VOD enriched its offer with hit series available to subscribers as quickly as several days after their premieres in the United States. In turn, the portfolio of CYFRA+ channels was enhanced with 10 new channels, two of which are in High Definition.

In 2009 the Company also developed its own premium and thematic channels, building their wide distribution and investing in programming rights and the attractiveness of its offer. The DOMO channel – the youngest brand in the Company’s portfolio – in the previous year dynamically expanded its reach and is now watched in as many as 2.37 m households. The previous year also meant a busy calendar of events which were organized and co-organized by the Company’s brands: Ale kino World Films Festival, Planete Doc Review or Kuchnia.tv Film Food Fest, as well as Feature Films Festival in Gdynia and Era Nowe Horyzonty, which CANAL+ participates in. Moreover, CANAL+ relaunched its Football Oscars polland initiated the Round Table Talks for Polish Football. The Company was also involved as a co-producer in cinematographic projects “Flying Machine” and “The Essence of Killing”.

Plans For 2010

CANAL+ Cyfrowy is going to continue its current business policy by maintaining stable growth of CYFRA+ customer base and high profitability, enhancing its programming offer and ensuring the highest quality content, including strengthening the attractiveness of the Company’s brands, developing new services, as well as continuing the strategy of strong marketing and sales campaigns. The Company plans to expand its portfolio of clients at the current pace. This year the Company’s main objective is also to reinforce the satisfaction of CYFRA+ clients and widen the scope of specific services, e.g. such as VoD or multiroom, to all of the Company’s subscribers.