DNA Plc's Financial Statements Bulletin 2017: DNA's net sales and operating result reach record levels in 2017

DNA PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 2 FEBRUARY 2018 AT 8:30 AM EET DNA arranges two news conferences today. News conference for media and analysts is held at 10:00 am Finnish time at DNA House. Conference call for analysts and institutional investors is at 2:00 pm Finnish time. Details of the events...

London, 02/02/2018 (informazione.it - comunicati stampa - telecomunicazioni)

DNA PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 2 FEBRUARY 2018 AT 8:30 AM EET

www.dna.fi/investors

Unless otherwise stated, the comparison figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in the previous year (reference period).

The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.46 per share and a capital payment of EUR 0.17 per share from the reserve for invested unrestricted equity, in total EUR 0.63 per share, be distributed for the financial period ending 31 December 2017. The Board also proposes that an extra capital payment of EUR 0.47 per share be distributed from the reserve for invested unrestricted equity. In total, the Board's proposal is to distribute EUR 1.10 per share.

DNA's net sales and comparable operating result are expected to remain at the same level as in 2017. The Group's financial position and liquidity are expected to remain at a healthy level.

Figures are unaudited.

*Group key figures

DNA's first year as a listed company has been successful in terms of achieving our strategic and financial objectives. DNA's net sales and operating result reached record levels in 2017. The growth of our mobile subscription base and favourable mobile billing gave our mobile service revenue a significant boost of 12.1 %.

In 2017, our net sales increased 3.2% to EUR 886.1 million, fuelled by the growth in service revenue. Mobile device sales were up considerably from 2016. Our comparable operating result grew 24% and was EUR 126.6 million, or 14.3% of net sales (11.9%). As planned, our operative capital expenditure remained at a lower level year-on-year.

DNA's operative free cash flow increased 26% to EUR 138.9 million from 2016. DNA has a strong balance sheet which gives us the opportunity to engage in new potential business opportunities also after the Board of Director's proposal for distributable funds.

Our mobile communication network subscription volumes were up 69,000 from 2016. DNA's revenue per user (ARPU) improved and was EUR 18.4 in 2017, compared to EUR 17.1 in 2016. Our ARPU was strengthened by 3G subscribers switching to high-speed 4G subscriptions. Competition remained intense throughout 2017, affecting our CHURN rate which increased to 18.3% from 16.1% in 2016. Our broadband and cable television subscriptions increased in total by 29,000 in 2017.

According to a report released by telecommunications analysis and consulting company Tefficient in December 2017, DNA's customers had the highest mobile data usage in the world per subscription in the first half of 2017: DNA's data volumes per subscription averaged 14.7 gigabytes (GB) per month. During the third quarter of 2017, the volume had reached 16.5 gigabytes. Finland is among the top countries in the world in mobile data usage per subscription. This is due to high-quality connections, pricing models that include unlimited data transfer as well as low price of mobile data.

In recent years, we have made significant investments in our personnel's know-how, data systems and analytics tools to create omnichannel customer experience. This has produced positive results: in November 2017, DNA won the title of Digital Leader 2018 in the study measuring digital maturity in the Nordic countries*.

Our customer satisfaction improved further in 2017. DNA's Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures customer satisfaction by the likelihood that a customer would recommend the product or service, improved further. Our personnel satisfaction continued to improve, too, for a third consecutive year. DNA received the Great Place to Work® certificate as proof of high job satisfaction. Satisfied and motivated employees are a crucial foundation for our ability to provide an excellent customer experience now and in the future.

We expect both DNA's net sales and comparable operating result in 2018 to remain at the same level as in 2017. The Group's financial position and liquidity is expected to remain at a healthy level.

Jukka Leinonen
President and CEO

communications@dna.fi www.dna.fi/investors

www.dna.fi/investors

www.dna.fi/investors

Jukka Leinonen, CEO, DNA Plc, tel. +358 44 044 1000, jukka.leinonen(at)dna.fi
Timo Karppinen, CFO, DNA Plc, tel. +358 44 044 5007, timo.karppinen(at)dna.fi
Marja Mäkinen, Head of IR, DNA Plc, tel. +358 44 044 1262, marja.makinen(at)dna.fi
DNA Corporate Communications, tel. +358 44 044 8000, viestinta(at)dna.fi