Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication Corp. Ltd (TLV:BEZQ)
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Earnings Call: Q2 2023

Aug 9, 2023

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Welcome everyone, thank you for joining us on Bezeq's 2023 Q2 earnings call. I am Tobi Fischbein, the CFO of Bezeq Group, and joining us from the senior management team, we have Mr. Gil Sharon, Bezeq's Chairman, Mr. Ran Guron, Bezeq's CEO, and Mr. Ilan Sigal, CEO of Pelephone and Yes. Before we start, I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement on slide 2 of our Q2 2023 investor presentation, which also applies to any statement made during today's call. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded. After presenting our quarter results, we will have a question and answer session. Let me now turn the call over to our chairman, Mr. Gil Sharon, for his opening remarks.

After his introduction, I will continue the presentation of our group financial highlights, followed by Ran, who will discuss Bezeq Fixed-Line results, and Ilan, who will cover the results from Pelephone and Yes. Gil?

Gil Sharon
Chairman, Bezeq

Thank you, Tobi. Let's start on slide 3. Our growth strategy, which we have been executing over the past two years, has led us to the highest quarterly adjusted net profit since 2017, and the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA since 2018. We're seeing continued group-level top line growth. In this quarter, revenues grew 3.3%, driven by growth in Bezeq Fixed-Line and Yes. We showed strong execution in our growth drivers, with robust fiber take-up in Bezeq Fixed-Line and Yes, as well as consistent growth in 5G subscriber plans in Pelephone. In accordance with our dividend policy, the board of directors recommended the distribution of a semi-annual dividend of ILS 392 million, or 60% of the net profit of the first half of 2023, reflecting an annual dividend yield of approximately 5%.

Lastly, sustainability continues to be a top priority for us as well. We're proud to announce that MSCI has upgraded us to a double A rating, showing our leadership and commitment to ESG. On the following slide, we show the technology and business roadmap so far. In Fixed-Line, we now have approximately 1.9 million homes passed, and total take-up of 457,000 subscribers on our network, resulting in a 20% increase in broadband ARPU compared to Q4 2020. For the midterm, our goal is to reach 2.7 million homes, or about 85% of Israeli households. In Pelephone, 5G subscribers reached 920,000, representing 35% of total subscribers, which led to 14% increase in service revenues compared to Q4 2020.

In the midterm, we expect 5G subscribers to reach 80% of all subscribers as we continue to provide excellent value to our customers. In Yes, our total IPTV subscribers reached 370,000, or 64% of total subscribers. We remain the largest Israeli IPTV operator, and we expect roughly all our Yes subscribers to migrate to IPTV in the midterm, leading to significant OpEx and CapEx savings. On the next slide, we present the group's financial highlights for the Q2 t hat shows that the group's revenue grew 3.3% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was the highest since 2018, and adjusted net profit was highest since 2017. Turning to the next slide, the group's operational highlights for the Q2 showed excellent results across the board.

For Bezeq Fixed-Line, fiber net adds were 73,000, with 44% growth year-over-year in fiber deployment. Additionally, retail internet ARPU continued to rise, increasing 8% to ILS 122. For Pelephone, cellular service ARPU, excluding interconnect fees, grew by 4.7% to reach ILS 45, with cellular service revenues, excluding interconnect fees, increasing by 2.9% to ILS 350 million for the quarter. For yes, total TV subscribers remained mostly stable compared to the previous quarter, and ARPU grew by ILS 1 year-over-year to ILS 185, despite the competitive market. Looking forward, we intend to continue our progress towards upgrading the technology and fully capturing the potential for future growth, with catalysts such as cloud and AI, driving another technology revolution.

All companies in the group across their fields of activity and are actively leading growth initiatives, allowing us to continue to lead the communication market in Israel. Now, let me turn the call over to Tobi to discuss the financial results in more details.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you, Gil. The next slide shows the group's key financial metrics for the quarter. Our revenues and profitability metrics beat consensus, with revenues up 3.3% year-over-year to reach ILS 2.3 billion, driven by an increase of 5.9% in Bezeq Fixed-Line and 6.3% in yes. Free cash flow was ILS 238 million for the quarter, a decrease of 33.7% due to changes in working capital. Turning to the next slide, for a comparison of the first half results, revenues, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net profit all grew compared to the corresponding period. Where we show the key operational metrics for the past five quarters.

On the subscriber side, we saw growth in both retail, broadband, Internet, and TV subscriber numbers year-over-year, with the second consecutive quarter of growth in the wholesale Internet subscribers. On the ARPU side of the slide, we saw an 8% increase in retail Internet ARPU. TV ARPU also grew year-over-year, driven by our agreements with international content providers, including our partnership with Disney. Cellular ARPU, excluding interconnect fees, increased by ILS 2. Turning to the next slide, we address our continued effort of reducing debt and maintaining a strong balance sheet. Net debt decreased by ILS 222 million for the quarter, or 4% year-over-year, to ILS 5.4 billion. The group's net debt to EBITDA ratio is at 1.6 times, from 1.7 times a year ago.

Both Israeli credit rating agencies upgraded their outlook from stable to positive in Q2. Moving to the next slide, we would like to highlight the upgrade in our yearly guidance. While other items remain unchanged, we now expect adjusted net profit of ILS 1.32 billion for the full year of 2023, up from the previously guided ILS 1.2 billion, a 10% increase. I will now turn the call over to Ran, who will share more detailed results from our fixed line operations. Ran?

Ran Guron
CEO, Bezeq

Thank you, Tobi. In the Q2 , we posted the highest quarterly revenue since 2012, reaching ILS 1.13 billion, an increase of 5.9%. We achieved the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA since 2018, reaching ILS 681 million, for a 5.6% increase. Fiber net adds was 73,000 in the quarter, and the number of home passed reached almost 1.9 million. As of today, we have 457,000 fiber subscribers. The next slide details the financial highlights for Bezeq Fixed-Line. Record growth in revenues and adjusted EBITDA, as mentioned. Adjusted net profit grew by 8.1% to reach ILS 267 million.

Free cash flow increased by 22.6% to ILS 287 million, mainly driven by improved in business results. On the next slide, we highlight half year results, which are positive across the board and show the same trend that we show for the quarter. The following slide shows our achievements as we reached revenues of ILS 485 million for the quarter, representing a 9.5% increase year-over-year. Little broadband line increased slightly year-over-year, and Internet ARPU increased by 8% to ILS 122 due to continued growth in fiber customers takeup. The next slide details our fiber takeup, which has accelerated both in retail and wholesale. On the retail side, the acceleration plan implemented in the second half of 2022 to improve takeup is clearly working.

In the Q2 of 2023, we achieved 43,000 net adds, to 289,000 as of the end of the quarter, and 308,000. This quarter has been the beginning to, we began to publish the fiber takeup in it. Total approximately 25,000 subscribers as of today. In the following slide, you can see that by the end of the Q2 , we passed almost 1.9 million homes, on track to reach 2 million homes target. We set our, in our guidance for the full year, and we are seeing good momentum in fiber takeup penetration in homes passed. Average broadband speed grew to 278 Mbps , reflecting a 70% increase year-over-year.

Moving forward to the next slide, we saw revenue growth across the board, except for the decrease in telephony services. Cloud and digital revenues grew by 7.2% year-over-year, driven by virtual exchange services, and other revenues were up 40% to reach ILS 91 million, mainly due to infrastructure projects. On the operating expenses slide, salaries were up slightly, mainly to the salary update and the employee recruitment relating to the fiber project. Operating expenses went up year-over-year due to higher subcontractor and material costs related to the fiber to fiber and other infrastructure projects, as well as timing differences in advertising spending. Moving to the next slide, to summarize, we have a very successful quarter in fixed line.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Widespread fiber deployment, together with accelerating take-up, drove ARPU to a new high. Growth in broadband and business sector revenues offset the impact of the MOC telephony tariff reduction. With that, I will now turn the call to Ilan to discuss Pelephone and Yes. Ilan?

Ilan Sigal
CEO, Bezeq

Thanks, Ran. Pelephone posted a 2.9% increase in revenues from services, excluding interconnect fees, driven by an increase in roaming revenues and growth in postpaid subscribers, including 5G subscribers plans. On the next slide, we show our continued turnaround in service revenues, excluding interconnect fees, which totaled ILS 350 million, compared to ILS 340 million in Q2 2022, and ILS 332 million in Q2 2019, which was pre-COVID. The next slide goes into Pelephone's financial highlights in more detail. Total revenues were down 2.3% due to the decrease in equipment revenues, partially offset by the increase in service revenues. Adjusted EBITDA remained stable at ILS 187 million. Free cash flow was lower due to upfront payment of frequency fees for 2023 and changes in working capital.

Moving to the next slide, revenues and adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2023 were stable and adjusted net profit declined 13% due to an increase in depreciation expenses, due to an update in estimated right-of-use assets for past periods recorded in the corresponding period. Moving on to operational metrics on the next slide, 5G subscribers rose to 898,000, or a 32.6% increase. Subscribers on 5G plans were 35% of total subscribers and 42% of postpaid subscribers as of today. Pelephone ARPU, excluding interconnect fees, increased by 2 ILS, driven by an increase in roaming and the transition to 5G plans. Moving on to Yes, on the next slide, as the largest IPTV operator in Israel, Q2 2023 was another strong quarter for us.

Revenues grew 6.3%, driven by the launch of TV+ Fiber Bundle , while TV ARPU grew due to our partnerships with international content providers, among other factors. We posted the highest pro forma adjusted net profit since 2016, reaching ILS 17 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of ILS 1 million in Q2 2022. The next slide shows the different phases we have been through at yes. As you can see, we went through a period of revenue erosion and had a year of stability beginning in the Q3 of 2021. Since the Q4 of 2022, yes has been in a very healthy growth mode.

Looking at the key financial highlights for Yes in the next slide, revenues increased for the third consecutive quarter by 6.3% to ILS 336 million, mainly driven by the TV+ Fiber Bundle launch and agreements with leading international content providers. Adjusted net profit was up significantly, reaching ILS 17 million, compared to a net loss of ILS 1 million in the corresponding quarter. CapEx rose 24.5%, which was impacted by timing differences between the first and Q2 of the year. Turning to the next slide, the half year results reflect the same trends in revenues and profitability. Free cash flow increased due to improved business results, as well as changes in working capital.

Moving on to the following slide, on operational metrics for yes, total subscribers were up 2.1% year-over-year, and 64% of yes subscribers are now watching IPTV. STINGTV subscribers reached 111,000 at the end of Q2 2023, and 18.1% increase year-over-year. ARPU grew ILS 1 year-over-year, despite the intense competition, and we are seeing continued growth in fiber subscribers for yes, which reached approximately 25,000 as of today. With that, let me now turn the call back to Tobi. Thank you.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you, Ilan. Moving on to Bezeq International. The first half results showed growth in profitability, with adjusted EBITDA growing 23.5% to ILS 100 million, and adjusted net profit growing from ILS 11 million to ILS 33 million due to cost savings and our continued focus and expansion in the B2B market. On the next slide, let me highlight the increase in adjusted EBITDA, which was up 6.5% for the quarter, mainly driven by lower expenses from reduced consumer ISP activity. Free cash flow totaled ILS 28 million, compared to ILS 1 million in the corresponding quarter, mainly due to changes in working capital. The next slide details the financial highlights for the first half of the year. As mentioned, we saw a positive trend in Bezeq International's profitability, with significant growth in both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit.

The increase in business service revenues was offset by a decrease in consumer ISP revenue following the regulatory reform. Free cash flow was lower due to payments for retirement plans in the first half of the year, as well as changes in working capital. Turning to the last slide, we had a terrific quarter, and we are focused on maintaining sustainable growth, powered by technological upgrades to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving world. The execution of our strategy continues to be successful, evidenced by revenue and profitability growth. Lastly, I would like to remind our listeners that after this call in English, we will hold an earnings call with Israeli investors and analysts in Hebrew. With that, I will open the Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question, please raise your hand virtually using the Raise Hand button in the Participants tab.

In the mobile app, you can raise your hand by tapping the Raise Hand option in the More tab. As you hear your name, please be sure to unmute your mic and ask your question. For the benefit of the people in the room, please introduce yourself and share the name of the company you represent. We will address questions as we see the hands raised. If you later change your mind about raising your hand, you can lower it by clicking Lower Hand. I will now pause to poll for questions. First question from David Kaplan. Hi, David.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Hi, David Kaplan from Psagot Securities. First question I have is on yes, on a pro forma basis, the OpEx was relatively flat this year. Revenues were up ahead of our expectations. How does that, how do I think about that going forward? Is that a sustainable result for yes, going forward? Was there a specific marketing program that was run in the quarter? When I look at it sequentially, it was significant growth versus... Sorry, when I look at it versus last year, there was a significant growth over last year, but sequentially, a little bit less. When I look last year, Q3 versus Q2, we also saw relatively flat growth. What should we be thinking about going ahead of for yes, the rest of this year?

Ilan Sigal
CEO, Bezeq

Thank you, David. There is a significant amount of work that had been done in, in Yes, in the past, in the past year. We see a few growth engines. First is the yes+ Basic Fiber, that helps growth of revenues and the partnerships that we have with Disney. That works very well, Netflix and Discovery. If you can see, the last year, we- our subscriber base grew by the 12%. I believe that those, those metrics will continue with us in the next few quarters. Also, the Yes bundle and the growth in packages with Disney, Netflix and Discovery.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Okay, one more quick yes, sir.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

I just wanted to add, on the financial metrics, you know, sometimes in, in certain quarters, there are, you know, specific things that have certain impact. There was a small content sale on Yes, which contributed to revenues. On the other hand, you know that we have a, you know, revenues from our partnership with Disney, which we didn't have in the corresponding quarter, as well as, you know, the bundle of Yes TV and basic fiber, which we didn't have in the corresponding quarter. Some of these activities are obviously profitable, so will contribute also to Yes going forward. Definitely, I think Yes is doing a great job in improving adherence, both business-wise and profit-wise.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Great. Just one more quick one on yes. The timing of the CapEx and the working capital there. Should we think about CapEx again going forward, more on an average basis of what we saw last year, around somewhere between ILS 45 million and ILS 50 million a quarter?

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

We don't give specific numbers.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Right.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

On the various companies, but, you know, when... You should look at it on a 12-month trading 12-month performance. You know, in yes, we shouldn't see significant increase in CapEx. Over time, you know, that they are making a great progress in migrating their subscriber base over to IP. Along with that, they should be able to generate both OpEx and CapEx savings, some of which will come later.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Great. One quick one on the fixed-line on the wholesale revenues for, for broadband or wholesale revenues in general, I think were relatively flat Q-on-Q. Last quarter we saw a big bump. I think that that was largely driven by the recent IRU, in part, or in part by the IRU with Partner. What are you seeing on that front, part of me would have expected to see continued growth trends this quarter, but those seem to have stopped. That's it for me, then.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Wholesale revenues for the sixth line, as you know, include, of course, not just Partner, but, you know, all the wholesale activity, which includes both copper and fiber, and including also some revenues from non-Partner fiber operators. What we are seeing now is, you know, a combination of continued growth in wholesale. As you can see, in the second consecutive quarter, where the total wholesale subscribers are growing, which was not the case 2 quarters ago. On the other hand, as you remember, we have reduced, you know, slightly the wholesale tariff, after, you know, reaching the IRU agreement with Partner, which is currently 72 shekels for the rest of the operators.

David Kaplan
Research Analyst, Psagot Securities

Great. Thanks very much.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you. Next question, I think it's from Andre, from UBS. Hi, Andre.

Andreas Joelsson
Research Analyst, UBS

Hi. Hi, everyone, Andre here from UBS. Thank you for the presentation and taking my question. Three questions for me, please. One is on the fiber homes passed. You're already at 1.9 million homes. Your full year, you know, target is obviously just above 2 million. If you continue the run rate that you've been doing in the first half, you're probably getting easy to like 2.2 or more. I was wondering, because you're not upgrading your CapEx guidance, what that actually means in terms of homes passed in the second half of the year. Are you going to slow down or are you going to maybe increase the CapEx guidance, or are you able to do, you know, more homes with the same CapEx envelope that you've been guiding for?

That's one question. Second question is on working capital. What kind of evolution do you expect for 2023? We've had a negative, you know, year-to-date situation, so what is the kind of outlook for the full year? Then third question, please. Just the sustainability or any visibility in terms of how these factors, the three factors that you highlight, have led to the increase in the net profit guidance, are kind of expected to continue in 2024 and beyond or not? Thank you.

Ran Guron
CEO, Bezeq

... I'll take the first one. We reached this year more than 2 million homes passed, and that this will be done approximately in the same area of CapEx that you're familiar with. We'll not increase CapEx. It's because we have a very good execution, and the company is able to do some, basically, using the same resources. We'll reach 2 million without any major change in CapEx, and we see that continuing for the following years. I don't have anything special to add here.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

I will take the other questions. Andre, the second one on working capital. We expect to have a solid, free cash flow year in 2023. What you see in a specific quarter or even in a first half of the year, is not necessarily representative of what we will see in the full year. You know, from time to time, there are certain changes or, you know, different timing in working capital. For example, we have paid at Pelephone for, you know, for some of the frequencies in advance in the Q2 for the rest of the year. That's why you see an increase in capacity over the year that was close to ILS 70 million.

On the other hand, you know, versus the corresponding quarter, we had a, you know, big change in the way we do the acquiring with the credit card companies at Pelephone and at Bezeq International, and that has resulted in a reduction in free cash flow in this second quarter. Overall, we expect to have a very solid, I would say, even a very good free cash flow year in 2023 despite the fact that we are not giving specific guidance on this metric. On the net profit guidance, correct me if I'm wrong, but you asked whether we can extrapolate from the increase in the guidance to 2024?

Andreas Joelsson
Research Analyst, UBS

Indeed, yeah. Whether any of those factors that are contributing are, kind of, as you say, extra... We can extrapolate them into, into next year.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

When we issued the updated guidance, we commented that it was driven mainly by changes in depreciation and amortization, and also financing expenses. I should also add that it was partly also driven by improvement in the business across the group, as you are seeing now in the Q2 and first half results. However, financing expenses is something that, you know, it's more difficult to guide, you know, more than a year ahead, because depends on inflation rate, depends on interest rates, depends also on some other elements, such as effects fluctuation, which are not under our control. In terms of the changes in depreciation and amortization, definitely yes, we expect to keep benefiting from those changes going forward.

This is why I think that, you know, there are good reasons to believe that, we will continue to, you know, deliver solid results, despite the fact that, again, we are not, at this point in time, guiding specifically into 2024.

Andreas Joelsson
Research Analyst, UBS

Thank you very much. Just 1 follow-up on the first question. What I meant is that, if you continue in kind of passing, you know, 150,000 or more homes per quarter, by the end of the year, you should be, you know, significantly above 2 million homes passed. My question was, will you slow down the rollout in the second half? If you get to, say, 2.2 under the current run rate that you're doing, is that still kind of something that you can do with the current CapEx envelope?

Ran Guron
CEO, Bezeq

Well, from our calculation, we won't be significantly, significantly above, 2 million homes passed. 2.2 is too high, so, I suggest you take it offline with the team, but it will be approximately, 2 million homes passed. I would like also to mention that we will have some CapEx invest-investments that are not related to the fiber project. We are building some data centers and other investments. This, this will be in, in 2024, maybe, as a one-time investment. Generally saying, we're keeping the same pace, and we don't have any intentions to slow down, next year.

Andreas Joelsson
Research Analyst, UBS

Thank you very much.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you, Andre. next question from Tavy Rosner, from Barclays.

Tavy Rosner
Director of Equity Research, Barclays

Hi, thank you for the presentation. I wanted to ask about regulations. I think a couple of months ago, we discussed the potential new regulation, which would allow the Israeli institutional to own more than 5% in Bezeq. Has the new regulation been passed already, or, you know, when is the expected timing, as far as you know?

Gil Sharon
Chairman, Bezeq

It's almost there. It's just waiting for the Prime Minister last signature. Minister of Communications has already signed on it, and it's now just waiting for the last signature.

Tavy Rosner
Director of Equity Research, Barclays

Okay, thanks for that. Also on regulation, I mean, foreign investors often ask us about the political landscape, and regulation comes up often, especially these days. Is there anything that worries you? Any specific angle that you think would be detrimental to Bezeq? I can think of pricing, I can think of, you know, all kind of different aspects. Is there anything concrete or you're comfortable?

Gil Sharon
Chairman, Bezeq

As far as we know, there's nothing concrete right now. As, as we said in the past, wholesale tariffs are on the table for quite a while, so there could be some decision on that. We've discussed that in the past. It could have impact on us, but not very significant. And there was the issue, as you remember, of examination of the business sector on the fixed line, although we don't know of any progress made by regulator on that either. As far as we see right now, we do not see something very significant on, on the agenda for the near future.

Tavy Rosner
Director of Equity Research, Barclays

Okay, thank you. Then last one on dividends. You know, if we assume flat CapEx going forward and revenue growth, you know, you would generate incremental free cash flow. When, when do you, when will you plan on reviewing the, the, the current payout policy?

Gil Sharon
Chairman, Bezeq

As, as we said, recently, our policy was upgraded from 50% to 60% of net profit. We did say that we will examine next year, also going up to 70%. We will examine next year.

Tavy Rosner
Director of Equity Research, Barclays

Great, thank you.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you, Tavy. Next question from Yaxin Yu from Jefferies.

Speaker 8

Hi, thank you for taking my question. I have two. Could you just give us a bit more color into the nature of OpEx savings in subsidiaries, specifically Pelephone and yes, quarter, whether this is a sustainable trend? Secondly, a potential for an upgrade to guidance for EBITDA, or do you see a slowdown to EBITDA in the next couple of quarters coming?

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

I'll take those questions. Thank you. On OpEx savings at YES and Pelephone. Pelephone, you know, the, that impact primarily the OpEx in the Q2 results was actually the decline in handset sale. Now, it goes together. When the handset revenues go down, also the handset costs go down, so it's mostly related to that. And at YES, you know, there are a, a, you know, continued, you know, cost rationalization program going on. It doesn't, you know, kick in every quarter in the same manner. And also, the timing of content expenses is not necessarily linear along the year. And this specific quarter, there were less expenses, you know, related to content than in previous quarters. But again, it's timing differences. Second question, could you just repeat that, please?

Speaker 8

Yep. Do you see any potential for an upgrade to the EBITDA guidance with the current EBITDA trajectory?

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Right. When we just updated our guidance for the adjusted net profit, we remained our adjusted EBITDA guidance unchanged, despite the fact that, you know, that our adjusted EBITDA result for the first half of the year has been quite strong. I would say that there's a slight upside to what we have guided, but remember that in the July 1st, already we had the second and last step down of the telephony tariff reduction reform. Our EBITDA in the second half of the year will not necessarily be the same for, for the fixed-line as in the first half, and there are some other elements that could impact that as well.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thank you so much.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you. Next question from Sebina, from Bank Leumi. Hi, Sebina.

Speaker 9

Hi. First of all, congratulations on the quarter. I have 2 questions. The first one is regarding the fixed segment, the infrastructure. When I'm examining the subscribers base, I basically see that your retail subscribers base is going down, and the wholesale is going up. I was wondering, because you do, you do have additions of fiber subscribers, but the copper is going down rapidly. I was wondering, what should I assume regarding the trend going forward? Also eventually, like, for the midterm perspective, how the breakdown between the retail and the wholesale customers will look like. The 2nd question is regarding Pelephone.

I was just hoping to get some additional color regarding equipment sales, which were relatively weak for the quarter, and also the contribution of the 5G to the improvement of the ARPU, which doesn't seem very significant still. I was wondering, like, you have 42% of post-paid subscribers with 5G packages. I always ask this question because every quarter I'm looking to see more more improvement in this field, but I still doesn't see so. I was wondering, when should I see it in the results? Thank you.

Gil Sharon
Chairman, Bezeq

Thank you.

Well, I'll take the first one. Internet customer base is relatively stable. Well, in, in my point of view, going up 3,000 or down 3,000 doesn't mean a lot. So basically, you can say that the retail internet customer base for Bezeq is stable.

Ran Guron
CEO, Bezeq

wholesale is, is stable as well, if, if you take it in general terms. Yes, we see a lot more fiber, both in wholesale and in retail, replacing copper. That, of course, happens, and driving ARPU up. The customer base is stable. If you take it to the group level, Yes, it's growing rapidly. We just revealed the figures, the metrics for Yes. It's, it's around 25,000 internet fiber customers. If Bezeq is stable and, Yes, it's growing, while Bezeq International is losing some customers because of focusing in the business segment, in general, the group is stable, but one day in the future, Bezeq International will stop losing customers.

Yes, we'll continue to grow, and we see we are very optimistic on the prospect that the group will grow in the number of total Internet customers as well. For the fixed line, we see it as a stable and a healthy change between corporate and fiber.

Ilan Sigal
CEO, Bezeq

Hi, Sabina. About the, the equipment in Pelephone, this is a global trend. We see a decline, a decrease in the end, handsets, around the world. Also, Samsung and Apple showed a decrease in, in shipments, and it's also happening in Israel. Also, the microeconomic environment also reflects. we expect new handsets launch on the second half of the year, iPhone 15 and another, another Samsung launch. That will be in the second half of the 2023. About the ARPU, you're right. We see a, a very positive contribution of the 5G subscribers and also roaming services. Israel is traveling a lot this quarter, and I believe in the next quarters also. on the other hand, we see changes.

One is the end of the Ministry of Education project. That was last year. That impacted the ARPU. I estimate that you will see the impact of the ARPU in the next quarters.

Speaker 8

Thank you.

Tobi Fischbein
CFO, Bezeq

Thank you, Sabina. If there are no further questions at this time, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to join us today. If you have any follow-up questions, please feel free to contact our investor relations department. We look forward to speaking to you on the Q3 of 2023 earnings call. Thank you all.

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