Let me start with a story. Albert Einstein once sat an exam at Princeton, and when one of his students has pointed out that, look, questions are the same as it was last year, he replied, "Yes, but answers have changed." This is exactly the essence where we are today. The world is changing, and so are we. The questions in our industry always remain the same. How do we grow? How do we create value? How do we make sure to win over the competition? Some answers have changed. We know the answers. We know how to win the future. I must confess that I am very excited to work for the telecommunication and tech industry, and excited already for many years. Today, telcos are an indispensable part of the digital economy. Its backbone.
We all know that the future is about pervasive, omnipresent connectivity, which is providing the foundation for the digital services of tomorrow, with AI embedded in our life. Our role in the digital economy is crucial for what lies ahead. Now, let's talk about where we are today. Over the past few years, we built a solid foundation. We have positioned ourselves to meet the connectivity and digital services needs of the market. The result speaks for themselves. Our journey is just beginning. The future is not something which just happens to us. It is something which we are actively shaping. Let's take a closer look at what we have achieved and what is next for Orange Polska. Our dot growth strategy has given us a solid foundation. When we set it back in 2021, it was ambitious.
We have delivered on all our targets, setting the sustainable commercial growth model reflected in financials and shareholder return. If you remember, the DOT growth presentation event took place online, as it was in the middle of the COVID lockdown. It was a moment of recognizing the essential role of telcos in our life. Now, four years later, this role is even further reinforced when the accelerated path of new technologies is reshaping our habits, the way we live, work, learn, entertain. We see it, for instance, in our mobile traffic, which has been almost doubled in four years, or our fiber, our flagship product and main driver for our growth. Customer base, retail customer base, has more than doubled in four years, and wholesale base has been increased six times.
Over this period, we achieved an 11% growth in revenue, a 19% increase in EBITDA, and a solid surge in organic cash flow. These results are not only reflecting the transformation of our business, but also position us perfectly for the next phase of growth. We are ready to scale, innovate, and lead into the next era. There are still a lot of opportunities. The market is still having great potential for the growth of very fast internet. The driver is very clear, i t is not connectivity by itself. It is digital services for consumers and businesses which are driving this demand. Today, Orange Polska is a market leader in all key segments. Our success is built on best connectivity, with Orange Fiber as our stronghold, reaching already 60% of Polish households, with leading technology for speed and for quality.
Our 5G deployment plan allowed us as well to position us as a benchmark for mobile network performance in 2024. For business customers, Orange is already much more than a telco. Along with a strong position in our core market, we are a number three IT integrated services provider in Poland for both companies and for the public sector. In everything we do, we are driven by customer passion, which is reflected in the best NPS on the market, number one choice for convergence, and our reputation as the number one trusted brand. All these results are reflected in a loyal and highly engaged customer base. All of this is made possible by our strong and engaged team, which is our greatest asset to drive and driving forth behind all this growth, motivated by our shared purpose to empower everyone in a safe digital world.
The DOT growth plan put us in motion and brought us to this point. Now we are ready to take it to the next level, ready for the future. Let's see now how this future looks like. Let's try to jump four years ahead. Imagine that you are in 2024, and the Polish market is a fantastic place to be. The Polish economy has grown at a solid base with an average of more than 3% per year. By 2028, connectivity demand has grown significantly for individuals, families, and businesses, and they are able and willing to spend more for digital services. In 2028, 2 million more homes are using fiber, a 25% increase from 2024. Additionally, there are 3 million more mobile connections joining, reflecting the growing adoption of smart devices and applications.
It is all about how people live, work, and entertain, boosting the increased demand for data. We are in a totally new dimension of the digital era. We have connected devices all around us, facilitating our life and work. Just imagine, there are 200 million more connected devices in Poland in 2028 if we compare to 2020. This emphasizes the importance of a seamless, sustainable, secure, and open network to support this growth. In 2028, most companies, including even small businesses, are operating digitally. This is our new reality. Digital transformation is booming, and the IT and IS market drives it and benefits from it, adding PLN 12 billion in overall revenue. EU funds dedicated to digitalization played an important stimulus for public and private sectors. We are the backbone of this transformation, powering the digital future of the country, society, and our customers.
The new strategy is about this future, leading the future. What is behind this name? Why lead the future? Because the future is not something we wait for. It is something we create. I have an analogy of the architect of tomorrow. It is not just about building the bridges to tomorrow. We are designing the entire city. The future isn't just a destination. It is a masterpiece we are creating brick by brick with technology and innovation as our blueprint. It is not about following in others' footsteps, but to create our own path. And we know how to do it. How can we describe Orange Polska in 2028? What do we stand for? I define this destination by three key elements. First is customer champion.
Orange is the most loved and trusted provider of digital services in Poland for individuals and families, the best one for connectivity, whether we speak about at home, at work, or on the move, and the preferred interface to the digital world, connecting to entertainment, gaming, content, learning, all tailored to customer needs. For companies, the most trusted for ICT and digital transformation, helping them to grow and explore the potential offered by technology. Other two elements define our know-how. The second stands for the unmatched connectivity that we provide thanks to our omnipresent, resilient, reliable, and performing network. The third one stands for the innovation leader. We are bringing technological advancements that are changing everyday life. How are we going to do it? Our new lead the future strategy is the framework for our success.
It is built on four pillars, and each one is a key to unlocking the future. First is the growth. It is the main pillar based on our commercial engines, and it remains the main motion of this plan. We bring it to the next level, driving innovation and unlocking new opportunities to fuel our future. Second is about enhancing our infrastructure. It is a prerequisite for growth. It is like the work of great engineers building bridges, connecting communities, creating pathways, and ensuring stabilities for generations to come. Our network is a bridge to the future. As for the third pillar for the transformation, I'm inspired by great Renaissance thinkers who didn't just build on the past, but they have imagined what has been never there before. We are rethinking the way we work, building on new possibilities equipped with new innovative tools like data, AI, automation.
Moving forward and coming to the fourth pillar, empowerment. It is the ability to move hearts and minds. Our people, with their right ownership mindset and equipped with new skills, are true catalysts driving our growth and transformation. All of this coming to a sustainable value creation for all stakeholders as a result. Some of you may find these words exaggerated, but I think that sometimes we need bold inspirations to move forward. Now we are gathering all our best assets to push the growth and value creation to the next level. I will invite you now to see a small video which will be presenting our first pillar.
[Foreign language]
Nice testimonials from our customers. The growth. We are taking our growth to the next level as we pursue our successful convergence strategy, and we are capturing new households and driving growth with a fully integrated digital experience. Scaling on IT and IS, where we are opening new opportunities beyond telco, unlocking commercial growth in the booming digital economy. For consumers, we do not just connect; we empower.
Customers do not just choose us; they love us for our digital connectivity and the trust we build. Digital well-being is at our core. What do I mean by digital well-being? Orange leads in creating peace of mind for our customers in the digital age. Just in 2024 alone, we have blocked more than 3 million malicious SMSs and secured more than 5 million customers from phishing. This demonstrates our commitment to customer protection in the digital world. Convenience means the best innovation and seamless experience. Simplicity, entertainment that perfectly fits in the way we live. Examples are 8 gigabit per second super fast internet, which we launched last year, or superior Wi-Fi 7 technology for home network, which we brought to the market in premiere in January this year, or our unique 100% digital flex offer, or advanced cybersecurity. We do not just connect; we create possibilities.
Our commitment to our customers is clear. We understand customer needs, and we go beyond expectations to enrich their lives. All of this is to be the first choice for consumers today and tomorrow, from brand perception to connectivity and to experience. I will not surprise you and start our commercial strategy for households with convergence. It has been in the center of our commercial strategy for many years. We have been leading it. Market followed us, and it is still on the growing trend. Here I want to underline that convergence is not just a trend. It is a proven value driver. It remains a cornerstone of our strategy. Just to remind you, during four years of DOT growth, convergent revenue increased by almost 50%. We are consistently increasing the number of customers and ARPU.
From a customer point of view, convergence means all telco needs in one-stop shop, a simple offer at a better price. This win-win situation results in a higher customer ARPU and also an increased customer loyalty. To recap, DOT growth strategy has demonstrated that convergence and value creation coming from it are driving forces behind our success, and we will continue mastering this strength to take it to the next level. In the future, we will explore new growth possibilities for convergence, capitalizing on expanding our Fiber and 5G footprint and cross-selling. We will be supported by a constantly improving AI-driven customer value management platform. With AI-enabled personalization, we demonstrate to families that Orange is the best place for all their services. As a result, over the next four years, we want to grow the number of convergent customers and our ARPU by a solid double-digit percentage.
We are the convergent leader, and our goal is to stay on top. In the future, we want to take convergence to the next level. Our new focus will be reaching new families, expanding our presence, and fostering new relationships to encourage choosing Orange products and driving loyalty. We know how to do it. We will be building these relations gradually, upselling more services and creating a new pool for growth for convergence. We aim to attract an additional 500,000 Polish households to choose Orange offers in the next five years. How will we win them? How will we win customers? We know that every customer is unique, so we are creating a smart ecosystem for every family. All-in-one solutions for tech lovers or budget-conscious or digital-first customers.
Our strategy is grounded in flexibility and freedom of choice, whether it is mobile, fiber, TV, standalone, or bundled. We leverage strong, flexible, multi-brand offers and hyper-personalized AI models to ensure every customer gets exactly what they need. We will build the future together with our customers to ensure sustainable growth and becoming first choice for consumers. This is our strategic approach for consumers. Let's now move to business. For us in business, being a clear leader in telco across all categories is not enough. Growing our IT and IS operations and adding 60% more revenue since 2020 and becoming a number three player on this market is also not enough. Orange Polska is already a benchmark for an integrated and successfully performing model.
Now, what we are doing, we are taking our unique position to the next level growth with a new wave of value from IT and IS, even more integrated engine, setting yet a new standard for their industry. We will be riding in the next wave of digital transformation. The IT and IS market is expected to grow rapidly, much faster than telco. That is where the biggest potential lies. It very well aligns with our strategic goals. Digitalization becomes a necessity. The demand for digitalization within Polish companies and the public administration will grow, particularly as a considerable part of small businesses are still outside the digital ecosystem. It is clearly an opportunity for us. The demand is fueled by booming new technologies like AI, big data, and IoT, which support automation and robotization. Businesses need next-gen solutions like SD-WAN, 5G, IoT, or e-commerce.
We have already established the leadership with larger customers for IT and IS, and we are targeting now small companies' growing need for it. With our state-of-the-art connectivity and comprehensive ICT offering in IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and software services, we are uniquely positioned to deliver end-to-end solutions to business. We are well positioned to lead. By 2028, IT and IS revenues will double compared to 2020 and will be reaching PLN 2 billion. Let's capture on this momentum and go inside. Already now, the most significant share of our revenues from large corporate and public customers comes from IT and IS. Telco connectivity represents a smaller part. This is a robust foundation, and it positions us well to elevate our operations to the next level.
To continue our growth in the IT and IS market and meet customer expectations for next-level transformation, we need to adapt to the unique characteristics of this business. It is project-driven and people-centric. Unlike the subscription-based telco model, in IT and IS, the demand may fluctuate. We need different motivation schemes and greater agility. To address this, we are implementing a more integrated organizational model that groups our competencies under one roof. This approach will enhance our strong position in infrastructure, security, and software. It will also enable us to scale next-generation solutions based on 5G, IoT, multi-cloud, and AI. With an integrated model, we are unifying our strengths in IoT, M2M, SD-WAN, colocation, and cloud security. The model will enable us to capture the full benefits of the technological shift and to drive commercial excellence, and as well to unlock the full potential of our strategic partnerships.
We aim to become a leading player on IT and Integration S`ervices market in Poland. Our position in small and medium-sized businesses is different. IT and IS services currently represent a smaller share in our revenues, with core telco dominating. We will reinforce our leadership in connectivity while exploring new opportunities for growth. We will expand our offering beyond telco to provide essential digital services for this segment. Small and medium-sized businesses depend on the connectivity provided by our networks. We will maximize the value of core telco business with smart AI-driven tools. It has been already a part of our value strategy in mobile. It helped us to increase our ARPU by 11% in the past four years. Small business, medium business must quickly adapt to the digital world. They turn to us for the guidance.
They need a partner who can help them navigate this transformation. Orange is here. With our integrated IT and IS services, we provide tools businesses need so much to succeed. From cloud to cybersecurity, Orange is the best fit to support their growth and success. We are the leader in this digital journey. Moving forward to wholesale, our third solid growth engine. We are focusing our position and we are reinforcing our position as a one-stop shop offer for our telco operators, focusing on delivering exceptional customer experience. With the growing demand in the market, it is a clear opportunity to expand in wholesale and further monetize our assets. Wholesale fiber monetization is key for both Orange and Światłowód Inwestycje, our fiber core joint venture. In Orange, we will increase the fiber customer base by 50% by 2028, adding to the monetization of our infrastructure.
In Światłowód Inwestycje, our JV, we plan to expand the foothold even more after a very successful first phase of investment, which will end in 2025. Wholesale will remain a significant value-accretive business line in Orange Polska. Now we are moving to another pillar, and I invite you to watch another video.
[Foreign language]
Our network, it is at the core of everything we do. It is not just expanding; we are enhancing and reinforcing it. 5G unlocks new possibilities for superior connectivity, innovation, and advanced services.
We are reinforcing our leadership in fixed network, delivering future-ready infrastructure. This is the foundation of our growth. We are investing in the future of connectivity to secure our leadership in an evolving digital landscape. The next four years will be the 5G era. We will cover with 5G network almost entire Poland. First, how we will do it with focus on quality, efficiency, and resilience, and using the most efficient spectrum and world-class energy-saving practices. What will be the business benefit? More capacity to carry ever-growing data traffic, new business opportunities, which will reveal based on 5G with its capability and speed and latency in slicing for specific use cases, ability to provide fast broadband proposition for customers living in areas where there is no fiber, thanks to new low-frequency spectrum.
Ten years ago, we started our fiber investment, and at that time, it was a bold move and unique on the market. Today, it is hard to believe that there were a lot of doubts at that time if such investments are necessary. As a result, Orange became a synonym of fiber in Poland. We also created the largest fiber wholesaler. What is now on our plan on fiber? By 2028, our fiber will reach an additional 3 million households. We will deploy it mostly through Światłowód Inwestycje, which we own 50%, and through other trusted fiber co-ops. Our own investments will be concentrated on building within EU-subsidized projects in highly prospective areas. In parallel to expansion, we will further boost the usage by customers of our existing infrastructure, maximizing take-up and reinforcing our leadership in fixed network by improving its quality.
Now I invite you to the next section with another video.
[Foreign language]
Transformation, it is a must, not just a buzzword.
Our next pillar, transform and innovate, is about redefining the way how we operate. 360-degree profound transformation to increase agility, efficiency, and productivity. We are automating, integrating AI, and reshaping to scale faster. This transformation is key to future-proofing Orange Polska, driving long-term value and enabling us to capture new opportunities. We have been never stopping transforming and reinventing ourselves, but now we bring it to the new level. We are much, much better prepared to do it thanks to last developments. I will bring you just a few examples. Our big data is now migrated to cloud. That allowed us to increase performance with 10 up to 100 times. Data governance is in place and let us multiply by 10 the speed of AI models creation. We established a secured, responsible environment for AI use cases.
90% of employees are trained in new skills with data and AI, cyber, cloud, robotic process automation of different levels. Sometimes it is more generic training, sometimes more advanced. For instance, I will give you an example. It resulted in 800 active citizen developers among our employees who are not professional developers, but now they're equipped to work with UiPath robotic process automation tools. We do have over 140 projects implemented with AI engines inside. Small and big, some targeted revenue boost, some operational efficiency, and we learned lessons. We are much better prepared for the future. I will exemplify our 360-degree approach via focus on four areas, showing how we redefine the way we operate and serve our customers.
Digital sales and care, streamlining customer interactions with AI and self-service, automated smart network, enhancing efficiency with AI-driven maintenance and self-installation, lean processes and organization, optimizing operations via process re-engineering, lighter assets, lighter assets base, reducing complexity through strategic decommissioning. I will bring a few examples. Like looking on digital, our ambition is to be the digital operator for Poland. We have made significant progress in digitalizing our sales and care during dot growth. One in four transactions that we make now are run through digital channels. We want to further grow it to 35% and more. Digital channels carry less cost for us to acquire customers, but the most important is that at the same time they are able to respond much better and faster to the needs of the customer, bringing best customer experience. How will we grow? My Orange app remains the key tool.
We are constantly improving it, adding new useful functionalities for our customers. Supported by GenAI, it will be taken to the next level, vastly improving personalization. We will also focus on customer engagement in-app and improve sales processes. Our digital offer flex will be as well expanded with new acquisition tools. Max, our bot, has been supporting our customer care for years already. Today, 100% of our inbound calls are taken by Max. We want to take Max to the next level, equipping him with the power of AI agents enabled by GenAI. We have already introduced Orange AI agents in flex, and results are very promising. 40% of contacts are successfully handled by AI agent, and we are planning further implementations. We are also finalizing the implementation of GenAI technologies to support the work of our service advisors.
For instance, we will apply GenAI prompts for care advisors dealing with technical issues. We will continue to optimize our networks. The power of AI, again, becoming central. We are improving field force efficiency with AI-empowered dispatching and routing of technicians. We are enhancing productivity and responsiveness. This leads to faster, more efficient service for our customers. We are also making significant steps in network automation. Our goal is to move toward zero-touch cognitive network, one that anticipates needs, manages capacity, and ensures reliability all through AI-driven processes. This is the future of network operations where efficiency and innovation come together to serve our customers better. Leading the future as well means to phase out legacy technologies to make room for next generations. During this, we also curb costs and optimize our asset base, contributing to better return on capital employed.
Firstly, 3G, it will be switched off by the end of this year, and spectrum will be reused for 4G and for 5G. Secondly, of course, copper. We decommission it progressively, and we do it based on profitability area by area, migrating customers to modern technologies, followed by copper cables, extraction, and sale. Finally, we plan to finalize the disposal of our real estate, which we do not use anymore. We have been doing it for many years. It generated cash proceeds and lowered maintenance costs. Over the past 10 years, we generated close to PLN 2 billion in proceeds. During four years of DOT growth, our operating costs, thanks to this program, were cut by more than PLN 40 million. Now to introduce the fourth pillar, again, I invite you to watch a video.
[Foreign language]
Our people. People are the true driver of our success by fostering an entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial culture, empowering individuals with the right mindset. We unlock their potential even more. This is how we build the leadership and innovation needed to shape the future, making sure that we attract and retain top talent who will lead us forward. We are building a winning team, engaged and focused on execution and result, with a strong drive for efficiency to achieve our goals. Our entrepreneurial culture is rooted in customer passion and innovation, focused to create an agile and responsive organization.
As the best employer, we attract and we develop top talent, fostering a work environment where people thrive and contribute to our long-term success. Coming back now to our purpose, to empower people in a safe digital world. It is a very inspiring mission. It drives us forward, but it also comes with responsibility. Sustainable development has always been a core value for us. We are aware that our business has an impact on society and climate, and we are committed to make this impact positive. Sustainability is not a separate pillar of our strategy. It is actually embedded in our DNA. For us, it is neither a trend nor a regulatory environment or requirement. It is a license to operate. It is a fundamental principle guiding our actions and ensuring we continue and we contribute to a more sustainable and fair future.
Let's now look at our financial plans that will drive value creation. Jacek, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Liudmila. You've heard how we'll reach for more growth while transforming our costs and our investments. Now, let me share how this strategy will deliver strong financial performance and grow shareholder value. Let's start with our financial model. It is built to deliver consistent and sustainable returns. It is based on our ability to generate very resilient revenue growth. Resilient because we seamlessly fulfill the essential needs of our customers and resilient because we offer them very high value for money. This is the key to our operating profitability. We conferred this growth to EBITDA by ensuring an attractive gross margin and an efficient cost structure.
Our model creates shareholder value, visible through expanding cash and profits, underscored by a growing return on capital employed and ultimately reflected in dividends and share price appreciation. What is key is our ability to deliver value creation over the long term, both during the economic upturn as well as during a downturn. Our growth story starts with revenues. We will grow revenue on average at a low single-digit percentage. This ambition is underpinned by a consistent rise of core telecom services, convergence, mobile, and broadband, and also by increase of sales of IT and IS. We are well positioned in these areas with rock-solid customer demand and our comprehensive product offering. We will grow these revenues, and we will also increase their direct profitability. Legacy services like traditional fixed voice will see their value decrease over time.
However, they will only constitute about 10% of our total today, so their future impact on the top line is much more limited. It is evident that core telecom services and IT and IS are the main lever for our growth and our margin, and we have a very solid plan for these. Core telecom services generate around 50% of Orange Polska revenues and 70% of our direct margin. Therefore, they are the bedrock of our growth story. They address the very essential communication needs of our customers, like connectivity, digital security, or entertainment. There is much more growth potential in our core telecom services in the future, and we will harness this potential. On the one hand, we will grow the key customer base as our monoproduct strategy will create an upsell pool for convergence.
On the other hand, we will provide more value to our clients as we fulfill their increasing digital needs. The IT and IS services are our second biggest growth engine. We intend to further capture the high growth potential with unfulfilled demand from the business. We will capitalize on our leadership among the large enterprises by creating a unified integrated operating model for ICT. Simultaneously, we will extend selected ICT activities to the SOHO SME segment, where we have a super strong telco presence, and we see a lot of unfulfilled demand. As you can see, we have a solid plan for the key revenues and their margins. To complement this, we will focus on efficiency gains on the cost side. We have always had a busy agenda in this area, and we are confident that we can progress further.
The landscape should be slightly easier versus the high inflation macro of the last four years, exerting relatively less pressure on costs. In this background, we will execute a major cost transformation, cutting across all layers of the business model. We'll leverage new technical possibilities and continue initiatives started in the past. First, we will use digital and AI to transform our sales and care activities, improving their cost efficiency and quality. You've seen some examples of this and the KPIs earlier on. Second, we've started a major transformation of our network, cutting across all main processes from field maintenance to core network operations. This will deliver major efficiencies. Third, we'll prune legacy assets. It's critical that we relieve ourselves from costs of legacy, and this will also pave the way to make our organization leaner and more agile.
This wave of transformation will improve our cost efficiency and support the growth of the EBITDA. We will consistently increase our EBITDA at a low to mid single-digit pace. This is the key value output from our operating activity and a critical contributor to further increase of the return on capital employed. How will we achieve this? Growth will mainly come from expanding revenues and our ability to convert these into a solid direct margin. This makes our developments sustainable as it is based on satisfying the very essential needs of our customers. We will support our high operating leverage with a large cost transformation. This way, we will convert the direct margin into higher EBITDA. We are confident in this growth strategy also because it is already happening. Now, let's focus on the investments that will fuel this growth. Well allocated investments are instrumental for future growth.
They underpin our service quality, seamless experience, and security. They enable new services both in this strategy and also beyond, as well as enabling efficiency gains. Our yearly investment plan will be comparable in size to the amount of CapEx spent in 2024. CapEx allocation will prioritize areas that drive growth. We will spend close to 50% of CapEx on mobile network and on fiber. Fiber investments will focus on connecting new clients and finalizing the EU subsidized rollout in wide zones where demand is absolutely terrific. We will invest PLN 500 million yearly on mobile with 5G capacity rollout finalized by 2028 and coverage rollout very well advanced by this stage. These improve network quality and throughput. They will also prepare us for the next generation of 5G services that will come in the next strategic cycle.
CapEx in other areas will be optimized to reallocate and reprioritize growth, CapEx to growth investments, and also to compensate for a progressive decrease of real estate sales, which will be nearly entirely disposed by the end of 2028. Improved CapEx allocation will result in greater productivity, and we will see this through a decrease of the CapEx to revenue ratio over time. At the same time, by keeping CapEx stable in absolute value over time, we will improve the conversion of revenues and profits to cash. Our financial model is designed to convert revenues and profits into hard cash. We are committed to generate at least PLN 1.2 billion organic cash flows in 2028. We will achieve this through sustainable growth of EBITDA driven predominantly by the commercial activity. We will achieve this with support of efficient capital expenditure focused on high return investments.
We are absolutely determined to reach this objective as organic cash flow is the ultimate financial output and performance measure, as it supports our financial structure, giving us the strategic balance sheet flexibility. Finally, as strong sustainable cash generation is the basis for shareholder value creation, including dividends. Our previous strategy resulted in a 44% total shareholder return visible in the combination of sustainable shareholder remuneration and the growth of our share price. We are committed to further increase value for shareholders by generating higher financial outputs with a strong focus on cash, by continuing to offer sustainable progressive shareholder remuneration. As part of this, we commit to a floor dividend of PLN 0.53 gross per share during this strategic period. We will work tirelessly to create further upward potential for shareholders in a sound and sustainable way.
Future growth of the dividend will be decided on a yearly basis depending on the actual performance and projected financial outputs. Let's now sum up our value creation ambitions with a financial guidance for this strategy. We will create value through growth, and obviously, this starts with a sustainable growth of our EBITDA driven by higher revenues supported by the cost transformation. The EBITDA will be supported and fueled by the return-focused, disciplined capital investments allocated to the main growth areas. As a result, we will significantly increase cash generation and offer attractive remuneration to shareholders. These are our commitments for the Lead the Future strategy and the drivers of shareholder value creation. Thank you very much, and I hand the floor back to Liudmila .
Thank you. Thank you, Jacek. To summarize, here we are in 2028, and here is what I want you to remember about our strategic ambition: Customer Champion, the best-loved and trusted provider of digital services, bringing the unmatched connectivity, resilient, reliable, and seamless, with future-proof operations, the benchmark for efficiency and productivity with data and AI at scale, and empowered winning team with entrepreneurial mindset, driving strategy with passion. All this for sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders with purpose and with impact. I want to come back to Einstein, who once said that while questions remain the same, the answers change. Today at Orange Polska, we do more than just find the right answers. We ask the questions which define the future, and we are ready. We are ready to lead digital transformation with the right strategy, right ambition, right team.
The future isn't a distant vision. It is the reality that we are shaping right now. Thank you for your time and for your attention. We will be now ready to answer your questions. We will be with you in a minute.
Welcome to the Q&A session. This session will be dedicated first to analysts. The Q&A session for journalists, for media, will be later. We are joined by the almost entire management board, so you have this unique opportunity to ask questions to such a big executive team. We have a strong representation of analysts in the room, so first we'll be taking questions from the room, and then we will switch to online viewers. Let me read the instructions to those that watch us through web platform. If you are dialed in via the phone and would like to ask a question, please press Star 2 on the keypad and wait for your name to be called. You may also ask a voice or text question using the webcast window.
Once again, to ask a question, please press Star 2 on the keypad or press the question button on the platform. First, we are taking questions from the floor, as I said. Are there any questions from the floor? I can see Marcin Nowak from IPOPEMA. Marcin, please.
Hello, good morning. Thank you for the presentation. Three questions from my side. The first question regarding the IT and IS revenues. If the market is so booming and the ICT market is expected to grow faster than the telco market, then why is your projected CAGR for revenues from ICT barely higher than the core telco service revenues? Okay. The second question, what was the rationale behind dropping any leverage target from your financial guidance? The first question, your strategy doesn't include any comment regarding plans for the stake in fiber core in the timeframe on the strategy. Shall we expect that any decision regarding that will be pushed behind 2028? Thank you in advance.
Yeah, please. I will start with the first question. Thank you very much for it. We, based on the estimation of the growth of the market, and in terms of telco, it's more or less 1.2% for the next few years, and for the IT and IS, addressable IT and IS, for us, it's a little more than 5%, 5.5%. From our perspective, it's a few times more, not just the small difference. Our plan is to grow quicker than market, and what we showed to you is solely the organic growth. We believe also we will also monitor the market, and still we are thinking about some further M&As. As you remember, in the DOT grow, we were able to monetize the M&As which we did in 2019 and 2020, and we added it to our value chain for the customers.
We also, the DOT grow was also in the very interesting period, which was the booming period of the digital transformation just after COVID, and we benefited a lot from it, having a very diversified offering in the IT and IS area. Looking forward, we plan to grow the IT and IS market quicker, having in mind also the slowdown in 2024, and having in mind that this market is under the technological shift impacted by AI. Some areas which were our growth engines will probably shift into the new areas of the growth engine, and everywhere the support of AI will be crucial. We plan in general on the business market, both on telco and IT and IS, to grow significantly above the forecast of the overall market.
Okay, and then on the fiber core and leverage, I will answer the last question first. No decision today has been made whether we wish to exercise the options that we have or not. I do believe we will be making those decisions as we go, and we're not in a position to decide right now. The leverage, yes, we did not guide for the leverage. The current leverage that you do see is quite low. It gives us the flexibility of the balance sheet for a few things, for inorganic opportunities if they were to appear, for the stability of the dividend. Let me just remind you that we've increased dividend by 10%. I'm speaking of the dividend paid from last year's result this year, despite the auction that is ahead of us. That is fewer of the reasons.
Regarding this question of the fiber core, obviously, reconsolidation would be quite a big impact on the balance sheet. It is not decided today. We shared with you that we're working on plans to further increase the scope of the fiber core, so that makes it in terms of additional rollout. This would mean that we need to keep those options open, at least for the time being. No decision has been made. When it comes to the guidance, on the one hand, we did not guide for a specific corridor or value for the leverage. On the other hand, what we did do is we took a hard commitment for the organic cash flow generation. First, I'd like to remind you that we set this as at least PLN 1 billion-2 billion by this time.
It is the cash flow that is, I do believe, the best basis for the sustainability of the dividend over the long term. While balance sheets and a low, safe, sound balance sheet may shield us from fluctuations from one year to another, if we're thinking of value creation over the long term, and this is what we are focused on, we're also thinking about what are the best metrics for us to have and secure in order to be able to provide value creation for shareholders in a sustainable way. This is where we made the choice to guide for the cash flow. Thank you.
Next question will be coming from Paweł Puchalski from Santander. Paweł, the floor is yours.
Hello. Congratulations on new strategy. I've got two questions because I'm very pleased with your 2028 organic cash flow guidance. However, guidance for one year is not enough, for me at least. Could you, I don't know, commit that your average 2025-2028 organic cash flow would be above PLN 1 billion? That would be my first question because I would also know the path and where we are going for 2026 and 2027. The other question would be, of course, about dividends because 10 minutes ago, I heard CFO saying that we are planning progressive growth in remuneration. One minute ago, I've just heard that Orange Polska wants to have stability in dividends. The other question would be, shall we see progressive growth or stability? Because that affects the attractiveness of the stock.
Thank you for both. I think we can be clear. We decided to guide for PLN 1.8 billion, for PLN 1 billion-2 billion zloty of cash generation in 2028 to give a certain landmark of how we want to get there. I will not commit on the direct and exact path because it does depend on working capital requirement between the different years. It does depend on the level of CapEx that you want to spend. It is a progressive increase of the cash flow that we are aiming for. It is not that we are focused on one single year, but the path there may not be exactly linear. This is what I would say. Regarding dividends, it is clear. PLN 0.53 gross is the floor, and we will do our best to make sure that we create perfect conditions to be able to offer more to shareholders.
There would be one more question on my side. You are guiding for double-digit growth at a number of customers in convergence, double-digit growth at ARPU, high single-digit growth at TV customers. And then for the core telco, you are guiding for 4%-6% growth. Am I missing something? Or maybe you are guiding for flat ARPUs in any other segment because that's the only way it would match your official data.
I think the only difference was that the 12%-15%, these were during the period, and the indication that we gave for core telecom services, this was CAGR. That's the only difference.
Probably not to forget that what we are sharing with you is engines of future growth, and we should not forget about legacy because still we are facing legacy decline, and we will be managing it with a proper view on profitability. It is not a secret that legacy, whether we speak about PSTN or broadband internet, is decreasing. We are managing to overrun this impact, so to compensate it fully by future-proof technologies, but it is not like just positive waves are reflecting in our final numbers. We still need to fight headwinds.
Final question, if I might. You mentioned transformation, and my question would be, has an era of layoffs ended, or should it be continued every second year going forward?
I think here we have a solid track record of adapting our workforce to the conditions that we are in, and we will continue to adapt all of the costs, including the workforce, to the conditions that we will be in. In terms of more specifics, I mean, you know that we're implementing a 500 person social plan this year because this is part of the package that was already communicated. Anything else has to be first agreed with our social partners before we announce further concrete plans and before we provide for them in the balance sheet. Yeah, definitely transformation cannot be done without also impacting the level of the workforce that we have. This is obvious when you saw the structure of the costs that I showed on one of the slides, it is not possible to perform a very profound transformation without touching this element.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I can see that Piotr Raciborski from Mood also would like to ask questions. Piotr, go ahead.
Thank you very much. Two questions from my side. First, on the dividend policy. Have you considered announcing a dividend policy based on organic free cash flow or adjusted net income? If yes, why haven't you decided to implement this? What risks do you see that stopped you from adopting a bit more clear for the equity market dividend policy?
Thank you. Pegging the dividend in a hard way to the OCF or to the net income would seemingly show more clarity to the market. However, what you are exposed then to is to fluctuations of the dividend in case you have a seasonal decrease of cash flow or a seasonal decrease of the net income. Let's assume we have a provision for claims and litigations or a provision for some other restructuring items. Pegging the dividend to this is, I would not say, the best way to provide stability. When we are thinking forward, it is to keep a clear floor of the dividend, so say no less than, and then to stay focused on creating the best conditions to be able to increase it. I think the track record during DOT grow shows that we are increasing it when we can, when we create those conditions.
We are really determined to create shareholder value. We are determined to provide more value to shareholders, both from the share price appreciation and from the dividends. It's clearly a mix. We will do our best to create the best conditions possible for us to be in the position to propose a higher dividend. I think another reason why we're not pegging this to a single indicator is that our policy allows us to look forward, so not only to the results that we have generated in the past, but also to the projections that we have for the following years. This is really critical when we wish to be certain that whatever we are proposing as a dividend is really a sustainable shareholder remuneration in the longer term.
Thank you for the answer. Other question about the indirect costs outlook. Do you expect the margin improvement only be driven by higher growth of the top line versus OpEx, or do you see some areas in which costs can be nominally reduced? One area is probably the cost of the non-operating properties. Do you see some other areas, maybe labor costs, that can be reduced over the strategy period?
Thank you for the question. We did mention that we would be striving to first preserve the high operating leverage that we have. This always refers, from my perspective, to the indirect costs, but also that we would be striving to improve the relation to decrease indirect costs as a percent of revenue, to make sure that we have a higher and higher productivity. Obviously, there will be areas where we will continue to have pressure on the cost side, starting with the energy bill. As soon as you deploy a bigger network, unless you optimize your energy usage, you are bound to consume more energy. Either you need to improve your sourcing or the consumption and the efficiency of the network bill. That is an area that definitely will be under pressure.
I did mention a few areas like network transformation where we are, I think, able to achieve nominal decrease of costs during this strategic period. It will not come from today to tomorrow, but yes, we can work on a number of cost lines to make sure that this is decreasing over time.
Thank you.
Do we have any more questions? Yes, Nora Nogi from Erste Bank, who came to us all the way from Vienna.
Thank you very much for your presentation. Three questions from my side, if I may. Firstly, from your presentation, it sounded that you are planning to deploy 5G standalone. Could you please confirm this or share which technology do you use now for 5G rollout? Secondly, in your current report, you also wrote about AI, that at some point, it should lead to an increase of revenues. Because firstly, if I understand the sector correctly, firstly, it's about efficiency, but then at some point, it should lead to higher growth of revenues. Do you have a target, what you can share with us? What percentage of total revenues can you reach with AI until 2028 or for a longer term period? Thirdly, about the national roaming agreement with Play, if you could share some color, will this be extended beyond 2025, and is this included in your guidance?
Thank you.
Maybe I will take care of the first question. We are ready to implement 5GSA, so all investments, all decisions were taken, cooperation with the vendors on core, customer base, and signaling is ready. The only topic is just to, let's say, increase the capacity and build additional disaster, let's say, place to have this network secured. Now we are using NSA as other operators in Poland.
On coming to AI, we were bringing the examples. We have quite an extensive experience already, but of course, much more to be explored in the future. We already have both revenue-generating activities and cost-efficiency initiatives, so much more on cost efficiency, but not necessarily already delivering similar value. Sometimes we see much more value delivered from revenue generation, from value creation. Probably it would be right if I give the floor to my colleagues to give exact examples from B2B and from consumer. Bożena, please.
I will not tell the exact number because we believe that AI will not be the separate domain, and it's not what we are going to sell. We are going to sell the different solutions based on AI and data analytics. From the commercial, strictly commercial perspective, we created more or less, we started a year ago in BlueSoft the specific domain and dozen of the use cases already tested and implemented with different kinds of the customers, which test do the proof of concepts of different appliance of the AI solutions. They are connected with either the process optimization, automation, robotization, smoothing, and increasing the efficiency in different areas. They are connected with the retail segment, with legal segment, with supply chains, and so on. Huge, huge. Nowadays, I would be probably right saying that 30 customers are testing our different use cases.
The second layer, which we developed in BlueSoft to monetize AI usage, is the modernization of the legacy IT systems with the usage of AI. We did not put the specific number of the revenue to the domain of AI, but the different software domains and different projects, which are bespoke projects in our case for different types of the companies, are supported or based on the data analytics and AI. It is more or less such an approach. While mentioning the transformation of the IT and IS domain, I am meaning that some of the traditional software activities will be replaced by the automated way with the usage of AI, but some of them and some processes will be supported with AI, and it is where we are going to generate the new streams of the revenue.
I would add consumer market use AI mainly to be more efficient in revenue growth. Our customer value management is based on AI algorithms. We use 60 machine learning models. In the last two and a half years, we built more than PLN 1 million additional direct margin thanks to that. We will continue by implementing additional features like GenAI to those models and to communicate with customers. For us, those models, AI is an engine to be more effective for realizing our customers to make the proper offer to the customers. Hyper-personalization in this case is crucial. Additionally, in terms of cost efficiency, it was said by Liudmila previously that first test of GenAI chatbot gives us 40% of increase, I would say, efficiency because the customer interactions were served by this GenAI bot. We will continue for other product lines for customer care.
The future for us is to create a virtual agent who will serve simultaneously few interactions with the customer.
Now, about the question on the national roaming, you will understand that we are not in the position to guide you through specific commercial sensitive topics like specific contracts. What I can assure you is that we took reasonable assumptions in the strategic plan about all important contracts that we are enjoying. One additional, I would say, message is that in the scope of the strategic plan, we are assuming that we will enjoy the growth of the wholesale line of business with decent CAGR every year since the demand which we are serving is going to continue around 5G, around the development of the fiber networks. We have become already a very reliable partner in this type of undertakings. We will pursue all business opportunities on that front. I hope that this is satisfying you on that front. Thank you.
Any more questions from the floor? Yes, Dawid Gorzyński from Biuro Maklerskie PKO Banku Polskiego. Please go ahead, Dawid.
Hi, thank you for the presentation. I have two questions. First one on CapEx plans. You said that CapEx on mobile rollout should be PLN 500 million per year on average by 2028. I wonder if that assumes your projections about the rollout, like CapEx for rollout of the base stations for the new auction that's ongoing, 700-800 megahertz auction, if that is included. Also on CapEx , maybe you will be able to provide similar target for CapEx on fiber rollout, both internally and via fiber. This first question.
Thank you. Regarding mobile, I did mention it includes both our plans to rollout 5G for the capacity spectrum, so the C-band, which was acquired last year, and also assuming that we will have spectrum for the coverage. This upcoming auction is obviously important for us. Regarding fiber, it is obviously a much smaller portion. It is, on average, I would guess, below PLN 300 million, with a potential peak in 2026 when we will be finalizing the EU subsidized rollout.
Okay. The second question on EBITDA after release growth guidance, you said it may be from low single digit to mid single digit. I wonder about different scenarios, what may imply this lower end and higher end? Of course, you said that ARPU and customer base may increase from 12%- 15% in the full period, but I wonder if you see other important factors.
No, I think it's our ability to execute the growth plan on the revenue side, which is in the range because that reflects the level of uncertainty. Obviously, this is a commercial plan. It depends on our ability to maintain and, if possible, increase the direct margin that we have, which is about 55%. It is about our ability to rein in on the costs and to decrease the indirect cost to revenue ratio, which is right now in and around 29.5%. If we can bring it down, that is obviously helping. It is the execution risk. I would say this is not about any one-offs or unforeseen circumstances. We are aware that the comparable base of last year is a rather good result for EBITDA, as we have been discussing in February. Versus this result, we are guiding for this low to mid single digit.
It is a similar level of uncertainty that we had guided for during dot growth. It was also low to mid single digit. The results varied between the different years. We're happy that by the end of the day, we are at a rather mid single digit than a low single digit for the CAGR. We will do our best to replicate a high growth rate in the future.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
We have a question from Jakub Wiskardi on this side of the room from Bosch. Jakub, go ahead.
Thank you very much. I have a follow-up question on fiber call. Could you give us, please, a hint? What are the key factors which will determine your decision whether to buy this remaining stake in fiber call or not? The second question regards your real estate portfolio. What is the estimated value of the real estates which are remaining to be sold?
Okay, I will start with the real estate. I guess Liudmila was showing it on the slide or Jacek that in the portfolio that we still consider to be commercialized is slightly above PLN 500 million. In this long-term perspective, it is possible that we are able to commercialize, to sell basically the vast majority of that portfolio. I do not know if 100% because this is not easy to commit, but we have professionalized this activity within the company. I have to tell you that it is not only a selling activity, but also kind of a project network project activity in which we are, I would say, properly sorting out all the network issues to secure the future existence of that in those properties. We have professionalized this activity.
In the perspective of the strat plan, we are able to achieve, again, a very good success here. Liudmila mentioned today that last 10 years we have commercialized almost PLN 2 billion in that perspective. Discussion will flow in.
I think on the fiber call, we will not set a concrete list of criteria. Obviously, when you're thinking about such a move, you take the long-term view, long-term strategic view. It involves the assessment of how the relationship is developing, how the company is developed, how much of the revenues and profits of this company are made from our retail clients versus the open market. It involves possible further CapEx plans or not. There is a variety of also our own appetite to take on more debt. Hence, I was mentioning that we need to be in a position to be able to consider this realistically.
These are broadly the list of items that we will take a look at without setting a precise KPI for each of them or for neither of them.
Let us now switch to two questions that we received online. First question is from Bojan Juricovic from Oddo BHF from Austria. It is on convergence growth. Could you please elaborate a bit more on your ARPU growth drivers for convergence? What underpins your confidence in 12%-15% growth?
You'll be able to take it. Convergence, as was mentioned, is the most valuable of our product lines. We will concentrate on that. As you know, because we presented during the sum up of dot growth strategy, penetration of convergence of our services is close to 70%. The potential for growth within our base is kind of limited. That is why we would like now to go for the market to increase our relationship and to combine our FTTH, TV, and mobile services with a bit different strategy to reach the convergence based on new geographies where we would like to attack. I think we plan a solid growth of convergence and of the ARPU. This is, if I do not mistake, I know it's on the level of PLN 19 growth. It's a solid growth for next year.
Two elements are very important: solid growth of the base and growth of the ARPU. I think it is proof that the convergence strategy planned by us is very valuable.
Another question is coming from Maciej Bobrowski from BDM. His question is around what we had on the transformation slide, which referred to the expression "lighter asset base." Could we please elaborate on this?
Yeah, we mentioned several elements. About our real estate portfolio, I think Maciej has been commenting already. This is one of the lighter assets. Second is obviously 3G switch off, which is we are on the way to finalize this program this year. By the end of the year, it will be fully switched off. Accordingly, all the benefits of reusing the spectrum, again, renewing technology to a new generation, which is much more efficient as energy consumption and as performance, and obviously copper. Lighter asset base for us, it's copper decommissioning, which we are doing, and we will be further progressed in this plan. It's very clear three dimensions of our plan.
Are there any follow-up questions from the floor? Yes, we have. Paweł Puchalski from Santander.
Hello. I might have missed it, but let me double-check. Where are you with respect to prolongation of contract for Światłowód Inwestycje Construction Works? In your strategy, you are assuming termination of this contract in 2025, or you include something beyond?
Maybe it would be good to structure the information here. First of all, the original rollout that we have contracted here is by the end of this year, end of 2025. By the end of this year, FiberCo will have 2.4 million households connectable. We are very satisfied with the performance within this rollout. Based on this success, we are right now in discussion, very advanced with our partners to continue these investments in the period of the three next consecutive years, so 2026, 2027, and 2028. The figures that we have right now on the table are around 500,000 additional households to be built within this period, with the majority of that construction actually in the first year of this three-year investment plan.
Not everything is, I would say, set in the stone and in the marble, as people say here, but this is the really very advanced plan that we have on the table and we want to pursue.
The extension of that contract is not included in your strategy, or it is?
We will not change the strategy or the guidance because of one contract.
Got you.
We are guiding for the compound annual growth rate between now and 2028.
Right. Thank you.
Any more questions from analysts? No, I don't see. Thank you very much for this session and see you, talk to you in the coming weeks and months. Please let us know if you'd like to follow up. Thank you very much.