Zzoomm, an established and rapidly growing Full Fibre business operating across 29 market towns and small urban communities, has published its results for the year to 31 December 2023.
Highlights
- Customer penetration rates accelerating across the network
- Average take-up increased to 12% for year to March 2024 (March 2023: 7%)
- Numerous geographies now have over 30% market penetration
- Current rate of customer take-up accelerated to 1% per month
- Properties ready for service and contracted customers rapidly growing, excluding large order book
- End December 2023, circa 189,000 properties (Dec-22: 94,000) ready for service with circa 20,200 (Dec-22: 6,300 customers) contracted
- End May 2024, over 200,000 properties (May-23: 140,000) ready for service and over 27,000 (May-23: 12,000) customers contracted
- Revenue increased to £3.6m (2022: £1.2m) as recurring subscription revenue momentum builds
- Operating loss £21.0m (2022: loss £12.3m) reflecting continued investment in growing the network and infrastructure
- Number of Zzoomm towns with customer take-up of over 30% now profitable
- Focus on commercialisation with current network construction completed by end of June 2024 – cost base materially reduced
Matthew Hare, CEO Zzoomm commented:
“Our focus has always been on delivering an exceptional service to happy customers. We are now concentrating on profitably commercialising our outstanding network and brand position, as our current build phase closes, by bringing our brilliant Full Fibre capabilities to many more homes and businesses.
“We are well positioned to make acquisitions in fragmented and competitive markets as we are growing faster, have a more highly valued brand and network and stronger commercial proposition than many of our peers. An enlarged group, based around our established operational and effectiveness and technical infrastructure, would benefit from the economies of scale.
“New customers are taking up our high value offer at a market leading rates across all geographies. Our high customer satisfaction scores continue to improve, and we are seeing minimal churn, those that are leaving being primarily house movers.
“With ARPU continuing to increase, we are now moving towards profitability. Those towns with over 30% market penetration are largely profitable already.”
Strategic overview and outlook
Zzoomm is an established and rapidly growing Full Fibre network operator, building and providing FTTP (fibre to the premises) in market towns and other small urban communities targeting areas with no current alternative Full Fibre network.
Zzoomm has built an extensive communications infrastructure and is providing comprehensive levels of service to a rapidly increasing number of consumers and businesses, which is beginning to generate long term returns.
The Group continues to focus is on serving the needs of customers directly through a great value and high-quality broadband service. Zzoomm’s standout challenger brand is synonymous with excellent customer focus, transparency, quality of service and product reliability as well as connection speeds innovation.
As at the end of March 2024, Zzoomm was operating in 23 towns (2023: 15) and has over 195,000 properties (March 2023: 131,000) which can be supplied almost immediately with a Full Fibre broadband service without additional work required to the network — “Ready for Service or RFS”. Customer take-up has accelerated during the year with over 22,000 customers (March 2023: 9,000) under contract.
Additionally, Zzoomm is considering other strategic options to accelerate shareholder returns as an enlarged group, utilising Zzoomm’s established marketing, sales, operational and technical infrastructure, which would generate enhanced investor returns.
Outlook
The business’ rate of customer acquisition continues to be rapid with the subscription revenue stream rapidly growing. The demand for Full Fibre across the market towns served by Zzoomm remains strong and revenues continue to grow rapidly. A number of Zzoomm towns are already profitable with customer take-up of over 30%. The average take-up across Zzoomm towns is over 12% as at March 2024 (March 2023: 7%) and the rate of customer acquisition has increased to 1% per month of available RFS (2023: 0.9%).
The capital raising market remains extremely tight in the UK and the cost of capital available remains too high to generate equity returns. Accordingly, the focus now is on commercialising its network towards profitability. The construction of new network is being wound down and is expected to cease by the end of Q2 2024.
This revised focus has no impact on the operation of the existing network or the ability to deliver service to new or existing customers. Zzoomm continues to invest in commercialisation activities in marketing, sales, customer service and field service functions supporting the continued rapid growth in customers.
Markets
There are approximately 31 million properties in the UK, of which approximately nineteen million have access to Full Fibre broadband connectivity.
The demand for full fibre and gigabit-capable networks which provide fast, reliable and future-proofed connections with excellent service, both for homes and businesses, continues to increase. This has been driven by the migration of entertainment and communication to the internet and the requirement that the myriad of devices used are all connected all the time to the internet.
The result of the ongoing investment into Full Fibre operating has meant that the UK has moved to 62% Full Fibre availability. Despite this activity, there remains significant opportunity for development as there are large areas of England where these faster and more reliable services are not yet available.
Network and infrastructure
Zzoomm owns and operates its asset and is building its own Full Fibre network. Each connection allows a customer to connect up to 150 devices, with symmetrical upload and download services at speeds typically from 150Mbps to 2000 Mbps.
All residential services and the majority of business services use XGS-PON technology to deliver the broadband service which has the ability to deliver symmetrical broadband speeds of up to 8.5Gbps. Zzoomm also delivers very high capacity dedicated communications services over 10Gbps or 100Gbps bearers for enterprises using point-to-point fibre across the same network routes.
The network is constructed using a combination of new build utilising wholly owned underground ducts, utility poles with overhead fibre and utilising space within the BT Openreach underground network and overhead fibre on BT Openreach poles (“PIA”).
Construction
Zzoomm’s overriding principle is not to build in areas already constructed by other alternative Full Fibre providers and Virgin Media, and to avoid areas where BTOpenreach Full Fibre has been deployed.
Until June 2023, Zzoomm had employed its own construction teams alongside third-party contractors, to build the infrastructure in the larger towns – such as Hereford, Crewe and Cannock, where the size of the town afforded benefits to a large in house directly employed workforce.
During 2023, reflecting the scarcity of larger opportunities and most new build opportunities arising from smaller adjacent towns Zzoomm pivoted to a principally contractor-based construction business model
This pivot has enabled the build programme to continue whilst being more flexible. This resulted in a reduction in the number of direct employees in its own build teams during the year 2023.
In March 2024, the company paused its new build program from the end of Q2 2024 until such time as affordable capital becomes available which would enable the restart of new Full Fibre build. This result in a reduction in the number of employees supervising contractors and enabling the build to 0 (2023: 233).
Towns, customers and service
At the end of 2023, there were circa 189,000 properties Ready For Service (2022: 94,000) with circa 18,500 customers connected to the Zzoomm network (2022: 6,300).
A number of Zzoomm towns are well established with customer take-up of over 30%.
In 2023, the Group commenced network construction in Bewdley, Congleton, Codsall, High Green & Chapeltown, Middlewich, Richmond, Sandbach, Shiplake, South Elmsall and Tadcaster. In addition to this, Cannock, Crewe, Northwich, Sherburn, Winsford, Stokesley and Wombourne – all of which started build in 2022 – had been completed. Hereford was also completed having started build in 2021. The Group’s first town Henley on Thames completed in 2021.
In 2024, the company has started construction in Penistone, Dodworth and some smaller towns surrounding the Sherburn and Codsall builds.
At the end of March 2024, these numbers had increased to over 195,000 properties RFS (March 2023: 131,000) and over 22,000 customers (March 2023: 9,000). The Group expects to have a total of circa 202,000 properties RFS by the time the build stops.
Financial results
In the 12 months to 31 December 2023, Group revenue increased to £3.6m (2022: £1.2m) as the revenue growth accelerated in all regions.
As expected, the Group made an operating loss of £21.0m (2022: operating loss £12.3m). Included within operating losses is salary spend of £6.8m and depreciation and amortisation charges of £6.2m, these costs are largely driven by the continued overhead cost required to manage the build and commercialisation activities.
Build capital expenditure was the most significant cost during the year. At the end of 2023 a total of £148.7m been spent on network build (2022: £95.3m). This is in line with the Board’s roll out plans.
At the end of the year, the Group cash balance was £2.9m (31 Dec 22: £18.3m).
The Group’s full consolidated accounts have been filed at Companies House.