Virgin Media O2 misplaced almost 400,000 clients thanks to cost hikes | EUROtoday

Virgin Media O2 has issued a warning relating to anticipated declines in gross sales and earnings for 2026, following vital buyer attrition attributed to latest value will increase.

The telecoms large reported a internet lack of 397,500 cell subscribers final 12 months, with a considerable 164,800 departing within the remaining quarter, primarily as a consequence of O2’s value changes.

Last October, the corporate introduced an additional month-to-month improve of £2.50 for its 15.6 million cell clients, efficient from spring 2026, revising an earlier proposed rise of £1.80.

Concurrently, Virgin Media O2 noticed 138,400 broadband clients go away in 2025, together with 16,700 within the final three months of the 12 months.

The firm’s annual outcomes indicated a 0.4 per cent decline in underlying earnings for the 12 months, reaching £3.9bn, following a extra pronounced 2.4 per cent drop in the course of the remaining three months.

When adjusted to exclude its latest transaction with business-to-business supplier Daisy, the group reported a 0.9 per cent improve in earnings over the complete 12 months, although they nonetheless noticed a 1.3 per cent lower within the final quarter.

Looking forward, Virgin Media O2 issued a warning relating to probably steeper monetary declines within the coming 12 months, anticipating a continuation of what it described as “challenging market conditions”.

It is guiding in the direction of a drop in underlying earnings of three per cent to five per cent, stripping out its takeover of Daisy, whereas underlying complete service revenues are additionally anticipated to drop by 3 per cent to five per cent.

Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group final 12 months merged their enterprise communications and IT operations to create a telecoms firm with gross sales of about £1.4bn a 12 months, referred to as O2 Daisy.

Virgin Media O2 stated the decrease gross sales outlook “reflects heightened promotional intensity and ongoing uncertainty in the consumer fixed market, alongside the planned streamlining of the business-to-business product portfolio”.

It will look to make value financial savings to offset the influence.

Lutz Schuler, chief government of Virgin Media O2, stated: “While we expect challenging market conditions to continue in 2026, we are well positioned to seize the right opportunities in each of our business areas – consumer, business-to-business and wholesale – and the foundations we’re putting in place today will help to build long-term customer trust and fuel future profitability and cash generation.”

Virgin Media O2 was fashioned in 2021 after the £31bn mega merger between Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global, and O2, the community owned by Spanish rival Telefonica.

On Wednesday, Liberty Global, Telefonica and personal fairness agency InfraVia joined forces to purchase British different fibre agency Substantial Group for £2bn.

The teams stated the three way partnership deal will strengthen its place competing towards BT’s Openreach, the UK’s greatest fibre broadband agency and community operator.

Substantial, which runs fibre community Netomnia, is anticipated to have greater than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 clients by the completion of the deal, the corporations stated.

Nexfibre – Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia’s three way partnership enterprise – will take over Substantial in a deal which is ready to broaden it cowl to eight million premises throughout the UK by the tip of 2027.

However, rivals have already raised potential competitors issues over the transfer.

Simon Holden, chief government officer of CityFibre, stated: “There is an 80 per cent overlap between these two players and, if the deal goes ahead, it would significantly reduce competition and the choice available to consumers, as well as force hundreds of thousands of Netomnia customers back to Virgin Media O2.

“Given the scale of this overlap, the CMA must thoroughly examine the deal.

“Competition has driven lower prices, faster speeds and better services – and this deal risks re-establishing an ineffective duopoly of BT and VMO2 and undermining the significant progress the UK has made.”