London, UK, 22 September 2020: Arqiva, the UK's leading player in critical network infrastructure services for the broadcast and utility sectors, announces its results for the year ended 30 June 2020.
Highlights
Group refocused on broadcast and utilities infrastructure following £2bn sale of Telecoms business to Cellnex announced in October 2019 and completed post year-end.
Significant investment in core infrastructure continued, maintaining unique base and leading position within industry.
Successful delivery of major programmes including smart metering and 700MHz clearance, with key coverage and clearance targets achieved respectively.
Strong financial control enabled continuing operations EBITDA to remain flat year-on-year, despite expected revenue decline following peak activity in the 2019 financial year.
New CEO Paul Donovan appointed on 20 April 2020.
Financial Results Group revenue decreased 11.2% during the year to £879.9m, as expected due to
one off contractual fees and end of legacy contracts, managed exit of the Occasional
Use satellite distribution, and reductions on the 700MHz Clearance programme as the
programme neared completion. Revenue from continuing operations declined 10.0% year-on-year to £677.5m.
EBITDA was roughly flat for both the Group at £522.4m and for Arqiva's continuing operations at £391.0m. The Group's EBITDA performance benefited in 2020 from the 2019 implementation of IFRS 16.
Net cash inflow from operations was down 2.3% to £475.3m, while net capital expenditure was flat at £115.4m (2019:115.3m).
Paul Donovan, CEO of Arqiva, commented:
Having delivered solid financial performance in 2020, Arqiva is now entering a period of evolution. Our focus is now squarely on maintaining our position as the number one provider of broadcast infrastructure in the UK and establishing ourselves a leading player in the utilities market. With a newly refocused organisation supported by a stronger financial position, I feel we are well-positioned to capitalise on the opportunities ahead of us.
Sale of the Telecoms Business In October 2019, Arqiva announced the agreement for the sale of its Telecoms business to Cellnex for c. £2.0bn. The transaction included divestment of c. 7,400 of Arqiva's cellular sites, including masts and towers as well as urban rooftop sites, and the right to market a further c.900 of Arqiva's retained sites across the UK. Relevant staff within the Telecoms business also transferred to the Cellnex business as part of the transaction.
Following the announcement of the sale of the Telecoms business and the resulting deleveraging of the Arqiva group, in June 2020 Moody's announced a one notch upgrade (to Ba2/B1) for the junior debt. Fitch and S&P maintained the ratings existing prior to the sale with senior and junior debt at BBB (Fitch/S&P) and B- (Fitch) respectively.
Highlights from Arqiva's Continuing Business Terrestrial Broadcast DTT remains the primary platform medium within the broadcast market, currently reaching 98.5% of the UK's population. Arqiva's main (DVB-T) multiplexes remain highly utilised with 90% of capacity sold as at 30 June 2020.
The uptake of TV viewing on the DTT/Freeview platform was also particularly strong during the lockdown period as more people stayed at home and utilised our services to stay informed, minimise social isolation and increase entertainment. The wide reach of the DTT platform has been of vital national importance for delivering news and other information to the whole nation and for supporting society during the current pandemic.
Like many sectors, commercial radio in the UK was impacted by Covid-19 with a reduction in revenue as many businesses cut advertising budgets. Discussions between Arqiva, the government and the radio industry resulted in a reduction of fees for independent commercial radio customers across both DAB and analogue. Despite the loss of advertising revenue, informal indications are that the volume of hours of radio listening increased during the lockdown as more people tuned in to radio for news and entertainment. With the easing of lockdown restrictions, we expect radio advertising to increase again as companies strive to regain market share and rebuild their businesses. The latest figures from industry data provider RAJAR show that 58.6% of listening is now to digital radio platforms (Q1 2020) with DAB representing more than two thirds of digital consumption. This has helped keep the first national commercial DAB multiplex, Digital One (wholly owned by Arqiva) at 100% occupancy.
Utilities Roll-out of Arqiva's network for Thames Water network continued during 2020, with over 480,000 meters installed and well over 10 million meter-readings being delivered per day. In June 2020 Thames Water announced that round-the-clock data from smart meters across London has helped it achieve what it described as the water industrys biggest reduction in leakage this century .
The successful delivery of this contract has been boosted by a new contract secured with Anglian Water, signed in June 2020 following an open competitive procurement process. Arqiva will deploy its fixed network infrastructure to support the operation of over three-quarters of a million (789,000 target by 2025) smart water meters across 24 planning zones. Arqiva will then operate the infrastructure for a further 15 years. Covering both household and non-household properties, the project will support Anglian Water's target Planning Zones including Norwich, Lincoln, Northampton and Peterborough, among others.
During the year Arqiva was also selected by Yorkshire Water to deliver and monitor a smart metering fixed-network trial as part of its plans to revolutionise its leakage detection programme. This two-year exercise will see Arqiva build and monitor the fixed-netw
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
London, UK, 22 September 2020: Arqiva, the UK's leading player in critical network infrastructure services for the broadcast and utility sectors, announces its results for the year ended 30 June 2020.
