Strong result in a difficult environment 

In the fourth quarter, Elisa continued its good performance, despite the soft macroeconomic environment and geopolitical challenges. Revenue grew by EUR 16 million to EUR 580 million, and comparable EBITDA improved by 3 per cent to EUR 198 million. Also, the year 2024 was strong: revenue increased by 1 per cent to EUR 2.2 billion, despite net business disposals, acquisitions and regulatory changes impacting revenue negatively. Both comparable EBITDA and EBIT were the best ever, at EUR 783 million (756) and EUR 504 million (487), respectively.

We continued expanding our standalone 5G and fiber networks and pioneering technologies to benefit our customers. Our Net Promoter Score, measuring customer satisfaction, rose to a record level of 31.1 (28.1 in 2023).

During the fourth quarter, Elisa and Nokia became the first companies in Europe to trial 100 Gbps speeds in a production fiber network as well as opening the first 5G cloud radio access network (Cloud RAN), marking a significant step towards the era of 6G. We were also the first operator in the world to deploy 800 Gbps coherent technology within our backbone network.

Elisa plays a key role in safeguarding cyber security and critical infrastructure in Finland and Estonia. In addition to providing reliable, high-speed connections, we secure the digital environment in many ways. As a demonstration of Elisa’s resilience, damage to two submarine data cables in the Gulf of Finland around Christmas did not interfere with Elisa’s telecommunications services, and the damaged cables were quickly repaired.

Our international digital services business grew strongly in the fourth quarter, and we achieved double-digit organic growth for the full year 2024. Supported by acquisitions, the year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter was as high as 77 per cent, of which organic growth accounted for 27 per cent. This demonstrates that we have a high-growth business in our portfolio. During the quarter, we completed the acquisition of Italy-based sedApta, strengthening our software offering in industrial automation and Elisa’s foothold in the global manufacturing customer base. 

At Elisa, sustainability means responsible value creation for people, the environment and society, and we take particular responsibility for the digital safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We were the first company in Finland to introduce an age recommendation that smartphones should not be purchased for children under nine. In cooperation with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, we organised Finland’s largest digital school, attended by a large number of Finnish lower secondary school students, a total of more than 70,000 students.

Our performance during the quarter clearly demonstrates our strong commitment to profitable growth, creating customer value by being a frontrunner in technology, and continuously improving our productivity and quality. 

Topi Manner
CEO