In the fourth quarter, Elisa continued its good performance. Revenue was at the previous year’s level: EUR 563 million. EBITDA improved by 3 per cent to EUR 191 million, and comparable earnings per share was EUR 0.61. Elisa’s performance has continued to improve despite inflation and geopolitical challenges. 

During the fourth quarter, we further strengthened our position as the mobile and fixed network market leader in Finland. The population coverage of our 5G network reached over 92 per cent in Finland and 75 per cent in Estonia. Elisa’s 5G standalone network is now available for consumers in Finland’s capital area, and we successfully completed the first calls in Europe over the cloud-based 5G network using Nokia technology. In December, we were the first operator in Finland to finish ramping down the 3G network. 

During the second half of 2023, we expanded our fibre network in nearly 40 locations. Additionally, we acquired the fibre network constructed by Elenia in Finland. Elisa’s fibre-optic or cable modem-based high-speed connections are already available to more than one million households and commercial premises in Finland, and the fibre network will expand to over 450 new areas in the coming years.

Demand for cybersecurity solutions continued to increase. Elisa was the first operator in Finland to start blocking scam calls to its customers. In October, a nationwide regulation to block scam calls came into effect in Finland using a technical solution originally developed and patented by Elisa. Since deploying the solution, Elisa has prevented over 20 million scam calls.

Elisa Polystar announced three major contracts to provide solutions in data management, analytics and automation to three European operators. Elisa IndustrIQ announced a contract to modernise a European manufacturing customer’s operations in its forklift truck factory. 

Elisa’s Distributed Energy Storage (DES) solution is expanding in the Finnish electricity reserve market. This award-winning solution has already been operating as part of the Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR), and it has now also been approved by the grid operator Fingrid for the Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances (FCR-D).

Elisa’s long-term sustainability work is also reflected in international assessments. In December, MSCI, which assesses corporate responsibility globally, upgraded Elisa’s ESG rating to the highest level: AAA. Elisa was also included in the Financial Times European Diversity Leaders 2024 ranking. In January, Elisa was ranked among the 100 most responsible companies in the world in the Corporate Knights 2024 Global 100 list and included in Sustainalytics’ 2024 ESG Top-Rated Companies list.

Elisa’s unique strategy generates sustainable profit and growth. Our competitiveness is based on continuously increasing our productivity and quality, our strong investment capability, and the growth opportunities from our innovative digital services globally. Elisa and its entire personnel are engaged in creating value for our customers and a positive impact on society to ensure solid financial performance for shareholders.