This morning - before Belgacom's General Shareholders' Meeting - CEO Dominique Leroy sounded the bell on the stock exchange to mark the 10th anniversary of Belgacom's listing on Euronext Brussels. Over the past 10 years Belgacom has performed well, despite the strong competition. 
Many changes in 10 years

Despite the strong competition, Belgacom has performed well over the past 10 years, in particular by always taking the initiative to tune the products and services offer to the market and anticipating customer needs. Here is an overview:

  • Proximus was the market leader at that time with 4.2 million mobile customers, and is still the leader today with 5.5 million mobile customers.
  • Broadband Internet (ADSL) had existed for only five years at that time, but there were 670,000 customers. Now there are one million more, enjoying much higher speeds. Today, 99% of the population has access to ADSL and 89% to VDSL2. Where VDSL2 is concerned, Belgacom is in the European top three, after Switzerland and Luxembourg. More info about our network.
  • In 2005, one year after the IPO, Belgacom was the first operator in Belgium to launch interactive television; today, 93% of the population has access to Belgacom TV and there are 1.5 million users. More info about interactive television.
  • Convergence and bundles did not exist 10 years ago, whereas today there are 1.3 million customers with a Belgacom Pack. More info about convergence.
  • In the past years, Proximus and Telindus were fully integrated into the Belgacom Group, which, end-2013, had 15,699 employees. More info about HR.
  • In those days, International Carrier Services was a separate business unit and the 11th largest carrier service operator worldwide. Through its collaboration with Swisscom and the integration of MTN, BICS reinforced its position and competitive advantage in Africa, bringing Belgacom into the top five in the world for international carrier business.More info about BICS.

All this was possible because Belgacom invested more than 7 billion euro over the past 10 years. In 2013 alone, Belgacom invested 852 million euro or 13.5% of its revenue, and in the coming years, too, Belgacom will invest an annual 900 million euro in its fixed and mobile networks and new applications. 

Share performance

When the Belgacom share was listed on the stock exchange on 22 March 2004, it was referred to in the media as the "largest IPO in Europe since 2001" and the "largest ever in Brussels". From a strategic point of view, the IPO was the right step forward  for Belgacom.

Today, there are 338,025,135 shares. 

  • 53,5% are owned by the Belgian State   
  • 5.5% are the company's own shares 
  • 41.0% of the shares (of which a quarter are owned by non-institutional investors) can be freely traded on the stock exchange. 

The initial share price on 22 March 2004 was 24.50 euro. On 22 March 2014, 10 years later, the Belgacom share was listed at 22.61 euro. 

  • More info about the Belgacom Share
Dividend policy

Investors have always been able to rely on an attractive dividend: Over the 10-year period, a total of 6.3 billion euro has been paid in dividends to investors (of which 3.5 billion euro to the Belgian State). A shareholder who bought a share for 24.50 euro 10 years ago, would have a 19.13 euro (gross) dividend 10 years later. Or expressed differently: those who kept their Belgacom shares for 10 years, enjoyed an annual return of 7.6%.

Share trend since the IPO 

The graph below shows the evolution of the Belgacom share since the IPO, in comparison with the shares of industry peers (incumbent telecom operators) in Europe. The Belgacom share stands out by its stability in an increasingly competitive market: 


Dominique Leroy, CEO of Belgacom:

"The Belgacom Group and its employees have performed well over the past 10 years, both operationally and financially. To serve the customer ever better, we must invest even more. Only then will we be able to grow, and that will benefit the company and its shareholders. On the stock exchange too, the share has proved to be a good investment for shareholders. Those who invested in Belgacom over the past years have enjoyed a handsome return. In the coming years too, it is crucially important that the shareholders retain their confidence in Belgacom. That is why we will pay out a very substantial dividend in the future as well."
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