Letter of the President of the Management Board

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The year 2022 was another year that presented our Group with unexpected challenges. Russia's aggression in Ukraine has been ongoing for more than a year, and we have been experiencing its economic and social consequences.

Polsat Plus Group has been actively supporting society for nearly 30 years, and this time we also responded immediately. From the very first days of the invasion, we provided refugees with a range of free telecommunication and television services, and the companies from Zygmunt Solorz Group donated PLN 5 million to the campaign "Polsat Foundation to the Children of Ukraine." In total, Polsat Plus Group donated tens of millions of zlotys to initiatives helping our neighbors last year. Our employees were also involved in the aid campaigns - thank you all very much for your time and goodness shown.

Last year, in line with our Strategy 2023+, we consistently developed a new business segment - Clean Energy. The economic impact of the war in Ukraine revealed how important Poland's energy transition is for the society, the economy, as well as the environment. In cooperation with ZE PAK, we are successively investing in new sources of zero-emission energy. Currently, wind farm projects with a total capacity of nearly 300 MW are under construction. There are also plans to expand the solar farm in Brudzew, which last year produced 78 GWh of zero-emission electricity to power the transmitters of Plus network.

Our medium-term goal is to have renewable energy sources with a total capacity of 1,000 MW, which will give us the ability to produce more than 2 TWh of clean electricity annually. We estimate that this will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in the Polish economy by more than 2 million tons per year. Our Group companies have also been using green energy for a few years, and today 100% of the energy we consume already comes from low- and zero-emission sources.

We have made important progress in building a complete, nationwide green hydrogen value chain, which, along with clean energy production, is our second priority within the Clean Energy segment. The first electrolyzer for the production of green hydrogen is being installed, we have 3 specialized trucks for its transportation, we are building the first publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations in Warsaw and Rybnik, and projects for further ones are already in the pipeline. A factory is being built in Swidnik for NesoBus – a fully ecological, green hydrogen-powered city bus, which has already been test-driven by residents of Warsaw, Gdansk, Gdynia, Konin and Wroclaw. We have concluded a contract for the delivery of 20 buses to Rybnik, and the first ecological vehicles will take to the city's streets this fall. In turn, we have increased the number of hydrogen cars in our corporate fleet to 150.

As a 5G leader, we are constantly developing this technology, enabling more users to benefit from it. Currently, more than 20 million Polish residents in nearly 1,000 locations across the country are within range of Plus' fastest 5G network, consisting of nearly 3,500 base stations.

With the aim of providing the widest possible group of customers with access to fixed Internet, we are continuing Netia's network modernization program, investments in new housing estates, and occasional acquisitions of networks of smaller local operators. The ability to use high-speed Internet in any technology positively influences the popularity of our television services available via the Internet.

Polsat TV - the first private, independent TV station in Poland - celebrated its 30th anniversary and invariably offers millions of its viewers the best entertainment, exciting sports, engaging films and series, and reliable and, according to independent research, the most credible information.

In the online media segment, we focus on the creation and delivery of unique content, thanks to which Polsat-Interia Group has 21 million users and is among the country's top three players in the Internet services area.

Our streaming service Polsat Box Go is being developed all the time in terms of technology, functionality and programming. Since last autumn we have placed an even stronger bet on the premieres of Polish series, so eagerly chosen by our users. More than 130 TV channels, live sports, a wealth of movies, series, entertainment, children's and news programs remain the hallmark of this service.

In total, we provide more than 20 million telecommunication and television services to Polish homes, and nearly 2.5 million of our customers take advantage of our multiplay offer, achieving measurable financial benefits from bundling services from Polsat Box and Plus. We are the only telecommunication and pay-TV provider to enter into a partnership with Disney+ and offer access to the service on attractive terms in packages bundled with our services.

Despite the unfavorable macroeconomic environment, we achieved very good financial results. Polsat Plus Group's revenues amounted to almost PLN 13 billion, EBITDA to PLN 3.4 billion and net profit to PLN 0.9 billion. 

The success of our Group is the achievement of several thousand of our employees - I would like to thank all of them greatly for their tremendous commitment, initiative, perseverance in pursuing their goals, as well as their willingness to provide selfless assistance. I thank customers and viewers for being with us every day and motivating us to keep growing. I also extend my thanks to shareholders, financial partners and representatives of the Supervisory Boards and Management Boards of the Group companies - with your trust and support, it is possible to successfully implement our strategy.

There are many new challenges ahead of us, but I am convinced that they are motivation for our team to make even more efforts to develop Polsat Plus Group in accordance with our goals and to offer clients and viewers content and services that meet their needs in the best way.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Mirosław Błaszczyk

President of the Management Board, Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.