Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Liberty Global's Full Year 2023 Results and Strategic Update Investor Call. This call and the associated webcast are the property of Liberty Global, and any redistribution, retransmission or rebroadcast of this call or webcast in any form without the express written consent of Liberty Global is strictly prohibited. (Operator Instructions)

早安，女士們先生們，感謝你們的支持。歡迎參加 Liberty Global 2023 年全年業績和策略更新投資者電話會議。本次電話會議及相關網路廣播均屬於 Liberty Global 的財產，未經 Liberty Global 明確書面同意，嚴禁以任何形式重新分發、轉播或轉播本次電話會議或網路廣播。 （操作員說明）

Today's formal presentation materials can be found under the Investor Relations section of Liberty Global's website at libertyglobal.com. After today's formal presentation, instructions will be given for a question-and-answer session. Page 2 of the slides details the company's safe harbor statement regarding forward-looking statements.

今天的正式簡報資料可以在 Liberty Global 網站 libertyglobal.com 的投資者關係部分找到。今天的正式演講結束後，將進行問答環節。投影片的第 2 頁詳細介紹了公司有關前瞻性陳述的安全港聲明。

Today's presentation may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the company's expectations with respect to its outlook and future growth prospects and other information and statements that are not historical fact. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These risks include those detailed in Liberty Global's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recently filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K as amended. Liberty Global disclaims any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or in the conditions on which any such statement is based.

今天的簡報可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述，包括公司對其前景和未來成長前景的預期以及非歷史事實的其他資訊和陳述。這些前瞻性陳述涉及某些風險，可能導致實際結果與這些陳述明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。這些風險包括 Liberty Global 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中詳細說明的風險，包括最近提交的修訂後的 10-Q 表格和 10-K 表格。 Liberty Global 不承擔更新任何這些前瞻性陳述以反映其期望或任何此類陳述所依據的條件的任何變更的義務。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Mike Fries.

我現在想把電話轉給麥克·弗里斯先生。

Thanks, operator, and welcome, everyone, to our Q4 results call. As promised, this will be a slightly longer session today with prepared remarks covering first our results and then followed by a brief strategy update that we think you'll find pretty interesting. About 20-or-so slides in total so bear with us. I promise we will leave plenty of time for questions as we scheduled this call for 90 minutes.

感謝營運商，歡迎大家參加我們的第四季業績電話會議。正如所承諾的，今天的會議將稍長一些，準備好的發言首先涵蓋我們的結果，然後是簡短的策略更新，我們認為您會發現非常有趣。總共大約有 20 張左右的幻燈片，請耐心等待。我保證我們會留出足夠的時間來回答問題，因為我們安排這次電話會議的時間為 90 分鐘。

Now as usual, I'm joined by essentially my entire leadership team, so we should be prepared to answer pretty much any question you may have. And with that, I'll get started on Slide 4, with 3 key takeaways from our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 results. Message number one is that overall, we feel good about our operating performance despite the macro and competitive headwinds we've been managing through this past year. Every market was focused on commercial and marketing initiatives that reinvigorated growth in the fourth quarter as we added 80,000 postpaid mobile subs and saw improved broadband performance in Switzerland, Belgium and Holland.

現在，像往常一樣，我的整個領導團隊基本上都加入了我的行列，因此我們應該準備好回答您可能提出的幾乎任何問題。接下來，我將從投影片 4 開始，介紹我們第四季和 2023 財年業績的 3 個關鍵要點。第一個訊息是，總體而言，儘管過去一年我們一直在應對宏觀和競爭的不利因素，但我們對我們的經營業績感到滿意。每個市場都專注於商業和行銷舉措，這些舉措在第四季度重振了成長，我們增加了 80,000 個後付費行動用戶，並且瑞士、比利時和荷蘭的寬頻性能得到了改善。

In every market, we continue to focus on the right balance between value and volume with price adjustments supporting stable to growing revenues. Financially, we saw a strong Q4 with accelerated EBITDA at VMO2 and Sunrise, which reported nearly 8% and 6% growth, respectively. Importantly, this enabled us to deliver on all of our OpCo guidance metrics for the full year and to actually exceed our original distributable cash flow guidance when you exclude the unexpected tax payment in Q4. And then lastly, we remain ahead of plan on synergy execution with both the U.K. and Switzerland, around 2/3 of the way through their respective targets. More on all of this as we move through the slides, I promise.

在每個市場，我們繼續關注價值和銷售之間的適當平衡，透過價格調整來支持收入的穩定和成長。在財務方面，我們看到 VMO2 和 Sunrise 的第四季度表現強勁，EBITDA 加速成長，分別成長了近 8% 和 6%。重要的是，這使我們能夠實現全年所有 OpCo 指導指標，並且當您排除第四季度的意外納稅時，實際上超出了我們最初的可分配現金流量指導。最後，我們仍然領先於英國和瑞士的協同執行計劃，並已完成各自目標的 2/3 左右。我保證，當我們瀏覽投影片時，會詳細介紹所有這些內容。

The last big takeaway is that our balance sheet, liquidity profile and capital allocation model are strong and intact. Charlie will dive into most of these topics later, but certainly a highlight is our repurchase of 18.5% of our shares through the end of 2024, funded by our distributable cash flow. And we'll spend plenty of time on our balance sheet and cash position today, but the punchline is we are extremely well positioned with long-dated fixed-rate debt and over $4 billion in cash and liquid securities.

最後一個重要的結論是我們的資產負債表、流動性狀況和資本配置模型強勁且完整。 Charlie 稍後將深入探討其中的大部分主題，但其中的一個亮點肯定是我們將在 2024 年底之前回購 18.5% 的股份，資金由我們的可分配現金流提供。今天我們將花大量時間討論我們的資產負債表和現金頭寸，但重點是，我們擁有長期固定利率債務和超過 40 億美元的現金和流動證券，處於非常有利的位置。

Slide 5 provides our usual subscriber trend analysis for each of our 4 core markets. On the top left, you'll see results for Virgin Media O2, which delivered another positive quarter in both postpaid mobile and broadband net adds despite a highly competitive market. On broadband, VMO2 remains the market leader with customers receiving, on average, 5x the average speed relative to competitors. And we're seeing a discernible increase in demand for higher-speed services year-over-year. And in mobile, our complementary dual brand strategy with O2 and giffgaff, drove positive postpaid adds for the quarter and the full year.

投影片 5 提供了我們對 4 個核心市場的常用訂閱者趨勢分析。在左上角，您將看到 Virgin Media O2 的業績，儘管市場競爭激烈，但該公司在後付費行動和寬頻網路增加方面又實現了積極的季度增長。在寬頻方面，VMO2 仍然是市場領導者，客戶的平均速度是競爭對手的 5 倍。我們看到對更高速服務的需求逐年大幅增加。在行動領域，我們與 O2 和 giffgaff 的互補雙品牌策略推動了本季和全年的後付費成長。

In Switzerland, on the top right of the slide, we see an improvement in Q4 broadband net adds driven by commercial initiatives, including a strong Black Friday campaign. And importantly, we're seeing reduced effects from the UPC migration that impacted net adds throughout most of 2023. Over 50% of the base has been migrated now with the remaining customers expected to be largely value neutral.

在瑞士，在投影片的右上角，我們看到第四季度寬頻網路增加量在商業舉措（包括強勁的黑色星期五活動）的推動下有所改善。重要的是，我們看到 UPC 遷移對 2023 年大部分時間淨增加量的影響有所減弱。目前已有超過 50% 的客戶群已遷移，其餘客戶預計將在很大程度上保持價值中立。

And similar to the U.K., our mobile flanker brand strategy in Switzerland is supporting strong positive postpaid growth. In Belgium on the bottom left, we saw improved commercial momentum in Q4, driven by successful fixed mobile marketing campaigns and targeted hardware offers.

與英國類似，我們在瑞士的行動側衛品牌策略正在支持強勁的後付費成長。在左下角的比利時，在成功的固定行動行銷活動和有針對性的硬體產品的推動下，我們看到第四季度的商業勢頭有所改善。

Net subscriber performance though continues to be impacted by elevated churn due to the competition and IT migration issues that we experienced last year, but we're stepping up in 2024, our efforts to regain commercial agility across the footprint. In addition, Telenet's advanced digital platform, their footprint expansion into the south of Belgium as well as the launch of fiber services will provide critical commercial momentum in this year.

儘管由於我們去年經歷的競爭和 IT 遷移問題，淨用戶效能繼續受到客戶流失率上升的影響，但我們將在 2024 年加大力度，努力在整個業務範圍內恢復商業敏捷性。此外，Telenet 先進的數位平台、其在比利時南部的業務擴張以及光纖服務的推出將在今年提供重要的商業動力。

Finally, the Dutch broadband market remained highly competitive in Q4, during which VodafoneZiggo remained disciplined on value over volume questions. This contributed to another quarter of broadband losses, but we did see a good response from our broadband speed increases as well as our smart WiFi offers, which generated higher sales in Q4 versus prior periods and a slightly better broadband result. And meanwhile, mobile postpaid growth in Holland remained strong throughout the year despite the price rise we took in October.

最後，荷蘭寬頻市場在第四季度仍保持高度競爭，在此期間，VodafoneZiggo 在價值而非數量問題上仍然保持紀律。這導致了另一個季度的寬頻損失，但我們確實看到了寬頻速度的提高以及智慧WiFi 產品的良好反應，這在第四季度產生了比上一季度更高的銷售額，寬頻結果也稍好一些。同時，儘管 10 月價格有所上漲，但荷蘭的行動後付費成長全年依然強勁。

Now the next slide presents our revenue growth for each market by segment. This is an important chart, and it's worth calling out a few numbers on here. If you run your eyes across the top line, you'll see that total revenue in the last 2 years has been broadly stable with the pressure we see in fixed, offset by our 2 growth drivers, mobile and B2B.

現在下一張投影片展示了我們按細分市場每個市場的收入成長。這是一張重要的圖表，值得在此提及一些數字。如果您仔細觀察營收情況，您會發現過去 2 年的總收入基本上穩定，固定業務帶來的壓力被移動和 B2B 這兩個成長動力所抵消。

Now we discussed the dynamics of our consumer fixed business on every quarterly call. As in the past, we continue to be impacted by declining video and voice subscribers as well as ARPU and churn pressure as customers optimize their services in these more challenging economic times. Now we'll get into this a bit more in the next slide, but we are taking action to manage these headwinds. And it's worth noting that our operations in Holland, Belgium and Switzerland saw improved fixed revenue trends year-over-year.

現在，我們在每季的電話會議上討論了消費者固定業務的動態。與過去一樣，隨著客戶在更具挑戰性的經濟時期優化其服務，我們繼續受到視訊和語音用戶數量下降以及 ARPU 和客戶流失壓力的影響。現在，我們將在下一張幻燈片中詳細介紹這一點，但我們正在採取行動來應對這些不利因素。值得注意的是，我們在荷蘭、比利時和瑞士的業務固定收入趨勢較去年同期有所改善。

The remaining numbers on this chart are all green, meaning our mobile and B2B businesses are growing consistently year-over-year. Our consumer mobile revenue, which represents between 20% and 40% of total revenue of each OpCo, is supported by postpaid volume growth and pricing actions; and B2B, which generally represents around 20% of total revenue, remains a consistent growth business for us here. We have an opportunity to gain significant market share, and we're focused on broadening our enterprise offerings beyond connectivity into the cloud, ICT and managed services.

這張圖表上的其餘數字均為綠色，這意味著我們的移動和 B2B 業務逐年持續成長。我們的消費者行動收入佔每個 OpCo 總收入的 20% 至 40%，這得益於後付費銷售成長和定價行動； B2B 通常佔總收入的 20% 左右，對我們來說仍然是持續成長的業務。我們有機會獲得重要的市場份額，並且我們專注於擴大我們的企業產品範圍，超越連接性，進入雲端、ICT 和託管服務。

So what are we doing to continue the momentum in our mobile and fixed businesses that we saw in Q4, where we outlined some of these commercial initiatives on Slide 7? On the mobile front, there are 4 key drivers of future growth. First, we will continue to underpin mobile service revenue with price rises that are now embedded into all contracts, except Belgium. We're also seeing great response to our loyalty programs, especially with our premium brands. There is no shortage of demand for tickets to live sports and music events, and we provide those. Our flanker brands, which are generally digital first and operating with really lean cost structures, will continue to contribute significant growth. And finally, our 5G upgrades are making good progress. We're fully 5G in Holland and Switzerland and between 50% and 66% upgraded in the U.K. and Belgium.

那麼，我們正在採取哪些措施來繼續我們在第四季度看到的移動和固定業務的勢頭，我們在幻燈片 7 上概述了其中一些商業計劃？在行動領域，未來成長有四個關鍵驅動力。首先，我們將繼續透過漲價來支撐行動服務收入，漲價現已納入除比利時以外的所有合約中。我們也看到我們的忠誠度計劃得到了很好的反響，尤其是我們的優質品牌。對現場體育賽事和音樂活動門票的需求並不缺乏，我們也提供這些門票。我們的側翼品牌通常以數位化為先，並以真正精益的成本結構運營，將繼續貢獻顯著的成長。最後，我們的5G升級正在取得良好進展。我們在荷蘭和瑞士實現了全面 5G，在英國和比利時升級了 50% 到 66%。

On our consumer fixed business, 4 key drivers are also at work here in 2024 and beyond. First, we have strategies in place to combat the headwinds from a declining video and fixed voice business. It's important to point out that our customer losses in these 2 segments are significantly smaller than the U.S. market. Nonetheless, we are bundling streaming services everywhere and putting together significant entertainment packages that differentiate us from competitors. As with mobile, we are well positioned to execute price rises across the footprint in 2024.

在我們的消費者固定業務中，2024 年及以後，4 個關鍵驅動因素也將發揮作用。首先，我們制定了策略來應對視訊和固定語音業務下滑帶來的不利影響。需要指出的是，我們在這兩個細分市場的客戶損失明顯小於美國市場。儘管如此，我們正在各地捆綁串流媒體服務，並整合重要的娛樂套餐，使我們與競爭對手區分開來。與行動領域一樣，我們有能力在 2024 年全面提高價格。

And if you look at the bottom of the chart, you can see our fixed ARPU trends over the last 3 years. Now while ARPU is declining modestly in the U.K. and Switzerland, we're actually growing fixed ARPU in Belgium, Holland and Ireland. And then finally, as expected, we'll see continued growth in our fixed business coming from our network upgrade and expansion plans, which is a great segue to my last slide before turning it over to Charlie. Here, we provide an update on our fixed network upgrade and expansion plans. The chart on the left shows our 32 million homes passed today by market. It's important to always leave with the fact that in every country, we are currently able to market a 1 gig speed product to 100% of our footprint with an easy and inexpensive path to 2.5 gigs when and where we want.

如果您查看圖表底部，您可以看到過去 3 年的固定 ARPU 趨勢。現在，雖然英國和瑞士的 ARPU 略有下降，但我們在比利時、荷蘭和愛爾蘭的 ARPU 實際上正在成長。最後，正如預期的那樣，我們將看到我們的固定業務持續成長，這來自我們的網路升級和擴展計劃，這是我將其移交給查理之前的上一張幻燈片的一個很好的延續。在此，我們提供固定網路升級和擴展計畫的最新資訊。左圖顯示了今天市場上流通的 3,200 萬套房屋。重要的是要始終記住這樣一個事實：在每個國家/地區，我們目前都能夠在我們的足跡中100% 銷售1 gig 速度的產品，並在我們想要的時間和地點輕鬆且廉價地實現2.5 gig。

Beyond that, however, we are squarely focused on upgrading our networks to 10-gig speeds and expanding the reach of our networks either through newbuild or whole buy access. Now with respect to network expansion, our next fiber JV in the U.K. is about to pass 1 million new fiber homes off the Virgin footprint and just announced a GBP 1 billion investment program for 2024. The ultimate goal here is to add an additional 5 million to 7 million homes. And in Belgium and Ireland, we will expand our reach through whole buy arrangements. In total, we expect to have increased our footprint by 2026, another 6 million homes to over 38 million homes.

然而，除此之外，我們還專注於將我們的網路升級到 10 吉比特的速度，並透過新建或整體購買存取來擴大我們的網路覆蓋範圍。現在就網路擴展而言，我們在英國的下一家光纖合資企業即將在Virgin 足跡中建造100 萬個新光纖家庭，並剛剛宣布了2024 年10 億英鎊的投資計劃。最終目標是再增加500 萬個光纖家庭到 700 萬戶家庭。在比利時和愛爾蘭，我們將透過整體購買安排來擴大我們的影響力。整體而言，我們預計到 2026 年我們的足跡將增加 600 萬戶，達到超過 3,800 萬戶。

Now fiber is obviously the biggest component of our upgrade plans. In fact, by 2028, 70% of those 38 million homes will be FTTH. Our biggest program is in the U.K., where we are well underway upgrading our 16 million home HFC network. We're doing the same across our 1 million homes in Ireland. And of course, in Belgium, our new NetCo Wyre is ramping its fiber upgrade plans. So in summary, a strong fourth quarter operationally, which we believe sets us up for continued commercial and strategic momentum in 2024.

現在光纖顯然是我們升級計畫的最大組成部分。事實上，到 2028 年，這 3,800 萬戶家庭中的 70% 將採用 FTTH。我們最大的計劃是在英國，我們正在順利升級我們的 1600 萬個家庭 HFC 網路。我們正在愛爾蘭的 100 萬戶家庭中做同樣的事情。當然，在比利時，我們新的 NetCo Wyre 正在加大其光纖升級計畫。總而言之，第四季度的營運表現強勁，我們相信這將為我們在 2024 年持續保持商業和戰略勢頭奠定基礎。

And with that, I'll turn it over to Charlie to walk through our financial results as well as our guidance for the current fiscal year. Charlie?

接下來，我將把它交給查理，讓他詳細介紹我們的財務表現以及本財年的指導。查理？

Thanks, Mike. Turning to our 2023 key financials. Across our companies, we saw stable to growing revenues across our core markets. In line with the revised guidance, VMO2 delivered stable revenue in 2023, despite continued fixed pressures and weak handset sales. Underlying service revenue trends remain positive.

謝謝，麥克。轉向我們 2023 年的主要財務數據。在我們的公司中，我們看到核心市場的收入穩定成長。根據修訂後的指引，儘管固定壓力持續存在且手機銷售疲軟，VMO2 仍於 2023 年實現了穩定的收入。基本服務收入趨勢仍然樂觀。

VodafoneZiggo delivered 1% revenue growth in 2023, driven by a strong Q4 performance, supported by a 10% level price rise in October. And Telenet delivered 1% revenue growth in 2023, supported by their price rise in June and a return to growth in Q4. Sunrise delivered stable revenue in 2023 despite the headwinds resulting from the migration of the UPC back book onto the Sunrise brand. Growth of 2.5% in Q4 was primarily driven by mobile and B2B.

在第四季度強勁業績的推動下，以及 10 月價格上漲 10% 的支撐下，VodafoneZiggo 在 2023 年實現了 1% 的營收成長。在 6 月價格上漲和第四季恢復成長的支撐下，Telenet 在 2023 年實現了 1% 的營收成長。儘管 UPC 背書遷移到 Sunrise 品牌帶來了阻力，但 Sunrise 在 2023 年仍實現了穩定的收入。第四季 2.5% 的成長主要由行動和 B2B 推動。

Turning to EBITDA. Virgin Media O2 met their full year guidance here as well, delivering 3.8% rebased adjusted EBITDA growth for full year '23. Adjusted EBITDA growth was primarily supported by strong execution on synergies as the business tracks ahead of their original plan, although this did result in higher cost to capture in the year than we originally projected. VodafoneZiggo met the full year guidance of low mid-single-digit decline as the business works through the extraordinary cost inflation impacts that we've been highlighting since the beginning of the year, particularly in energy. Telenet delivered stable EBITDA for the year and achieved guidance despite an IT issue that impacted customer services from Q2. And finally, Sunrise posted strong adjusted EBITDA growth in Q4, and in full year 2023 came in towards the top of their guidance range, supported by good execution of the merger synergies and the in-year price rise.

轉向 EBITDA。 Virgin Media O2 也達到了全年指引，23 年全年經重新調整後的調整後 EBITDA 成長率為 3.8%。調整後的 EBITDA 成長主要得益於協同效應的強勁執行，因為業務提前完成了最初的計劃，儘管這確實導致今年的捕獲成本高於我們最初的預期。 VodafoneZiggo 實現了中低個位數下降的全年指引，因為該業務正在應對我們自年初以來一直強調的非同尋常的成本通膨影響，特別是在能源方面。儘管 IT 議題從第二季開始影響了客戶服務，但 Telenet 全年交付了穩定的 EBITDA，並實現了指引。最後，Sunrise 在第四季度公佈了強勁的調整後 EBITDA 增長，並在合併協同效應和年內價格上漲的良好執行的支持下，2023 年全年接近其指導範圍的頂部。

On the next slide is a breakdown of our free cash flow profile for 2023 by operating company. We ended the full year 2023 modestly ahead of our original $1.6 billion distributable cash flow guidance, excluding an unanticipated U.S. tax payment of $315 million related to a historic 2010 disposal in Japan that was paid very late on in Q4. On a reported basis, we generated $1.4 billion of distributable cash flow.

下一張投影片是我們按營運公司劃分的 2023 年自由現金流狀況的細分。我們在2023 年全年結束時略微提前了最初的16 億美元可分配現金流指引，其中不包括與2010 年曆史性的日本處置相關的3.15 億美元美國意外稅款，該稅款在第四季度很晚才支付。根據報告，我們產生了 14 億美元的可分配現金流。

To call out a few items on the central adjusted free cash flow, the central net spend for the year was at the low end of our annual $200 million to $250 million target. On tax, as we've highlighted before, there was a $60 million outflow related to our ongoing U.S. mandatory repatriation tax that was deferred in 2017. We expect 2024 outflows for this tax to be around $80 million and $100 million in 2025, with the transition tax falling away in 2026. Positively, given our substantial cash balance through the year, we generated interest income on our cash balance, and we also received around $55 million of dividends from our ventures portfolio. And lastly, we delivered on our capital intensity targets across our operating companies for the year, managing significant investments in 5G and fixed network capacity.

列舉一些有關中央調整後自由現金流的項目，今年的中央淨支出處於我們 2 億至 2.5 億美元年度目標的低端。在稅收方面，正如我們之前強調的那樣，與2017 年遞延的美國現行強制遣返稅相關的資金流出有6000 萬美元。我們預計該稅款的流出在2024 年將達到8000 萬美元左右，到2025年將達到1 億美元。過渡稅將於2026 年取消。積極的是，鑑於我們全年擁有大量現金餘額，我們的現金餘額產生了利息收入，並且我們還從我們的風險投資組合中獲得了約5500 萬美元的股息。最後，我們實現了營運公司今年的資本強度目標，管理了 5G 和固定網路容量的大量投資。

Turning to guidance for 2024. We're providing guidance by operating companies, including their free cash flow. As part of the pivot to net asset value which Mike will discuss, we will not be providing distributable cash flow guidance to the parent going forward, though clearly, the distributions of our key subsidiaries will continue to support a healthy cash flow to the parent. The pivot from distributable cash flow guidance to free cash flow guidance by operating companies has been driven primarily by investor demand for additional focus on free cash flow generation of our 4 core assets.

談到 2024 年的指導。我們正在提供營運公司的指導，包括其自由現金流。作為麥克將討論的轉向淨資產價值的一部分，我們不會向母公司提供未來可分配的現金流量指導，但顯然，我們主要子公司的分配將繼續支持母公司的健康現金流。營運公司從可分配現金流量指導向自由現金流量指導的轉變主要是由於投資者要求更加關注我們的 4 項核心資產的自由現金流量產生。

For VMO2, we expect stable to declining revenues, excluding nexfibre construction revenues driven by continued pressures in B2B fixed and handset segments; a low to mid-single-digit adjusted EBITDA decline, excluding nexfibre cost to capture, driven by investments into future growth drivers, and I'll dive into this a bit more on the next slide; property and equipment additions of around GBP 2 billion to GBP 2.2 billion. This is excluding ROU additions, which can be lumpy depending on lease renewals; and adjusted free cash flow of around GBP 500 million for the year. Cash distributions to shareholders are targeted to be around GBP 850 million, supported by the proceeds from the stake sale of the CTIL towers.

對於 VMO2，我們預計收入將穩定或下降，不包括 B2B 固定和手機領域持續壓力推動的 nexfibre 建設收入；由於對未來成長動力的投資，調整後的 EBITDA 出現低至中個位數的下降，不包括獲取新光纖的成本，我將在下一張幻燈片中進一步探討這一點；財產和設備增加約 20 億英鎊至 22 億英鎊。這不包括使用權的增加，根據租約的續約，使用權的增加可能會出現波動；全年調整後自由現金流約5億英鎊。在 CTIL 塔樓股權出售收益的支持下，股東現金分配目標約為 8.5 億英鎊。

Turning to Sunrise. We expect stable revenue and stable to low single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth, as we expect to see continued support from the July price rise and reduced impact from the UPC brand migration in 2024; property and equipment additions as a percentage of sales of 16% to 18%, including cost to capture; cost to capture spend will drop this year, falling to around CHF 15 million, which is mainly CapEx related; and adjusted free cash flow of CHF 360 million to CHF 400 million for the year, a strong step-up versus 2023.

轉向日出。我們預計收入穩定，調整後 EBITDA 增長穩定至低個位數，因為我們預計 7 月價格上漲將繼續提供支持，並且 2024 年 UPC 品牌遷移的影響將減少；財產和設備增加佔銷售額的百分比為 16% 至 18%，包括捕獲成本；今年獲取支出的成本將下降，降至 1,500 萬瑞士法郎左右，這主要與資本支出有關；調整後的全年自由現金流為 3.6 億瑞士法郎至 4 億瑞士法郎，較 2023 年大幅成長。

For VodafoneZiggo, we expect continued revenue growth supported by pricing actions; low single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth, driven by an improved OpEx profile from lower energy costs; property and equipment additions remained stable year-on-year at 21% to 23% of sales; adjusted free cash flow of around EUR 300 million; and cash distributions up to this amount.

對於 VodafoneZiggo，我們預計定價行動將支持收入持續成長；較低的個位數調整後 EBITDA 成長，得益於能源成本降低所帶來的營運支出改善；物業和設備增加額較去年同期保持穩定，佔銷售額的 21% 至 23%；調整後自由現金流約3億歐元；以及不超過該金額的現金分配。

And finally on Telenet, we expect broadly stable revenues supported by pricing actions; a mid-single-digit rebased adjusted EBITDA decline due to OpEx investments, such as increased marketing associated with the new converged bundle offering in Wallonia, leveraging the Telenet products and brand across third-party networks; property and equipment additions of around 32% of revenue, driven by the accelerated rollout of fiber homes in our footprint in Flanders and parts of Brussels through the Wyre NetCo; and despite the heavy network investments, still positive free cash flow for the year of EUR 50 million to EUR 75 million.

最後，在 Telenet 上，我們預期在定價行動的支持下收入將大致穩定；由於營運支出投資，例如與瓦隆地區新的融合捆綁產品相關的行銷增加，利用第三方網路上的 Telenet 產品和品牌，導致調整後 EBITDA 出現中個位數下降；財產和設備增加約佔收入的 32%，這是由於透過 Wyre NetCo 在我們在佛蘭德斯和布魯塞爾部分地區的足跡中加速推出光纖家庭；儘管進行了大量網路投資，全年自由現金流仍為 5,000 萬歐元至 7,500 萬歐元。

Turning to the last slide before I hand back to Mike. I wanted to detail some of the investment initiatives and drivers for VMO2 in 2024 to support future growth. Since the JV was established, revenue excluding nexfibre has been broadly flat, not least due to the headwinds from declining video and voice customers as well as weaker handset sales than in the past.

在我交還給麥克之前，請先看最後一張投影片。我想詳細介紹 2024 年 VMO2 的一些投資舉措和驅動因素，以支持未來的成長。自合資公司成立以來，不包括 nexfibre 的收入基本持平，這主要是由於視訊和語音客戶減少以及手機銷售比過去疲軟帶來的不利影響。

However, despite these headwinds, we've delivered strong mid-single-digit EBITDA growth, supported by primarily accelerated synergy execution. At the end of 2023, we delivered GBP 359 million of the total synergy run rate target of GBP 540 million or roughly 66% of the target. However, in 2023 alone, we spent one-off cost to capture of GBP 185 million, depressing the net contribution to free cash flow.

然而，儘管存在這些不利因素，在協同執行加速的支持下，我們仍實現了強勁的中位數 EBITDA 成長。截至 2023 年底，我們實現了 5.4 億英鎊總協同運行率目標中的 3.59 億英鎊，約佔目標的 66%。然而，光是 2023 年，我們就花了一次性成本來獲取 1.85 億英鎊，壓低了對自由現金流的淨貢獻。

As cost to capture fall away with the completion of the synergy program, we expect to see the full impact of the GBP 540 million of synergies reflected in the company's free cash flows, which should underpin long-term free cash flow generation. And alongside this, over the last few years, we've also been investing in excess of GBP 500 million per year on 5G and fiber upgrade and prior to that, on Project Lightning. We anticipate our fiber upgrade program to be completed in 2028, and we continue to invest in rolling out 5G nationwide. As these programs are completed in the next few years, we expect the capital intensity to reduce substantially. And together with the strong tax assets that these investment programs generate, this should lead to a strong free cash flow conversion and profile in the longer term.

隨著協同計畫的完成，捕獲成本會下降，我們預計 5.4 億英鎊協同效應的全部影響將體現在公司的自由現金流中，這將支撐長期自由現金流的產生。除此之外，在過去幾年中，我們每年還投資超過 5 億英鎊用於 5G 和光纖升級，在此之前還投資於閃電計畫。我們預計光纖升級計畫將於 2028 年完成，並將繼續投資在全國推廣 5G。隨著這些項目在未來幾年內完成，我們預計資本密集度將大幅降低。加上這些投資計畫產生的強大稅收資產，從長遠來看，這應該會帶來強勁的自由現金流轉換和狀況。

2024 is a key transition year in this journey as we are accelerating investments not just in mobile and fixed networks, but also an initiative to underpin long-term revenue growth. In particular, in 2024, we are increasing investment in IT efficiency programs, transforming the customer experience, marketing initiatives to support new product launches and also operating expenses associated with selling into the rapidly expanding nexfibre network. The foundation of these investments that we are laying in 2024 should create a strong platform for growth in the subsequent years.

2024 年是這段旅程中的關鍵過渡年，因為我們不僅加快了對行動和固定網路的投資，而且還採取了支持長期收入成長的措施。特別是，到 2024 年，我們將增加對 IT 效率計劃的投資，改變客戶體驗、支援新產品發布的行銷計劃，以及與快速擴張的 nexfibre 網路銷售相關的營運費用。我們在 2024 年奠定的這些投資基礎將為未來幾年的成長創造一個強大的平台。

Now with that, I'll pass over to Mike to start the strategy update.

現在，我將讓麥克開始更新策略。

Thanks, Charlie, and nice job. So that concludes our prepared remarks on our Q4 and 2023 results, which means we're going to transition now to our strategy update. Hopefully, you've got a copy of these slides in front of you as well because there's quite a bit of information to cover.

謝謝，查理，幹得好。我們對第四季度和 2023 年業績準備好的評論就到此結束，這意味著我們現在將過渡到策略更新。希望您面前也有這些幻燈片的副本，因為其中包含相當多的信息。

And I'm on the first slide, Slide 14, I believe, which summarizes pretty much everything we're going to talk about today. And beginning at the top with a statement that I believe captures our main message to you here clearly and concisely, which is moving forward, our strategy will be focused on maximizing the inherent value of our core assets, which we believe is substantial and importantly, delivering that value to shareholders over time.

我正在看第一張投影片，即投影片 14，我相信它總結了我們今天要討論的幾乎所有內容。從頂部開始，我相信該聲明清楚而簡潔地傳達了我們向您傳達的主要信息，即向前邁進，我們的戰略將側重於最大化我們核心資產的內在價值，我們認為這是巨大且重要的，隨著時間的推移，為股東提供這種價值。

So how does that differ from what we've been doing? The clear pivot here is in the commitment to take the financial and strategic steps necessary to deliver that value to you, which will come in 3 ways. First, we will continue to focus on shrinking our equities so long as our stock trades at a sizable discount; but second, in certain circumstances, we intend to actually put that value in your hands through dividends, spin-offs, tracking stocks; and third, as we execute on this plan, we also expect to deliver that value in the form of a higher share price.

那麼這與我們一直在做的事有什麼不同呢？這裡的明確重點是承諾採取必要的財務和策略步驟來為您提供該價值，這將透過三種方式實現。首先，只要我們的股票交易價格有相當大的折扣，我們將繼續專注於縮減我們的股票；但其次，在某些情況下，我們打算透過股利、分拆、追蹤股票將這種價值真正交到您手中；第三，當我們執行該計劃時，我們也期望以更高的股價形式實現這一價值。

Now you might be asking, why now? Well, we've been working towards this moment for some time. For starters, we've completely repositioned our portfolio of operating businesses over the last 6 or 7 years. We were among the first to see the importance of fixed mobile convergence in Europe, which led us to sell more than $25 billion in cable assets over that time frame at an average of 11x EBITDA and acquire or merge with the best mobile companies in our remaining markets.

現在你可能會問，為什麼是現在？嗯，為了這一刻，我們已經努力了一段時間了。首先，我們在過去六、七年徹底重新定位了我們的營運業務組合。我們是最早認識到歐洲固定行動融合重要性的公司之一，這促使我們在這段時間內以平均11 倍EBITDA 的價格出售了超過250 億美元的有線資產，並收購或合併了我們剩餘的時間裡最好的行動公司。市場。

Now you would also know that we put nearly all of those net proceeds, around $14 billion, back into our stock by purchasing over 60% of our shares since January 2017 in what we believe are attractive prices. And then lastly, with your support as shareholders, could we successfully redomicile our company to Bermuda, which has created significantly more corporate flexibility to do some of the things we will talk about today. So all of the pieces of the puzzle are in place, and we intend to take advantage of this moment. In the middle of the slide, you'll see 5 announcements we're making today, each of which brings this strategy to life. I'll run through these quickly because there's a slide on each of them coming up.

現在您還知道，自 2017 年 1 月以來，我們以我們認為具有吸引力的價格購買了超過 60% 的股票，將幾乎所有淨收益（約 140 億美元）重新投入到我們的股票中。最後，在您作為股東的支持下，我們能否成功地將公司遷至百慕達，這為我們今天要討論的一些事情創造了更大的企業彈性。所以拼圖的所有部分都已就位，我們打算利用這一刻。在投影片中間，您將看到我們今天發布的 5 項公告，每一項都將這項策略付諸實行。我會快速瀏覽這些內容，因為每個內容都會有一張投影片。

First, we have started the process of listing our Swiss subsidiary, Sunrise, in anticipation of spinning off 100% of those shares to Liberty Global shareholders in the second half of the year. Second, we have created a new holding company called Liberty Global Benelux, to own and manage our interest in both Telenet and VodafoneZiggo. Third, we have agreed with our partner, Telefónica, to begin the process of creating a separate NetCo, comprising our 16 million home HFC and fiber footprint in the U.K. today. Fourth, we are announcing an agreement to sell one of our content assets in the venture portfolio, All3Media, for 12x EBITDA or roughly $400 million of net proceeds to us. And then finally, we're also announcing today our intention to buy up to 10% of our shares in calendar 2024.

首先，我們已經啟動瑞士子公司 Sunrise 的上市流程，預計在今年下半年將 100% 的股份分拆給 Liberty Global 股東。其次，我們創建了一家名為 Liberty Global Benelux 的新控股公司，以擁有並管理我們在 Telenet 和 VodafoneZiggo 中的權益。第三，我們已與我們的合作夥伴 Telefónica 達成協議，開始創建一個獨立的 NetCo，其中包括我們今天在英國的 1600 萬個家庭 HFC 和光纖足跡。第四，我們宣布達成協議，以 12 倍 EBITDA 或約 4 億美元的淨收益出售我們創投組合中的一項內容資產 All3Media。最後，我們今天也宣布，我們打算在 2024 年購買最多 10% 的股票。

These announcements, each in their own way, reinforce our commitment to delivering value to shareholders. In the next 20 minutes or so, we'll talk about each of these as well as our view on the positioning and valuation of our underlying assets and how we see generating and allocating capital moving forward.

這些公告均以各自的方式強化了我們為股東創造價值的承諾。在接下來的 20 分鐘左右的時間裡，我們將逐一討論這些問題，以及我們對基礎資產的定位和估值的看法，以及我們如何看待未來的資本產生和分配。

So before getting into each of these transactions, I thought it would be useful to step back and highlight some of the financial, structural and strategic advantages that define who we are, that make us unique relative to our peer group and provide the critical tools we need to execute on this plan. Six of them are listed here on Slide 15. The first of those is our strong track record of capital allocation. Charlie is going to show you a slide in a moment, which outlines how we've generated and invested over $23 billion of net M&A proceeds and free cash flow over the last 6 to 7 years.

因此，在進行每一項交易之前，我認為退後一步並強調一些財務、結構和戰略優勢是有用的，這些優勢定義了我們是誰，使我們相對於同行群體獨一無二，並為我們提供了關鍵工具。需要執行這個計劃。第 15 張投影片列出了其中的六個。第一個是我們在資本配置方面的良好記錄。 Charlie 稍後將向您展示一張幻燈片，其中概述了我們在過去 6 至 7 年中如何產生和投資了超過 230 億美元的淨併購收益和自由現金流。

There's 3 points to make here. First, we believe we are outstanding buyers, builders and sellers of businesses in this sector, full stop. I think that's evidenced by the deals I just referenced. Few operators, if any, have a 30-year track record like ours in this space. In Germany, for example, which we sold to Vodafone in 2019, we invested EUR 2 billion of equity over 7 years and took out over EUR 13 billion in dividends and net sale proceeds. You can do that math.

這裡有3點要說明。首先，我們相信我們是該領域企業的傑出買家、建造者和賣家，句點。我認為我剛才提到的交易就證明了這一點。很少有業者（如果有的話）能像我們一樣在這個領域擁有 30 年的業績記錄。以德國為例，我們在 2019 年將其出售給沃達豐，在 7 年內投資了 20 億歐元的股權，並獲得了超過 130 億歐元的股息和淨出售收益。你可以做這個數學。

Second, we are committed to value creation for shareholders. All the steps we've taken: exiting markets at a premium, our buyback program and our announcements today, demonstrate that we are not empire builders. We are value creators. And third, we have ongoing sources of capital that will fuel these and future opportunities to deliver that value to you.

第二，我們致力於為股東創造價值。我們採取的所有步驟：以溢價退出市場、我們的回購計畫以及我們今天的公告，都表明我們不是帝國的締造者。我們是價值創造者。第三，我們擁有持續的資金來源，可以為這些和未來的機會提供動力，為您帶來價值。

And the next 3 tools listed on this slide are structural advantages that are also critical. Our balance sheet is built for value creation. We have no corporate debt, rather all our debt is siloed into our operating businesses, totally portable in terms of transaction flexibility with no change in control restrictions and derisked from a point of view of interest rates, currencies and maturities. This is a major strategic asset and point of differentiation for us. And most of you are aware that we go to great lengths to ensure that we're optimizing our tax position for the benefit of shareholders throughout our business, always within the rules and regulations, of course, but with a focus and capability that is second to none. And I already mentioned Bermuda and the benefits that brings, we could not be happier with our current corporate structure.

本投影片中列出的接下來 3 個工具是同樣至關重要的結構優勢。我們的資產負債表是為了創造價值而建立的。我們沒有公司債務，相反，我們所有的債務都集中在我們的營運業務中，在交易靈活性方面完全可移植，控制限制沒有變化，並且從利率、貨幣和期限的角度消除了風險。這是我們的重要策略資產和差異化點。你們中的大多數人都知道，我們竭盡全力確保我們為了整個業務中股東的利益而優化我們的稅務狀況，當然，始終遵守規則和法規，但重點和能力是第二位的沒有人。我已經提到了百慕達及其帶來的好處，我們對目前的公司結構非常滿意。

Number five on this slide references our unwavering commitment to shareholder remuneration. I've given you the historical numbers. And our announcements today would result in the largest shareholder return in our history when you include the buyback commitment, the spin-off of Sunrise and the investment we plan to make pre-spin to delever that business. More on that in a moment. And then finally, we're sitting on some of the best operating businesses in Europe as well as some scaled assets and strategic platforms that you may not be familiar with, all of which create a pipeline of opportunity for value creation and value delivery moving forward.

這張投影片上的第五點提到了我們對股東薪酬堅定不移的承諾。我已經給你了歷史數字。如果考慮到回購承諾、Sunrise 的分拆以及我們計劃進行預分拆以去槓桿化該業務的投資，我們今天的公告將帶來我們歷史上最大的股東回報。稍後會詳細介紹。最後，我們坐擁歐洲一些營運最好的企業，以及一些您可能不熟悉的規模化資產和策略平台，所有這些都為未來的價值創造和價值交付創造了機會。

That's a good segue to the next slide because the most important source of both future value creation and future value distribution is our FMC operating companies. And here on Slide 16, we provide a framework for evaluating each of these businesses on the basis of market structure, convergence, synergy execution, network investment, infrastructure monetization and the opportunity to pursue equity capital markets transaction. There's a lot of information on this chart. I'd encourage you to go through it after the call. I'm just going to hit the highlights for you.

這是下一張投影片的一個很好的延續，因為未來價值創造和未來價值分配的最重要來源是我們的 FMC 營運公司。在投影片 16 中，我們提供了一個框架，根據市場結構、整合、協同執行、網路投資、基礎設施貨幣化以及追求股權資本市場交易的機會來評估每項業務。這張圖表上有很多資訊。我鼓勵您在通話後仔細檢查一下。我只想為您重點介紹一下。

First, it should be clear that Sunrise is best positioned today to pursue an equity capital markets transaction. And not surprisingly, that's why we're announcing the spin-off. The Swiss market is highly rational. Sunrise is fully converged and nearly done with synergies. The transition to 5G is complete. We have access to nationwide HFC and fiber with very efficient CapEx profiles, and these factors and more support a strong free cash flow profile.

首先，應該要明確的是，Sunrise 目前處於進行股權資本市場交易的最佳位置。毫不奇怪，這就是我們宣布分拆的原因。瑞士市場高度理性。 Sunrise 已完全融合，幾乎透過協同效應完成。向 5G 的過渡已完成。我們可以使用全國範圍內的 HFC 和光纖，資本支出非常高效，這些因素以及更多因素支持了強勁的自由現金流狀況。

Now moving to our other markets. The operations under Liberty Global Benelux are also well positioned. These are rational market structures and fully converged operations with synergies complete. While we're at different stages of 5G and fiber in each country, the infrastructure opportunity in both markets is substantial. The Dutch business has yet to monetize towers, for example. And our NetCo in Belgium, which we call Wyre, is one of the most penetrated and profitable fixed infrastructures in Europe. And I'll talk about all of this in more in a moment.

現在轉向我們的其他市場。 Liberty Global Benelux 旗下的業務也處於有利位置。市場結構合理，業務融合充分，綜效充分。雖然每個國家都處於 5G 和光纖的不同階段，但這兩個市場的基礎設施機會是巨大的。例如，荷蘭企業尚未將塔樓貨幣化。我們位於比利時的 NetCo（我們稱之為 Wyre）是歐洲滲透率最高、獲利能力最強的固定基礎設施之一。我稍後將詳細討論所有這些內容。

Our joint venture with Telefónica and Virgin Media O2 is also in a unique position. We're still in the early stages of our 5G and fiber investment cycle and synergies are still being implemented, but the infrastructure opportunity is substantial with both towers and our announced U.K. NetCo, providing a source of monetization, financing optionality and value creation. Overall, this is our largest business and one that we remain extremely excited about.

我們與 Telefónica 和 Virgin Media O2 的合資企業也處於獨特的地位。我們仍處於5G 和光纖投資週期的早期階段，協同效應仍在實施中，但基礎設施機會對於這兩個塔和我們宣布的英國NetCo 來說是巨大的，提供了貨幣化、融資選擇和價值創造的來源。總的來說，這是我們最大的業務，也是我們仍然感到非常興奮的業務。

Now I've referenced value and value creation several times already. One of our goals today is to discuss valuation with you, in particular, how we view our stock relative to our peers and the strategies we're pursuing. And this is perhaps the most important slide we'll present. And analysts and investors alike are aware of the significant discount in our stock, which we've been taking advantage of, of course, with our own buyback program. But as we've indicated today, the time has come to bridge that gap. And here, we quantify that gap for you with our own sum-of-the-parts analysis.

現在我已經多次提到了價值和價值創造。我們今天的目標之一是與您討論估值，特別是我們如何看待我們的股票相對於同業以及我們正在追求的策略。這也許是我們將要展示的最重要的幻燈片。分析師和投資者都知道我們股票的大幅折扣，當然，我們一直在利用我們自己的回購計劃。但正如我們今天所指出的，現在是彌合這一差距的時候了。在這裡，我們透過我們自己的部分總和分析為您量化了這一差距。

Now I'll start by acknowledging that there are many ways to approach valuation, and that reasonable people can disagree on assumptions and methodology. But we believe that the numbers we are presenting here on this slide are the clearest and most defendable. Let me walk you through it.

現在我首先要承認，評估的方法有很多種，理性的人可能會對假設和方法有不同意見。但我們相信，我們在這張投影片上提供的數字是最清晰、最有說服力的。讓我引導您完成它。

We'll begin on the top left with our current share price of $20. If you subtract our cash balance, which is equivalent to $10 per share, and you subtract our listed equity stake, these are listed equity stakes which are worth $2 per share, you're left with 2 things: the value of our ventures portfolio and our interest in our FMC champions.

我們將從左上角開始，目前股價為 20 美元。如果你減去我們的現金餘額（相當於每股10 美元），再減去我們的上市股權（這些上市股權價值每股2 美元），你就剩下兩件事：我們的創投組合的價值和我們對 FMC 冠軍很感興趣。

Now Charlie will talk about ventures in a moment, but you should know that we have these assets valued regularly by an independent third party, and we've demonstrated to you a willingness and an ability to turn these investments into cash over time. We think together, they represent $6 per share. So where does that leave the value of our proportionate interest in our core FMC operations, which totaled in the aggregate, I'll remind you, $25 billion of revenue, 85 million connections and $9.3 billion of EBITDA. In our analysis, about $2 per share or $800 million. Clearly viewed through this lens, there is a major disconnect.

現在查理稍後將討論風險投資，但您應該知道，我們有獨立第三方定期對這些資產進行估值，並且我們已經向您展示了隨著時間的推移將這些投資轉化為現金的意願和能力。我們認為，它們代表每股 6 美元。那麼，我們在核心 FMC 業務中的相應權益的價值在哪裡呢？我提醒您，這些業務的總收入為 250 億美元、8500 萬個連接和 93 億美元的 EBITDA。根據我們的分析，大約每股 2 美元，即 8 億美元。透過這個鏡頭可以清楚地看到，存在著很大的脫節。

So what do we think our proportionate interest in Sunrise, Liberty Global Benelux, VMO2 are worth? There's many ways to arrive at that figure, but one of the simplest and perhaps least subjective ways is to look at our peer group. If you simply apply the public trading multiples for operating free cash flow of our incumbent competitors in the U.K., Holland and Switzerland, along with the transaction value for our recent delisting of Telenet, you arrive at around $30 per share. Now that's not $30 per share for Liberty Global, that's $30 per share just for the FMC component of our sum-of-the-parts valuation. In fact, the implied value for Liberty Global would be closer to $48 per share. Now we're not suggesting that the stock will or should trade there immediately, but we believe there is significant embedded value in our operating companies, even if you apply a discount to cash and a discount to our listed stakes and a discount to ventures, you're still going to arrive at a number for the implied value of our FMC operations significantly below $30. Have a go. When the call is over, you can see what I mean. And this is the reason for the listing and spinning off Switzerland, which we describe in a bit more detail in a second. We're going to hand that value, that fully distributed value to investors.

那麼，我們認為我們在 Sunrise、Liberty Global Benelux、VMO2 中所佔權益的價值是多少？得出這個數字的方法有很多，但最簡單、也許最不主觀的方法之一就是觀察我們的同儕群體。如果您簡單地應用我們在英國、荷蘭和瑞士的現有競爭對手運營自由現金流的公開交易倍數，以及我們最近退市的 Telenet 的交易價值，您將得到每股 30 美元左右。現在，這不是 Liberty Global 的每股 30 美元，而是我們綜合估值中 FMC 部分的每股 30 美元。事實上，Liberty Global 的隱含價值將接近每股 48 美元。現在我們不建議股票將或應該立即在那裡交易，但我們相信我們的營運公司具有巨大的內在價值，即使您對現金進行折扣，對我們的上市股份進行折扣，並對風險企業進行折扣，您仍然會得出我們FMC 業務的隱含價值遠低於30 美元的數字。試試吧。通話結束後，您就明白我的意思了。這就是瑞士上市和分拆的原因，我們稍後會更詳細地描述。我們將把這個價值，也就是完全分配的價值交給投資人。

So turning to Slide 18. We're really excited about the Sunrise transaction. On the left-hand side here, we highlight the basic elements of the deal, which will see us list and spin 100% of the shares to Liberty shareholders. Prior to that, and this is important, we are committed to investing up to $1.7 billion to delever Sunrise, which will optimize the fully distributed value of the stock and therefore, the value of the dividend to you.

現在轉向幻燈片 18。我們對 Sunrise 交易感到非常興奮。在此處的左側，我們重點介紹了該交易的基本要素，這將使我們將 100% 的股份上市並出售給 Liberty 股東。在此之前，這一點很重要，我們承諾投資高達 17 億美元來對 Sunrise 進行去槓桿化，這將優化股票的完全分配價值，從而優化您的股息價值。

Now the rationale for this deal is clear. In addition to helping us demonstrate the underlying value of our assets, Sunrise is a compelling equity story. The Swiss market is one of the strongest in Europe with very attractive macro characteristics in a rational telecom sector, has one of the most advanced operators in Europe, Sunrise generates significant free cash flow and the management team has a great track record. André Krause, for example, was the CEO of Sunrise when we took the company private and is highly respected in the Swiss financial market.

現在這筆交易的理由很清楚了。除了幫助我們展示資產的潛在價值之外，Sunrise 也是一個引人注目的股票故事。瑞士市場是歐洲最強大的市場之一，在理性的電信行業中具有非常有吸引力的宏觀特徵，擁有歐洲最先進的運營商之一，Sunrise 產生大量的自由現金流，管理團隊擁有良好的業績記錄。例如，安德烈·克勞斯 (André Krause) 在 Sunrise 私有化時擔任首席執行官，在瑞士金融市場備受尊敬。

Some other considerations worth pointing out, we will fund the $1.7 billion from 3 sources: the sale of All3Media; the free cash flow generated by Sunrise this year; and less than $1 billion of our corporate cash. It's worth repeating that we do not require any third-party investment or financing to achieve this transaction. Look, if somebody wants to approach us on a strategic or financial basis and they want to participate on terms that are acceptable to us, we may listen to that. But this deal is happening either way.

其他一些值得指出的考慮因素，我們將從 3 個來源籌集 17 億美元資金：出售 All3Media； Sunrise今年產生的自由現金流；我們的公司現金不到 10 億美元。值得重申的是，我們不需要任何第三方投資或融資來完成這項交易。聽著，如果有人想在策略或財務方面與我們接觸，並且他們想以我們可以接受的條件參與，我們可能會聽取他們的意見。但無論如何，這筆交易都會發生。

A couple of other points. The actual listing will be on the Swiss Exchange with a similar voting structure to Liberty Global today. JPMorgan and UBS have been appointed as advisers. And the goal is to make the transaction tax-free to U.S. shareholders and possibly other jurisdictions to be determined. So stay tuned for more information and also for the announced timing of Sunrise's Capital Markets Day where André and the team will walk through the entire story. It's a good one.

其他幾點。實際的上市將在瑞士交易所進行，其投票結構與今天的 Liberty Global 類似。摩根大通和瑞銀已被任命為顧問。目標是使美國股東以及可能確定的其他司法管轄區的交易免稅。因此，請繼續關注更多資訊以及 Sunrise 資本市場日宣布的時間，André 和團隊將在會議上講述整個故事。這是一件好事。

Now turning to the Benelux. We're announcing today the creation of Liberty Global Benelux, a holding company which owns our interest in Belgium and Holland. The rationale for this move is also clear. Together, these 2 operations will create one of the largest FMC platforms in Europe with EUR 7 billion of pro forma combined revenue and EUR 3 billion of EBITDA, that would make Liberty Global Benelux on an aggregate basis comparable in size to KPN or Swisscom. Also, strategic growth plans for both of these operations have a lot of similarities, I mean, specifically a focus on entertainment differentiation, fixed network development and digital and AI initiatives. In addition, we think a single operational focus should help drive best practices across these programs as well as cross-border efficiencies and importantly, financial synergies.

現在轉向比荷盧經濟聯盟。我們今天宣布成立 Liberty Global Benelux，這是一家控股公司，擁有我們在比利時和荷蘭的權益。此舉的理由也很清楚。這兩項業務將共同打造歐洲最大的 FMC 平台之一，預計綜合收入為 70 億歐元，EBITDA 為 30 億歐元，這將使 Liberty Global Benelux 的整體規模與 KPN 或 Swisscom 相當。此外，這兩個業務的策略性成長計畫有很多相似之處，我的意思是，特別關注娛樂差異化、固定網路開發以及數位和人工智慧計畫。此外，我們認為單一的營運重點應有助於推動這些專案的最佳實踐以及跨境效率，重要的是財務協同效應。

Perhaps most importantly, we see multiple avenues for value creation going forward. For example, both operations have significant infrastructure assets. The Dutch operation is yet to monetize towers. And of course, Telenet sitting, as I said, on one of the more sophisticated and profitable infrastructures in Europe. The new holding company provides an optimal tax and governance structure, and it gives us a vehicle to be opportunistic as we explore market consolidation and potentially other inorganic opportunities. We also believe that as a scale player in the region, Liberty Global Benelux will be attractive to strategic and financial investors and could be an ideal candidate for equity capital markets transactions when the timing is right. So I have a lot more to say about this platform as plans develop.

也許最重要的是，我們看到了未來創造價值的多種途徑。例如，這兩家公司都擁有重要的基礎設施資產。荷蘭公司尚未將塔樓貨幣化。當然，正如我所說，Telenet 坐落於歐洲更複雜、更有利可圖的基礎設施之一。新的控股公司提供了最佳的稅收和治理結構，它為我們在探索市場整合和潛在的其他無機機會時提供了機會主義的工具。我們也相信，作為該地區的規模參與者，Liberty Global Benelux 將吸引策略和金融投資者，並在時機成熟時可能成為股權資本市場交易的理想候選人。因此，隨著計劃的發展，我對這個平台還有很多話要說。

Now the next slide summarizes our intention to create a U.K. NetCo comprising all of our Virgin Media O2 fixed network assets in the U.K. This is a significant milestone for VMO2, and one of the most important announcements we're making today. As you know, we've invested considerable time and capital developing our fixed network strategy in the U.K. Specifically, we've made substantial progress on 2 core initiatives. First, expanding our network reach through our JV with InfraVia called nexfibre, which will have built around 1 million fiber-to-the-home premises by the end of Q1. It's fully financed, by the way, and just announced that they will spend GBP 1 billion this year growing the fiber footprint. And then secondly, we've begun the process of upgrading VMO2's HFC network to fiber, with over 3 million of our 16 million homes already fiber today.

現在，下一張投影片總結了我們創建英國 NetCo 的意圖，其中包括我們在英國的所有 Virgin Media O2 固定網路資產。這是 VMO2 的一個重要里程碑，也是我們今天發布的最重要的公告之一。如您所知，我們投入了大量時間和資金來製定我們在英國的固定網路策略。具體來說，我們在兩項核心舉措上取得了實質進展。首先，透過與 InfraVia 的合資企業 nexfibre 擴大我們的網路覆蓋範圍，到第一季末，該合資企業將建成約 100 萬個光纖到戶場所。順便說一句，該公司資金充足，並且剛剛宣布今年將斥資 10 億英鎊擴大光纖覆蓋範圍。其次，我們已經開始將 VMO2 的 HFC 網路升級為光纖，目前我們 1,600 萬個家庭中有超過 300 萬個家庭已經使用光纖。

And it's a second program that would be folded into the U.K. NetCo, which will result, I think, in multiple benefits. First, it underpins our commitment to fiber in this market by consolidating the 16 million homes under one dedicated team, strategy and balance sheet. This should provide greater focus on the pace and efficiency of the upgrade and the opportunity to generate wholesale revenue. Second, it creates considerable optionality around financing and monetization of VMO2's fixed network. Day 1, this will be among the largest and most profitable fixed network infrastructures in Europe. And third, it creates an ideal vehicle for potential consolidation of what is today a very fragmented altnet market in the U.K. This is a particularly important element of the plan that we and Telefónica are quite excited about this development. The timing is right, the market is ready and the opportunities it will create are significant.

這是第二個計劃，將併入英國網路公司，我認為這將帶來多重好處。首先，它透過將 1,600 萬個家庭整合到一個專門的團隊、策略和資產負債表下，鞏固了我們對這個市場光纖的承諾。這應該會更加關注升級的速度和效率以及產生批發收入的機會。其次，它為 VMO2 固定網路的融資和貨幣化創造了相當大的選擇性。第一天，這將成為歐洲最大、最賺錢的固定網路基礎設施之一。第三，它為英國目前非常分散的替代網路市場的潛在整合創造了一個理想的工具。這是該計劃中一個特別重要的要素，我們和西班牙電信對這一發展感到非常興奮。時機是正確的，市場已經準備好，它將創造巨大的機會。

Now moving to Slide 21. Thrilled to announce today the sale of All3Media to RedBird IMI. You might have seen the press releases. As a reminder, this is our 50-50 content production venture with Warner Bros. Discovery. The price of GBP 1.15 billion or about 12x EBITDA represents a premium for what we believe is one of the best independent producers in Europe. The transaction should close in the second or third quarter of this year and would result in total proceeds to us of around $400 million when you include the repayment of an attractive piece of mezzanine debt we provided to the company some time ago. And as I mentioned, our goal is to use this cash to support a portion of the investment in the Sunrise pre-spin. This is a great example, by the way, of us rotating our capital into accretive transactions.

現在轉到幻燈片 21。今天很高興地宣布將 All3Media 出售給 RedBird IMI。您可能已經看過新聞稿。提醒一下，這是我們與華納兄弟探索頻道 (Warner Bros. Discovery) 合作的 50-50 內容製作專案。 11.5 億英鎊的價格或約 12 倍 EBITDA 代表了我們認為歐洲最好的獨立生產商之一的溢價。該交易應在今年第二或第三季完成，如果算上我們不久前向該公司提供的一筆有吸引力的夾層債務的償還，將為我們帶來約 4 億美元的總收益。正如我所提到的，我們的目標是使用這筆現金來支持 Sunrise 預先旋轉的部分投資。順便說一句，這是我們將資本投入增值交易的一個很好的例子。

Now while we're happy with this outcome, I have to say it's a bittersweet moment for us at Liberty. And Jane Turton and her team have done an outstanding job building one of the most important content platforms today. And we know that she's going to continue to be a driving force in this industry, and we're super proud of everything they've accomplished.

現在，雖然我們對這一結果感到滿意，但我不得不說，這對 Liberty 來說是一個苦樂參半的時刻。 Jane Turton 和她的團隊在建立當今最重要的內容平台之一方面表現出色。我們知道她將繼續成為這個行業的推動力，我們為他們所取得的一切感到非常自豪。

And then finally, one of the main messages here today is our commitment to shareholder remuneration. And by this, of course, we mean both buybacks and distributions like the spin-off of Sunrise. The left-hand side of this slide, just repeat what we said a couple of times already. We've already repurchased around 60% of the shares in 2017, spending $14 billion, and we currently sit at 378 million shares today, down from 900 million in January of 2017.

最後，今天的主要訊息之一是我們對股東薪酬的承諾。當然，我們指的是回購和分配，例如日出的分拆。這張投影片的左側，只需重複我們已經說過幾次的內容。 2017 年，我們已經花費 140 億美元回購了約 60% 的股票，目前我們的股票數量為 3.78 億股，低於 2017 年 1 月的 9 億股。

On the right-hand side though, we show you our 2024 shareholder remuneration plans. Here now, there are 3 components this year. And the familiar one, of course, is our intention to buy back up to 10% of the shares. This could total as much as $800 million based on our current market cap and funded in part from distributions we expect to receive from our FMC OpCos. But the second component is the spin-off of Sunrise. And I'm not going to put a dollar figure on that dividend today. There's a lot of work to do to finalize that number, obviously. But whatever value you or the analysts assign to our equity in Sunrise today, you would need to increase that value by the third component, which is the $1.7 billion of cash we are contributing to the company pre-closing to reduce leverage. In other words, we're simply distributing the $1.7 billion in cash to you, the investors. And when you add all 3 of those up, it's going to be a record year for shareholder remuneration, I believe all of that on a market cap of under $8 billion.

不過，在右側，我們向您展示了我們的 2024 年股東薪酬計畫。今年有 3 個組成部分。當然，我們熟悉的一點是我們打算回購最多 10% 的股份。根據我們目前的市值，這總計可能高達 8 億美元，部分資金來自我們預計從 FMC OpCo 獲得的分配。但第二個組成部分是《日出》的衍生作品。今天我不會給出股利的具體數字。顯然，要最終確定這個數字還有很多工作要做。但無論你或分析師今天對我們在 Sunrise 的股權賦予什麼價值，你都需要增加第三部分的價值，即我們在交割前向公司貢獻的 17 億美元現金，以降低槓桿率。換句話說，我們只是將 17 億美元現金分配給你們，也就是投資者。當你把這三個因素加起來時，這將是股東薪酬創紀錄的一年，我相信所有這些都是在市值不到 80 億美元的情況下實現的。

So a lot to digest in these announcements. But I think it's all very good news in our view. And I'll now turn it over to Charlie, who's going to run through a few more key points on capital allocation, on our balance sheet and on ventures. Charlie, over to you.

這些公告中有很多需要消化的內容。但我認為在我們看來這都是非常好的消息。現在我將把它交給查理，他將介紹更多關於資本配置、我們的資產負債表和風險投資的關鍵點。查理，交給你了。

Thanks, Mike. Turning to the next slide on capital allocation. Firstly, I wanted to start with a high-level view of our historic capital allocation, which has been focused on driving shareholder value through buybacks, M&A and modest investments into ventures. Taking the period 2017 to the end of 2023, which started with the sale of Germany and Central Eastern Europe to Vodafone, we generated around $14 billion in net after-tax proceeds from asset sales. And alongside that, primarily from distributable cash flow at our FMC champions, we distributed to the parent company over $9 billion of distributable cash flow.

謝謝，麥克。轉向下一張關於資本配置的幻燈片。首先，我想先對我們歷史上的資本配置進行高層次的審視，該配置一直致力於透過回購、併購和對企業的適度投資來推動股東價值。從 2017 年到 2023 年底（從將德國和中東歐出售給沃達豐開始），我們透過資產出售獲得了約 140 億美元的稅後淨收益。除此之外，我們向母公司分配了超過 90 億美元的可分配現金流，主要來自 FMC 冠軍企業的可分配現金流。

As you can see in the bottom half, we have put this capital to work by spending $14 billion buying back our stock, reducing the number of shares outstanding by around 60% since January 2017; $4 billion in M&A transactions, primarily invested in the acquisition of Sunrise; $2 billion in our ventures portfolio, in particular, fast-growing sectors such as infrastructure, where we hope to create new unicorn assets; and retaining around $4 billion in cash. In addition to our current cash balance of $3.7 billion, we also have $900 million of listed equity securities as well as $2.3 billion of venture assets where we're on track to make disposals to support our $500 million to $1 billion target of noncore asset disposals by the end of this year, which gives us potential liquidity to allocate of just under $7 billion. Despite investing in the transition of our mobile networks to 5G and fiber capacity in many of our markets, each of our key FMCs continue to generate upstreamable cash flow, which will provide us with further capital to allocate.

正如您在下半部所看到的，我們透過花費 140 億美元回購我們的股票來運用這筆資本，自 2017 年 1 月以來，流通股數量減少了約 60%； 40億美元的併購交易，主要投資於收購Sunrise；我們的創投組合中有 20 億美元，特別是基礎設施等快速成長的領域，我們希望在這些領域創造新的獨角獸資產；並保留約40億美元現金。除了目前 37 億美元的現金餘額外，我們還擁有 9 億美元的上市股本證券以及 23 億美元的風險資產，我們預計將進行處置，以支持我們 5 億至 10 億美元的非核心資產處置目標到今年年底，這將為我們提供近70 億美元的潛在流動性配置。儘管我們在許多市場投資了行動網路向 5G 和光纖容量的過渡，但我們的每個主要 FMC 仍繼續產生上游現金流，這將為我們提供更多資本進行配置。

Now in allocating this capital, in addition to using up to $1.7 billion to facilitate the spin of Sunrise, we are targeting to purchase another 10% of our shares outstanding during calendar 2024; we will consider investing capital to exist strategic deleveraging into other transactions with our FMC OpCos; we will remain opportunistic on M&A opportunities in our core markets; and we will selectively invest in our ventures portfolio assets such as nexfibre, AtlasEdge and other growth opportunities in our key ventures thematics of tech, content and infra. We also consider opportunities to grow our tech and services platform through partnerships and/or infill acquisitions. And this is particularly true in our central and corporate operations where we're increasingly unlocking further value such as Liberty Financial Services, which has already built out a number of third-party relationships.

現在，在分配這筆資金時，除了使用最多 17 億美元來促進 Sunrise 的重組之外，我們的目標是在 2024 年期間購買另外 10% 的已發行股票；我們將考慮將資本投入到與我們的 FMC OpCos 進行的其他交易中，以實現策略去槓桿化；我們將繼續抓住核心市場的併購機會；我們將選擇性地投資我們的創投組合資產，例如 nexfibre、AtlasEdge 以及技術、內容和基礎設施等關鍵創投主題中的其他成長機會。我們也考慮透過合作夥伴關係和/或填充收購來發展我們的技術和服務平台的機會。在我們的中央和企業營運中尤其如此，我們越來越多地釋放更多價值，例如自由金融服務公司，它已經建立了許多第三方關係。

Moving to the next slide. All our cash and liquidity remains at the parent company, which has virtually no debt, and our debt stacks are siloed at the key FMC assets. Now this means that each debt stack operates independently of the other, and means that there is no risk of financial distress in one of them impacting any of the others.

轉到下一張投影片。我們所有的現金和流動資金都留在母公司，母公司幾乎沒有債務，而且我們的債務堆疊都存放在 FMC 的關鍵資產中。現在，這意味著每個債務堆疊都獨立於另一個債務堆疊運行，並且意味著其中一個債務堆疊不存在影響其他債務堆疊的財務困境的風險。

Within each FMC debt stack, we remain committed to maintaining target leverage of 4 to 5x through the cycle, which has served us well over the past 20 years. And in managing that debt, our treasury principles have not changed during the various financing cycles. And we remain committed to proactive refinancing of debt to ensure a long average maturity, and fully fixing the interest rates on our debt and also to swap all our nonfunctional currency debt back into the functional currency of the debt silo. Our debt silos currently have an average life of 6 years at fixed interest rates, with no material maturities until 2028. We also have significant undrawn revolving credit facilities in each of the FMCs locked in until 2029, totaling $4.4 billion of additional liquidity should we need it.

在每個 FMC 債務堆疊中，我們仍然致力於在整個週期中維持 4 至 5 倍的目標槓桿率，這在過去 20 年中對我們很有幫助。在管理債務方面，我們的財務原則在各個融資週期中都沒有改變。我們仍然致力於積極主動的債務再融資，以確保較長的平均期限，並完全固定我們的債務利率，並將所有非功能性貨幣債務換回債務庫的功能性貨幣。目前，我們的固定利率債務倉的平均壽命為6 年，到2028 年才會有實質到期。我們還在每個FMC 中擁有大量未提取的循環信貸額度，鎖定到2029 年，如果我們需要的話，總共可提供44 億美元的額外流動性它。

And so to conclude, we feel very good about the balance sheets of our various OpCos and retain significant cash and liquid investments at our unlevered parent, but we'll remain proactive in pushing out the average life of our debt. And as is the case of Sunrise, could opportunistically delever in strategic moves, for example, to highlight the equity value better for our shareholders.

總而言之，我們對各個營運公司的資產負債表感覺非常良好，並在我們的無槓桿母公司保留了大量現金和流動性投資，但我們將繼續積極主動地延長債務的平均壽命。就像 Sunrise 的情況一樣，我們可以機會主義地實施策略舉措，例如，更好地為我們的股東突出股權價值。

Moving to my last slide on ventures. Our ventures portfolio is [present] to 4 pillars and the year-end fair market value closed at $3.3 billion. Now it's important to reiterate that whilst we present the fair market value each quarter to help our investors value the portfolio, it's also regularly reviewed and aligned with a third-party valuation report. And the fluctuation in value quarter-to-quarter reflects not just that, but also new invested capital disposals and changes in that fair market value.

前往我關於創投的最後一張投影片。我們的創投組合由 4 個支柱組成，年末公平市值收在 33 億美元。現在需要重申的是，雖然我們每季都會提供公平市場價值以幫助我們的投資者評估投資組合，但它也會定期進行審查並與第三方評估報告保持一致。價值的季度波動不僅反映了這一點，還反映了新的投資資本處置和公平市場價值的變化。

Before I dive into the strategy of each pillar, the aim today is to provide some more color beyond the usual disclosure on the key investments in each pillar and also to give some more concrete data around our total returns for shareholders. To be clear upfront, when we are referring to net invested capital in each pillar against the current fair market value, that is reflecting first of the money we've invested; secondly, the proceeds to make divestments; and thirdly, also reflects the dividends and interest over the relevant period.

在深入探討每個支柱的策略之前，今天的目的是提供超出每個支柱關鍵投資通常揭露的更多內容，並提供一些有關股東總回報的更具體數據。首先要明確的是，當我們指的是每個支柱相對於當前公平市場價值的淨投資資本時，這首先反映了我們投資的資金；其次反映了我們投資的資金。其次，用於撤資的收益；第三，也反映了相關期間的股利和利息。

Starting with tech, which is the longest-running vertical. Like many of our peers, Comcast, Deutsche Telekom, we selectively make relatively small investments into tech companies that provide benefits to our core FMC champions, including early visibility and access to new tech platforms and revenue streams. This has proven to be a successful strategy, with the tech portfolio on today's fair market value worth $700 million against net invested capital now of only around $100 million, given that we've realized over $500 million in disposals often when there is a natural liquidity event. And it delivered a cumulative mid-teens IRR, excluding the strategic benefits to our OpCos. As a result, our tech pillar is largely self-funding, with profits being reinvested into innovative new technologies and platforms that provide benefits to our core FMC champions, such as smart broadband, AI and digital security.

從科技開始，這是運行時間最長的垂直領域。與康卡斯特、德國電信等許多同行一樣，我們有選擇地對科技公司進行相對較小的投資，這些公司為我們的核心FMC 冠軍帶來好處，包括早期可見性以及獲得新技術平台和收入流的機會。事實證明，這是一個成功的策略，考慮到在存在自然流動性的情況下，我們通常會實現超過5 億美元的處置，按當今的公平市場價值計算，科技投資組合價值7 億美元，而淨投資資本現在僅1 億美元左右。事件。不包括我們營運公司的策略利益，它的累積 IRR 達到了 15 左右。因此，我們的技術支柱主要是自籌資金，利潤再投資於創新的新技術和平台，為我們的核心 FMC 冠軍帶來好處，例如智慧寬頻、人工智慧和數位安全。

Moving to content, which is worth $1.5 billion compared to net invested capital since inception of $1.4 billion. Much of this original invested capital actually came from the sale of our original content investment, Chellomedia, which we sold in 2014 for over $1 billion, having grown that from a small initial investment in 2004. With the content pillar, we hold strategic stakes in legacy and new investments within the media, content and sports sectors. The emphasis here is on harvesting legacy investments, but also supporting future unicorn assets such as Formula E, which is performing well.

轉向內容，其價值為 15 億美元，而自成立以來的淨投資資本為 14 億美元。這些原始投資資金的大部分實際上來自於出售我們的原始內容投資Chellomedia，我們在2014 年以超過10 億美元的價格出售了該公司，這是從2004 年的少量初始投資開始增長的。憑藉內容支柱，我們持有以下內容的策略股權：媒體、內容和體育領域的傳統投資和新投資。這裡的重點是收穫傳統投資，同時也支持未來的獨角獸資產，例如表現良好的電動方程式賽車。

Moving on to our infrastructure pillar. This is focused on creating unicorns within the data center, last-mile fiber and emerging energy markets by leveraging our infrastructure track record and scale. This is a recent vertical and perhaps the one we're most excited about. As you can see, there's been a significant uplift in fair market value of around $600 million, underpinned as we were able to exceed our original investment into AtlasEdge, for example, by using technical property assets from the FMCs. To date, our net cash investment in this vertical has been relatively small, but we see good opportunities to invest capital in high-return, success-based CapEx, particularly in the data center space, which is seeing explosive growth from accelerating shift to cloud and the additional demand resulting from AI rollouts.

繼續我們的基礎設施支柱。其重點是利用我們的基礎設施業績記錄和規模，在資料中心、最後一哩光纖和新興能源市場中打造獨角獸。這是最近的一個垂直領域，也許也是我們最興奮的一個。正如您所看到的，公平市場價值顯著提升了約 6 億美元，這得益於我們能夠超越對 AtlasEdge 的原始投資，例如透過使用 FMC 的技術財產資產。迄今為止，我們在這一垂直領域的淨現金投資相對較小，但我們看到了將資本投資於高回報、基於成功的資本支出的良好機會，特別是在數據中心領域，該領域因加速轉向雲而出現爆炸性成長以及人工智慧推出帶來的額外需求。

I want to emphasize that we think about investing in infra is a core competency, where we have a clear right to play. First, we can often use our own assets to seed and grow them. Second, we can often partner here with strong strategic partners such as Digital Bridge, which complement our own access to capital. And importantly, there was a clear growth, particularly in the data center segment, which command high multiples, both public and private.

我想強調的是，我們認為投資基礎設施是一項核心能力，我們有明確的參與權。首先，我們經常可以使用自己的資產來播種和種植它們。其次，我們經常可以與 Digital Bridge 等強大的策略合作夥伴合作，這補充了我們自己的資本管道。重要的是，成長明顯，尤其是在資料中心領域，無論是公共還是私有，該領域的本益比都很高。

One asset that we are excited about is AtlasEdge and to give some headline color on it today, and we will expand on this in future sessions. AtlasEdge has expanded to over 100 sites across Europe, making it one of the largest edge colocation footprint in Europe. We raised stand-alone financing in 2023 of around EUR 750 million to fund growth and the financing was led by a best-in-class LG treasury team, who will also support future growth and acquisitions. We have industry-leading management team in place alongside the support from Liberty Global and Digital Bridge, and growth has been supported by acquisitions such as DC1 in February 2023, which has just announced the opening of a brand-new data center in Hamburg.

我們對 AtlasEdge 感到興奮的一項資產是今天的標題，我們將在未來的會議中對此進行擴展。 AtlasEdge 已擴展到歐洲各地 100 多個站點，使其成為歐洲最大的邊緣託管站點之一。我們在 2023 年籌集了約 7.5 億歐元的獨立融資，用於為成長提供資金，該融資由一流的 LG 財務團隊領導，他們還將支持未來的成長和收購。我們擁有業界領先的管理團隊，並得到 Liberty Global 和 Digital Bridge 的支持，並且成長得到了 2023 年 2 月 DC1 等收購的支持，DC1 剛剛宣佈在漢堡開設一個全新的數據中心。

Finally, our financial pillar contains opportunistic positions in public debt or equity to provide yield and/or strategic optionality that we also include in the liquidity that I discussed earlier. The yield on these strategic investments is typically higher than our return on cash, while allowing us near-term liquidity if we want it. We will look at ways not just to return value to shareholders through selective cash disposals, but also opportunities over time to highlight the value of these growth assets by contributing them to or crystallizing them with listed vehicles, including potentially tracking stocks.

最後，我們的金融支柱包含公共債務或股權的機會主義頭寸，以提供收益和/或策略選擇權，我們也將其納入我之前討論的流動性中。這些策略投資的收益率通常高於我們的現金回報率，同時允許我們在需要時獲得短期流動性。我們不僅會尋找透過選擇性現金處置向股東回報價值的方法，還會尋找隨著時間的推移，透過將這些資產貢獻給上市工具或將其具體化為上市工具（包括潛在的追蹤股票）來突出這些成長資產的價值的機會。

With that, Mike, I'll just turn it over to you to conclude.

麥克，我就把它交給你結束。

Thanks, Charlie. And now that concludes our prepared remarks for this brief strategy update. I'm just going to close with 5 key takeaways. And these are the things you want to focus on as you digest this information, I think.

謝謝，查理。現在我們為這個簡短的策略更新所準備的評論就到此結束。我將以 5 個要點作為結束語。我認為，這些是您在消化這些資訊時需要關注的事情。

First of all, this is a clear pivot in our strategy. That is clear. We realize that the time is right to not only create value, but to distribute that value to shareholders if and when we can. Oh, and this is not a new strategy. John and the Liberty companies have been practicing this for decades. Liberty Global itself was spun off from Liberty Media. So this is a well-known path, and we're excited to pursue it.

首先，這是我們策略中的一個明確的支點。這很清楚。我們意識到，現在不僅是創造價值的好時機，而且是在可能的情況下將價值分配給股東的時候。哦，這不是什麼新策略。約翰和自由公司幾十年來一直在實踐這一點。 Liberty Global 本身是從 Liberty Media 中剝離出來的。所以這是一條眾所周知的道路，我們很高興能夠追求它。

Second, the spin-off of Sunrise, together with our buyback commitment, reflects a significant commitment to investor returns. And I mentioned some moment ago in my remarks, this will be a record year for shareholder remuneration at a time when our share price reflects perhaps its largest discount, and we expect to see that discount shrink.

其次，Sunrise 的分拆以及我們的回購承諾反映了對投資者回報的重大承諾。我剛才在演講中提到，今年將是股東薪酬創紀錄的一年，我們的股價可能反映了最大的折扣，我們預期折扣會縮小。

Third, this is unlikely to be our last equity capital markets transaction or unique value creation event. Each of our FMC operations are positioned well for growth, for strategic moves, asset monetizations and, at the right time, for potential equity market or financing transactions that would be value accretive. The pipeline is full. That's the main point.

第三，這不太可能是我們最後一次股權資本市場交易或獨特的價值創造事件。我們的每項 FMC 業務都為成長、策略舉措、資產貨幣化以及在適當的時候為潛在的股權市場或增值融資交易做好了充分準備。管道已滿。這是重點。

And fourth, our ventures portfolio is not a hobby. Many of these assets are significant in their own right and are already there or on their way to becoming billion or multibillion dollar unicorns themselves. These investments support our strategic and technology plans, and could themselves, be assets that we consider distributing or sharing with investors.

第四，我們的創投組合不是一種嗜好。其中許多資產本身就很重要，並且已經存在或正在成為價值數十億或數十億美元的獨角獸。這些投資支持我們的策略和技術計劃，它們本身也可以成為我們考慮與投資者分配或分享的資產。

And then finally, we have significant cash and liquidity to implement the strategic road map we've just outlined. And just as importantly, we have the ability to replenish that liquidity through both upstream free cash flow from our operating companies and asset sales as and when needed.

最後，我們擁有大量現金和流動性來實施我們剛剛概述的策略路線圖。同樣重要的是，我們有能力在需要時透過經營公司的上游自由現金流和資產出售來補充流動性。

Needless to say, we are extremely excited about the future. I want to thank you for your patience today. I know it's been a long call, and I know we covered a lot of ground, but we really look forward to your questions. And operator, we are ready to go.

不用說，我們對未來感到非常興奮。我要感謝您今天的耐心等待。我知道這是一個漫長的通話，我知道我們涵蓋了很多內容，但我們真的很期待您的問題。接線員，我們準備好了。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from the line of Steve Malcolm with Redburn Atlantic.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Redburn Atlantic 的 Steve Malcolm。

It's hard to just ask one, so probably 1 of about 17 parts, but let's kind of go to the U.K. Obviously, sort of hinging on the NetCo-ServCo separation is your fiber trajectory. You're up to 4 million homes in the U.K.

很難只問其中一個，所以可能是大約 17 個部分中的 1 個，但讓我們去英國吧。顯然，某種程度取決於 NetCo-ServCo 分離的是您的光纖軌跡。英國有多達 400 萬套房屋

Can you just sort of give us a sense of what the mix of that between nexfibre and the business as usual footprint is? And looking forward, just help us understand the moving parts of your CapEx guidance. Looks a little higher than I thought this year to GBP 2.2 billion for '24, but you talked about it falling off in future years.

您能否讓我們了解一下 nexfibre 和常規業務足跡之間的組合是什麼？展望未來，請協助我們了解您的資本支出指南中的動態部分。看起來比我想像的要高一些，24 年為 22 億英鎊，但你談到了未來幾年會下降。

How do we think about the fiber upgrade, the 5G investment? And also maybe just touch on cost to capture because it looks like you look to have gotten to GBP 700 million by the end of this year, whether that disappears from '25. So a few sort of questions wrapped into U.K. CapEx and cost of capture there in fiber. Hopefully, you can help us out.

我們如何看待光纖升級、5G投資？而且也許只是觸及捕獲成本，因為看起來到今年年底你已經達到了 7 億英鎊，無論這個數字是否從 25 年來消失。因此，有一些問題涉及英國資本支出和光纖捕獲成本。希望您能幫助我們。

Yes. I think it's pretty straightforward. I don't know whether we've disclosed this much detail, but I'll go ahead and do it. I mean if you look at the 4 million homes, our [Fiber Up] or our upgrade program represents about 1.5 million of those at this point; nexfibre, about 800,000; and the balance are homes that we built through our Lightning program, a slightly different technology, fiber technology, but nonetheless, fiber, about 1.9 million. And that, of course, that program going into '24, the Lightning program ceases, so really be no more upgrades via Lightning as such.

是的。我認為這非常簡單。我不知道我們是否已經披露了這麼多細節，但我會繼續這樣做。我的意思是，如果您查看 400 萬戶家庭，我們的 [Fiber Up] 或我們的升級計劃目前代表其中約 150 萬戶； nexfibre，約800,000；其餘的則是我們透過閃電計畫建造的房屋，這是一種略有不同的技術，光纖技術，但仍然是光纖，大約有 190 萬個。當然，在該計劃進入 24 年後，閃電計劃就會停止，因此實際上不會再透過閃電進行升級。

But the nexfibre plan, which has, I think, been publicized, should build 1 million plus and Fiber Up itself, which we probably haven't publicized, we'll build more than it built last year. So 4 million will go to, who knows, 6 million, 6.5 million, but the breakdown is, as I just described it. Hopefully, that helps.

但我認為已經公佈的 nexfibre 計劃應該建造 100 萬以上，而 Fiber Up 本身（我們可能還沒有公佈），我們將建造比去年建造的更多的設施。所以 400 萬會變成，誰知道呢，600 萬、650 萬，但細目分類是，正如我剛才所描述的。希望這會有所幫助。

The vast majority of that is in nexfibre which, of course, is our footprint. The CapEx that you referenced includes only the CapEx to upgrade the roughly GBP 100 a home, the homes that we would be continuing to upgrade on the 16 million home footprint. Is that clear?

其中絕大多數是在 nexfibre 中，當然，這也是我們的足跡。您提到的資本支出僅包括用於升級每間房屋約 100 英鎊的資本支出，我們將在 1600 萬戶房屋的佔地面積上繼續升級這些房屋。明白了嗎？

Yes. What run rate are you on Project Mustang now, Mike? I mean are you -- in terms of 100,000 premises per quarter and (inaudible) 2028?

是的。麥克，你現在野馬計畫的運行速度是多少？我的意思是，以每季 100,000 個場所和（聽不清楚）2028 年計算，您是嗎？

Yes. Well, we did -- I think we did roughly -- yes, we did 800,000 or 900,000, I believe, in '23, and we should do more than that in '24.

是的。嗯，我們做到了——我想我們粗略地做到了——是的，我相信，我們在 23 年做了 800,000 或 900,000 次，而且我們應該比 24 年做得更多。

Okay. And just on the sort of overall CapEx picture in the U.K., you've got lots of things going on. Help us understand how we think about '24, '25 and '26 5G, fiber (inaudible) nexfibre has got.

好的。就英國的整體資本支出來看，有很多事情正在發生。幫助我們了解我們如何看待 '24、'25 和 '26 5G、nexfibre 光纖（聽不清楚）。

Yes. I'm going to get my -- yes, Lutz is on, so I'll let him dive into it, but I think '24 includes, obviously, what I just described as well as fair amount of mobile CapEx to advance our 5G plans. And our sense is -- well, I'll let Lutz handle it in terms of where we are in peak CapEx intensity. Lutz, are you on?

是的。我會得到我的——是的，Lutz 正在工作，所以我會讓他深入研究它，但我認為 '24 顯然包括我剛才描述的內容以及相當數量的移動資本支出，以推進我們的 5G計劃。我們的感覺是——好吧，我會讓盧茨根據我們的資本支出峰值強度來處理這個問題。盧茲，你在嗎？

I'm on. Hi, Mike. Hi, Steve. Can you hear me?

我上線了。嗨，麥克。嗨，史蒂夫。你聽得到我嗎？

Yes, we hear you fine. Did you hear the question?

是的，我們聽得很好。你聽到問題了嗎？

Yes. I hear it. Sorry, sorry, I got the question. Okay, sorry for that. So I mean, obviously, we don't give a guidance on CapEx longer than the year '24. But Steve, broadly, you don't see any material difference in the upcoming years, right? So we are ramping [Fiber Up], as Mike said. I think we have done close to 1 million in '23, and we will do a bit more this year. And I think the number is about GBP 100 per home.

是的。我聽到了。抱歉，抱歉，我有問題。好吧，對此感到抱歉。所以我的意思是，很明顯，我們不會給出超過 24 年的資本支出指引。但史蒂夫，總的來說，你認為未來幾年不會有任何實質差異，對吧？因此，正如麥克所說，我們正在加強 [Fiber Up]。我認為我們在 23 年已經完成了近 100 萬份工作，今年我們會做得更多。我認為這個數字約為每戶 100 英鎊。

And then we keep investing into 5G. And -- but this is getting cheaper because we have the shared rural networks with Vodafone and Three. So don't expect a massive peak in the CapEx going forward. Hope that helps.

然後我們繼續投資5G。而且 - 但這變得越來越便宜，因為我們與沃達豐和三號共享農村網路。因此，不要指望未來資本支出會出現巨大的高峰。希望有幫助。

The next question comes from the line of Maurice Patrick with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的莫里斯帕特里克。

Just one question really on the U.K. NetCo side. I mean in the slides, you talk about the U.K. NetCo being a vehicle for M&A, I think, of altnets. In the past, Mike, you've talked I think about the acquisition of altnets being more outside the current footprint rather than inside the legacy footprint.

這只是英國 NetCo 方面的一個問題。我的意思是，在幻燈片中，您談到英國 NetCo 是替代網路併購的工具。麥克，您過去曾說過，我認為收購替代網路更多的是在當前足跡之外，而不是在遺留足跡之內。

So just curious to your thoughts in terms of is it NetCo buying altnet? Is it nexfibre doing it? And is nexfibre actually overtly overbuilding outlets at the moment?

所以只是想知道您對於 NetCo 是否會收購 altnet 的想法？是nexfibre做的嗎？ Nexfibre 目前是否確實過度建設網點？

Yes. So nexfibre has its own program and is building on a priority basis where it sees the best opportunities off the Virgin footprint. So that program will continue as it is. It won't be impacted at all by the creation of this U.K. NetCo.

是的。因此，nexfibre 有自己的計劃，並且正在優先考慮維珍足跡之外的最佳機會。因此該計劃將按原樣繼續進行。它完全不會受到英國網路公司的創建的影響。

And nexfibre itself might look at altnet acquisitions as it did recently in 2023 as would the U.K. NetCo. And so I think you're correct to say that on footprint, altnets have less value to us, but they don't have zero value. And we're not clear on where exactly the altnet market will go. Nobody is. But it's nice to have 2 vehicles for potential consolidation, a very sizable and substantial one that has a significant amount of EBITDA day 1 in terms of having customers from VMO2 on the U.K. NetCo day 1 and has financing capability day 1. That's a nice thing to have as well as the nexfibre -- fully financed nexfibre JV.

nexfibre 本身可能會考慮收購替代網絡，就像它最近在 2023 年所做的那樣，英國 NetCo 也是如此。所以我認為你的說法是正確的，就足跡而言，替代網路對我們的價值較小，但它們的價值並非為零。我們還不清楚替代網路市場到底會走向何方。沒有人是。但擁有2 個工具進行潛在整合是件好事，這是一個規模非常大、實力雄厚的工具，在第一天就擁有來自英國NetCo 的VMO2 客戶方面的大量EBITDA，並且在第一天具有融資能力。這是一件好事擁有 nexfibre 以及全額融資的 nexfibre 合資企業。

So now we think we're just increasing our opportunities to be a consolidator if and when appropriate versus confusing or reducing those opportunities, it was actually getting better. I hope that's clear.

因此，現在我們認為，我們只是在適當的時候增加成為整合者的機會，而不是混淆或減少這些機會，實際上情況正在變得更好。我希望這是清楚的。

Great. And the extent to which nexfibre is actually overtly overbuilding outlets currently?

偉大的。目前，nexfibre 實際上在多大程度上過度建設網點？

I don't know that we've been public on -- Andrea may have a view here, he's on the nexfibre Board, of where exactly we're building. But I think you should assume, since there's quite a bit of outbuilding activity that in some instances, we are, in fact, overbuilding altnets if they're in the path that we've chosen. But I'm not -- I don't know that we're giving anybody an exact number on that.

我不知道我們是否已經公開——Andrea 可能對我們正在建造的地方有看法，他是 nexfibre 董事會的成員。但我認為你應該假設，因為在某些情況下有相當多的附屬活動，如果它們處於我們選擇的路徑中，我們實際上是在過度建立替代網路。但我不——我不知道我們是否向任何人提供了這方面的確切數字。

I mean I can help. It's very, very minor. Yes. I mean we are doing the rollout for nexfibre. And obviously, the plan is to overbuild as less as possible. And so far, we have very, very little overbuild. I don't want to tell the number, but it's really more immaterial.

我的意思是我可以幫忙。這是非常非常小的。是的。我的意思是我們正在推出 nexfibre。顯然，該計劃是盡可能減少過度建設。到目前為止，我們的過度建設非常非常少。我不想說出具體數字，但這確實更無關緊要。

The next question comes from the line of Robert Grindle with Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的羅伯特‧格林德爾（Robert Grindle）。

Congratulations on all the initiatives. My question would be around the Benelux holdco that you left a lot of cash in Telenet, the best part of $1 billion and raised new finance to repay the holdco debt for the minorities rather than dividend up the money. Is the cash left in there to buy the bit of VODZiggo you don't own or even the bit you do own from the parent company?

恭喜所有舉措。我的問題是圍繞比荷盧經濟聯盟控股公司的，你在Telenet 留下了大量現金，其中10 億美元中最好的部分，並籌集了新的資金來償還少數股東的控股公司債務，而不是將這些錢分紅。剩下的現金是否可以購買您不擁有的 VODZiggo 部分，甚至是您從母公司擁有的部分？

And related to that is, in a nutshell, within what you've announced today, what's easier because you're now in Bermuda? Is it more on the approval side of things or something else?

與此相關的是，簡而言之，在您今天宣布的內容中，有什麼比您現在在百慕達更容易的事情？是更多在事物的批准方面還是其他方面？

Yes. Thanks. Charlie, you can chime in here. But the cash that was residing in Telenet has been upstreamed for all intents and purposes. So it can easily be downstreamed again. It's 100% of entity.

是的。謝謝。查理，你可以在這裡插話。但出於所有意圖和目的，Telenet 中的現金已被上游轉移。因此它可以很容易地再次進入下游。這是100%的實體。

But today, that cash is upstreamed. So the cash -- I think we've been clear about the current leverage and net debt position of selling it. So that -- of course, we can do what we want with that over time (inaudible).

但如今，這些現金已被上游利用。因此，我認為我們已經清楚了目前出售現金的槓桿率和淨債務狀況。因此，當然，隨著時間的推移，我們可以用它來做我們想做的事（聽不清楚）。

Just to clarify that -- yes, just to clarify that. Sorry, Mike, just to clarify, Mike is quite right, it's been -- it's now part of the corporate cash, but there is still some cash in Belgium for the time being just waiting on a tax ruling. But Mike is absolutely right, that it's essentially corporate cash, but it may be located at a Belgian bank account and therefore, contributes to the net debt position of Telenet. Sorry, Mike, I didn't mean to interrupt.

只是為了澄清這一點——是的，只是為了澄清這一點。抱歉，麥克，我想澄清一下，麥克是對的，它現在是公司現金的一部分，但比利時目前仍有一些現金，只是在等待稅務裁決。但麥克是絕對正確的，它本質上是公司現金，但它可能位於比利時銀行帳戶，因此有助於 Telenet 的淨債務狀況。抱歉，麥克，我不是有意打擾的。

No, it's fine. No, that's good clarification. And then the -- what was the second question, Robert?

不，還好。不，這是很好的澄清。然後──第二個問題是什麼，羅伯特？

Bermuda. What's -- a lot of these things you've announced today might be you could have done anyway, but I'm just wondering what -- is Bermuda really [helped and just] other things you might be considering?

百慕達。你今天宣布的很多事情可能是你本來可以做的，但我只是想知道百慕達真的[幫助並且只是]你可能正在考慮的其他事情嗎？

Sure. The implementation of the Sunrise spin-off will require a shareholder vote. As such, the shareholder vote will be conducted consistent with Bermuda governance, not U.K. governance. We think that makes it a simpler, more appropriately run process as just one big example. I think that's probably the biggest example.

當然。 Sunrise分拆的實施需要股東投票。因此，股東投票將依照百慕達治理而非英國治理進行。我們認為這使得它成為一個更簡單、更合適的運行過程，這只是一個重要的例子。我認為這可能是最大的例子。

And so without getting into detail because we've gone through the exhaustive benefits, that's just one example of where we think we can achieve an important and strategic transaction for shareholders in a straightforward and predictable way.

因此，由於我們已經了解了詳盡的好處，因此無需詳細說明，這只是我們認為可以以直接且可預測的方式為股東實現重要且策略性交易的一個例子。

The next question comes from the line of David Wright with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

下一個問題來自美國銀行美林銀行的戴維‧賴特 (David Wright)。

Yes, a lot to digest here. So my question, if I'm allowed just one is on, again, the Benelux holdco. So there could potentially be synergies. And I think when we've discussed in the past, this potential option, there was always not a fiscal synergy potential with quite significant cash tax now paid to Telenet, maybe some opportunity to migrate [and all] against that.

是的，這裡有很多東西要消化。所以我的問題是，如果允許的話，我只能選擇比荷盧控股公司。因此可能存在協同效應。我認為，當我們過去討論這種潛在的選擇時，總是不存在財政協同潛力，現在向 Telenet 支付了相當大的現金稅，也許有一些機會（以及所有）反對這一點。

So I guess my question is, if there is fiscal synergy, how does that feed up to Vodafone as the joint venture or the half? How would they benefit from that fiscal synergy that could potentially be given from a sort of VodafoneZiggo to a Telenet? Or maybe I've misunderstood that. That would be great.

所以我想我的問題是，如果存在財政協同效應，那麼作為合資企業或一半的沃達豐將如何滿足這一需求？他們將如何從 VodafoneZiggo 到 Telenet 所帶來的財政協同效應中受益？或者也許我誤解了這一點。那太好了。

Yes. I'll let Charlie speak to the synergies more specifically, but I'll say from the Vodafone perspective, you could argue this is a nonevent, meaning we're entitled to move our 50% interest into any 100%-owned company we choose. And rather than own our stake directly in VodafoneZiggo, we will own it through this holding company, Liberty Global Benelux.

是的。我會讓查理更具體地說明協同效應，但我會從沃達豐的角度說，你可能會說這是一件小事，這意味著我們有權將我們50% 的股權轉移到我們選擇的任何100%控股的公司。我們不會直接擁有 VodafoneZiggo 的股份，而是透過這家控股公司 Liberty Global Benelux 擁有它。

In fact, we can even raise capital in this company to a limited degree without their authority or approval to a limited degree. And what happens upstairs, if you will, in this holding company is a nonevent for them, it's irrelevant.

事實上，我們甚至可以在沒有他們有限程度的授權或批准的情況下，在這家公司有限程度地籌集資金。如果你願意的話，在這家控股公司樓上發生的事情對他們來說無關緊要，無關緊要。

If we discover synergies between the entities, it would have to be synergies that are realized without a consolidation of the 2 entities, but rather just 1 that we're generating through our single focus on management or some other financial benefits we can derive.

如果我們發現實體之間的協同效應，那麼它必須是在沒有合併兩個實體的情況下實現的協同效應，而只是我們透過單一關注管理或我們可以獲得的其他一些財務利益而產生的協同效應。

I think you could argue that from Vodafone's perspective, this is a nonevent. They are aware of it. They certainly are looking at what it might mean to them and strategically or inorganically. But at this point, it's really what we're doing with our interests and the opportunities we think it creates for us to do the things I described from the point of view of either synergies or financings or capital raising or other things. So Charlie, do you want to talk about synergies?

我想你可能會說，從沃達豐的角度來看，這並不是什麼大事。他們知道這一點。他們當然正在考慮這對他們可能意味著什麼，無論是戰略上還是無機上。但在這一點上，這確實是我們正在做的事情，我們認為它為我們創造了我們的利益和機會，讓我們可以從協同效應、融資、融資或其他事情的角度來做我所描述的事情。查理，你想談談綜效嗎？

Yes, sure. And I think there were just 2 broad points. One is clearly for the Telenet on financing synergies, clearly the Telenet Group would now benefit from the equity value that is now being contributed from a 50% stake.

是的，當然。我認為只有兩點。其中之一顯然是 Telenet 的融資協同效應，顯然 Telenet 集團現在將從 50% 股權貢獻的股權價值中受益。

I think the other issue is that it does give you opportunity to do additional tax optimization, which would allow us to increase basis as they call it. But it's probably so which we can go into offline on the more specifics, which you see there are opportunities for incremental tax planning.

我認為另一個問題是，它確實為您提供了額外稅收優化的機會，這將使我們能夠增加他們所說的基礎。但我們可能可以在線下了解更多細節，您會發現有增量稅收規劃的機會。

And can I just ask, have you discussed with Vodafone whether they would consider sort of blending their stake into a merged entity? Or is that even something that we could think about if those synergies start to really accrue?

我可以問一下，您是否與沃達豐討論過他們是否會考慮將其股份合併到合併後的實體中？或者，如果這些協同效應開始真正產生，我們是否可以考慮這一點？

Well, I'm not going to comment on what we have or haven't discussed with them, but it's certainly theoretically possible, right?

好吧，我不會評論我們已經或沒有與他們討論過的內容，但這在理論上肯定是可能的，對吧？

The next question comes from the line of Carl Murdock-Smith with Berenberg.

下一個問題來自卡爾·默多克·史密斯與貝倫貝格的關係。

I wanted to ask about price increases in the U.K. So on Slide 7, you mentioned that price rises are embedded into contracts. One thing you'll have to navigate this year in the U.K. is Ofcom's proposed ban on inflation-linked pricing. I wanted to ask how you're thinking about that.

我想問一下英國的價格上漲情況。所以在幻燈片 7 上，您提到價格上漲已嵌入合約中。今年在英國你必須注意的一件事是 Ofcom 提議禁止與通膨掛鉤的定價。我想問你是怎麼想的。

Obviously, BT has signaled its planned approach. Are you likely to follow suit with a contractualized absolute price increase? Or would you consider reverting to your old approach of ad hoc price increases? And how do the customer service issues you've been facing in the U.K. play into thoughts on pricing going forward?

顯然，英國電信已經表明了其計劃的做法。您是否可能效法合約規定的絕對價格上漲？或者您會考慮恢復臨時提價的舊方法嗎？您在英國遇到的客戶服務問題如何影響未來的定價？

Yes, good question. I'll let Lutz handle both of them. I'll simply say that on the price increases, we can and expect to take price increases in a manner similar to 2023, given the timing of when our price increases are expected to occur. So we don't believe the Ofcom issue impact 2024 price increases as they currently stands. But Lutz, do you want to talk any further about that? And I'll let you deal with the customer service.

是的，好問題。我會讓路茲來處理他們兩個。我只想說，在漲價問題上，考慮到我們預計提價的時間，我們可以並且預計將以類似於 2023 年的方式提價。因此，我們認為 Ofcom 問題不會影響 2024 年目前的價格上漲。但是盧茲，你想進一步討論這個問題嗎？我會讓你處理客戶服務。

Yes. So first of all, Ofcom, right, is currently reviewing the price increase process, and they have shared the idea. And this idea is only -- will only be applied for new customers, not for existing customers, right? So I think that is also important to understand. So -- and it might come into effect in whatever form in summer.

是的。首先，Ofcom 目前正在審查漲價流程，他們也分享了這個想法。這個想法僅適用於新客戶，不適用於現有客戶，對吧？所以我認為理解這一點也很重要。所以——它可能會在夏天以任何形式生效。

So therefore, as you know, we just went ahead with our price increase. And this is in contract price increases. And how -- to what opinion Ofcom finally get, we don't know yet. And yes, we have also noted BT's thoughts how to deal with it in the future. And we will take everything into account and make up our mind what we will be doing going forward. But nothing to be -- to get rebuilt yet.

因此，如您所知，我們只是繼續提價。這是合約價格上漲的情況。我們還不知道 Ofcom 最終會得到什麼意見。是的，我們也注意到了英國電信未來如何應對這個問題的想法。我們將考慮一切因素並決定今後要做什麼。但還沒有重建。

Customer service, I mean, definitely an area where we have to get better, no doubt about that. Customer is not interested that we have integrated a lot of our systems and stuff, but we have improved significantly. We will be improving our customer service, so it's top of our agenda.

我的意思是，毫無疑問，客戶服務絕對是我們必須改進的領域。客戶對我們整合了許多系統和東西不感興趣，但我們已經有了顯著的改進。我們將改善我們的客戶服務，因此這是我們議程的首要任務。

Actually, we are investing a lot of money into systems and into also care resources in '24, which is part of our OpEx increase. So therefore, we are not considering the impact of customer service in our pricing strategy going forward. Hope that helped.

實際上，我們在 24 年向系統和護理資源投入了大量資金，這是我們營運支出成長的一部分。因此，我們不會在未來的定價策略中考慮客戶服務的影響。希望有幫助。

I think it's also worth pointing out that the complaint numbers to Ofcom are important to us, and we take it seriously, but quite small. I mean the broadband complaints, for example, represent 0.03% of our customers, 0.03% of our customers have filed a complaint with Ofcom.

我認為也值得指出的是，Ofcom 收到的投訴數量對我們很重要，我們會認真對待，但數量很小。例如，我的意思是，寬頻投訴占我們客戶的 0.03%，我們有 0.03% 的客戶向 Ofcom 提出了投訴。

So that information doesn't generally find it into the press releases or the news stories. That doesn't mean we don't take it seriously. We do and Lutz is correct, he's all over it, but it's a relatively small number.

因此，這些資訊通常不會出現在新聞稿或新聞報導中。這並不意味著我們不認真對待它。我們確實這麼做了，盧茨是對的，他全力以赴，但這個數字相對較小。

Our next question comes from the line of Ulrich Rathe with Societe Generale.

我們的下一個問題來自烏爾里希·拉特（Ulrich Rathe）與法國興業銀行的對話。

So on the 5 initiatives that you highlighted for sort of crystallizing value, obviously, the All3Media divestment and the Sunrise spin are the most tangible ones and they make perfect sense, if I may say so. But the U.K. NetCo and the Benelux holdco creation, they're just internally rejigging, right? So any value creation, tangible value creation would come from the optionalities that arise from these moves.

因此，在您強調的體現價值的 5 項舉措中，顯然，All3Media 撤資和 Sunrise 分拆是最切實的舉措，如果我可以這麼說的話，它們非常有意義。但英國 NetCo 和比荷盧經濟聯盟控股公司的創建，他們只是在內部重組，對吧？因此，任何價值創造、有形價值創造都將來自這些措施所產生的選擇。

So what I'm wondering about is what you have in mind there, is this now a stream of corporate action that's unfolding? Or is there going to be a bit of a pause into next year or even the year after before we see more moves? I'd just like to sort of see what your views are.

所以我想知道的是，您的想法是，這是現在正在進行的一系列企業行動嗎？或者說，在我們看到更多措施之前，明年甚至後年是否會稍有停頓？我只是想看看你的觀點是什麼。

And if I may just sneak in one, please, strategically refer to IR. But in the 10-K, there is a statement that says the P&E additions in 2024 would be broadly stable. That seems a bit difficult to construct with the divisional guidance, especially because Telenet CapEx is due to step up quite a bit. How do I -- what goes down when Telenet goes up and the group P&E consolidated would remain stable?

如果我可以偷偷地介紹一下，請策略性地參考 IR。但在 10-K 中，有一份聲明稱 2024 年 P&E 增量將大致穩定。根據部門指導，這似乎有點難以構建，特別是因為 Telenet 資本支出將大幅增加。當 Telenet 上升並且集團 P&E 合併將保持穩定時，我該如何——什麼會下降？

Yes. I'll let Charlie or Rick and Michael work on the second question. On the first question, listen, it's the beginning. It's certainly going to take time for all of these things to be implemented. Don't confuse that.

是的。我會讓查理或瑞克和麥可回答第二個問題。關於第一個問題，聽著，這就是開始。所有這些事情的實施肯定需要時間。別混淆了。

I mean Sunrise is clear. We are moving this direction. It is happening. We will advance the transaction as rapidly as we can within reason, and shareholders will have 2 shares of stock before the year is out. That's for sure. And that we think will be a big moment for our stock, given where we think the value of that dividend will end up and given the fact that we're investing into Sunrise to delever in advance of that. So that's a big moment along with the buyback. So to me, those things are tangible, you can bank on them and they should have real value to shareholders along the course of all 3.

我的意思是日出是晴朗的。我們正在朝這個方向努力。它正在發生。我們將在合理範圍內盡快推進交易，年底前股東將擁有2股股票。這是肯定的。考慮到我們認為股息的價值最終會達到什麼水平，並考慮到我們正在投資 Sunrise 以提前去槓桿化，我們認為這對我們的股票來說將是一個重要時刻。所以這與回購一起是一個重要時刻。所以對我來說，這些東西是有形的，你可以指望它們，它們應該在這三個過程中為股東帶來真正的價值。

In the U.K., in my opinion, opens up a lot of optionality, not just in terms of consolidation, in terms of financing. But I think it sends a message and a signal to the market that we are serious, that this is going to be a big strategic reorientation of our investment focus in the marketplace. And I think you'll see things happen throughout the year based on that announcement.

在我看來，英國提供了許多選擇，不僅是在整合方面，在融資方面。但我認為這向市場發出了一個訊息和信號，即我們是認真的，這將是我們對市場投資重點的重大策略調整。我認為，根據該公告，你會看到全年都會發生一些事情。

And it will take time to implement. It doesn't happen overnight. It will take time to implement. But I think that's the direction we're going, and I see lots of positive things following from that, even before we actually go through a functional separation of the businesses. So that, I think, watch that space.

實施起來需要時間。這不會在一夜之間發生。實施需要時間。但我認為這就是我們前進的方向，甚至在我們真正進行業務功能分離之前，我就看到了許多積極的事情。所以，我認為，要注意這個空間。

In Benelux, we'll see. I mean I think this is step 1, just occurred. I think people -- certain investors might see it as an interesting platform to be part of. I think we'll make some announcements around management structure during the year. Who knows? Maybe we'll have things to discuss with Vodafone.

在比荷盧經濟聯盟，我們拭目以待。我的意思是我認為這是第一步，剛剛發生。我認為人們——某些投資者可能會認為這是一個值得參與的有趣平台。我認為我們將在今年就管理結構發布一些公告。誰知道？也許我們會與沃達豐討論一些事情。

So I do think each of these announcements, we're only in February here, each of these announcements will be things we talk about through the course of this year. And so I would be prepared.

所以我確實認為這些公告中的每一個，我們只是在二月發布，這些公告中的每一個都將是我們今年討論的事情。所以我會做好準備。

I think just on the CapEx side, sorry to jump in here.

我認為只是在資本支出方面，很抱歉在這裡介入。

Yes, go ahead. Sorry, Charlie. Yes.

好，去吧。對不起，查理。是的。

I was going to say on the cap -- so I was going to say, look, I think best to take it offline, but I don't think we're giving formal guidance for '25 and '26 on CapEx. Clearly, things change and move along. But I think the point was is that we believe we are at a reasonably elevated point in the CapEx cycle based on what we know today. And we are heavily investing. I might make this point in 5G and in fiber, particularly actually in the U.K., but also across our footprint. So I think that was the point of the disclosure.

我本來想說關於上限 - 所以我想說，看，我認為最好將其離線，但我認為我們不會為 25 和 26 年的資本支出提供正式指導。顯然，事情會發生變化並繼續發展。但我認為重點是，根據我們今天所了解的情況，我們相信我們正處於資本支出週期的合理升高點。我們正在大力投資。我可能會在 5G 和光纖領域闡述這一點，尤其是在英國，也涵蓋我們的足跡。所以我認為這就是披露的重點。

The next question comes from the line of Georgios Ierodiaconou with Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Georgios Ierodiaconou。

Maybe in two parts, please, around the U.K. NetCo separation. Firstly, I'm curious as to why the U.K. and not Belgium given that has a much higher penetration. Already wholesale business, much more expensive rollout that requires more funding that you consolidate. Curious why not that for the time being and just the U.K.

也許可以分為兩個部分，圍繞英國 NetCo 的分離。首先，我很好奇為什麼是英國而不是比利時，因為英國的滲透率要高得多。已經是批發業務，推出成本高很多，需要您整合更多資金。很好奇為什麼暫時不這麼做，而只是英國。

And just to understand the rationale around the financing options in the U.K. Is it fair to assume higher leverage of NetCo, where the process of that can be used to strengthen the ServCo balance sheet? Or whether it's just a vehicle mostly for acquisitions and investment and therefore, dramatic difference in terms of the leverage ratios of what's left of agreement?

為了了解英國融資方案的基本原理，假設 NetCo 的槓桿比率更高是否公平，這個過程可用於加強 ServCo 的資產負債表？或者它只是主要用於收購和投資的工具，因此，協議剩餘部分的槓桿率存在巨大差異？

Yes. On the first question, we have created a NetCo in Belgium. Perhaps you meant the Netherlands. In Belgium, we have a NetCo, it's called Wyre. It's already working on building out 80% of the country. It has 60% utilization and significant EBITDA.

是的。關於第一個問題，我們在比利時創建了一個網路公司。也許你指的是荷蘭。在比利時，我們有一家 NetCo，名為 Wyre。它已經在著手建立全國80%的地區。它的利用率為 60%，且 EBITDA 非常可觀。

So we are well underway even farther along, fully and functionally and legally separated out in the Belgian market. So there, we are well underway. And that's sort of the model, to some extent, a similar model that we're trying to pursue in the U.K. I mean did you mean Belgium or did you mean Holland?

因此，我們正在順利地進一步發展，在比利時市場上完全、功能性和合法地獨立出來。所以，我們進展順利。在某種程度上，這就是我們試圖在英國追求的類似模式。我的意思是你指的是比利時還是荷蘭？

No. I meant Belgium, but I meant more the next step of monetizing and deconsolidating the CapEx that Telenet is declaring for Wyre.

不。我指的是比利時，但我指的是 Telenet 為 Wyre 宣布的下一步貨幣化和分拆資本支出。

Sure. Well, we're not -- we haven't announced that in either U.K. or Belgium, and we may do that in Belgium. It's too soon to know how we'll approach that. What was your second question? Or maybe, Charlie, you caught that.

當然。嗯，我們沒有——我們還沒有在英國或比利時宣布這一點，但我們可能會在比利時這樣做。現在知道我們將如何解決這個問題還為時過早。你的第二個問題是什麼？或者，查理，你也許明白了。

Yes. It was financing. Well, first of all, I think it would be same structure as we used with Wyre that's -- for NetCo is a subsidiary of Virgin Media O2. And I think it's a good news story for the bondholders because to the extent to which additional equity comes into that business, third-party equity, that obviously enhances the value of their debt stack.

是的。這是融資。嗯，首先，我認為它的結構與我們在 Wyre 中使用的結構相同，因為 NetCo 是 Virgin Media O2 的子公司。我認為這對債券持有人來說是一個好消息，因為就額外股權進入該業務（第三方股權）而言，這顯然會提高其債務堆疊的價值。

There are no plans at this stage to refinance the entire Virgin Media debt stack so that we would end up with 2 separate capital structures. That may come over time. Let's see, but it's certainly not the right time now with the credit markets. We've got some very cheap debt in Virgin. So now is not the time to give that up.

現階段沒有計劃為整個維珍媒體債務進行再融資，以便我們最終擁有兩個獨立的資本結構。隨著時間的推移，這可能會實現。讓我們來看看，但現在對信貸市場來說肯定不是合適的時機。我們在維珍有一些非常便宜的債務。所以現在還不是放棄的時候。

But I do think long term, you're probably right that a ServCo probably has lower leverage than a NetCo. I think NetCo's predictability asset backing lends itself to higher leverage. And certainly, as we pursue not just these infrastructure initiatives but other infrastructure initiatives like our data center initiatives, I think you should expect to see us use leverage as we always do to try and optimize returns for shareholders.

但我確實認為，從長遠來看，您可能是對的，ServCo 的槓桿率可能低於 NetCo。我認為 NetCo 的可預測性資產支持有助於提高槓桿。當然，由於我們不僅追求這些基礎設施計劃，還追求其他基礎設施計劃，例如我們的資料中心計劃，我認為您應該期望看到我們像往常一樣利用槓桿來嘗試優化股東回報。

The next question comes from the line of Matthew Harrigan with The Benchmark Company.

下一個問題來自 Benchmark Company 的 Matthew Harrigan。

Two wonky valuation points, if you would. One thing that's interesting with Switzerland, I know you and Charlie have spoken about just the general credit equity market conditions, the government bond rates, you look at the PE, you're in the low 20s versus low teens in the U.K. So you've got a really favorable just kind of generic valuation headwind.

如果你願意的話，有兩個不穩定的估值點。瑞士有趣的一件事是，我知道你和查理剛剛談到了一般信貸股票市場狀況、政府債券利率，你看看PE，你的市盈率在20 多歲，而在英國則只有10 多歲。所以你'我們遇到了一種非常有利的通用估值逆風。

And if you strip out Switzerland to a decent price, I mean, obviously, the other assets are going to look even more compelling in terms of the underlying multiple. But what sort of benign tailwind do you think just by giving people another Swiss telecom pure play?

如果你把瑞士剔除到一個合適的價格，我的意思是，顯然，其他資產在基礎倍數方面看起來會更具吸引力。但是，您認為透過為人們提供另一項瑞士電信純業務會帶來什麼樣的良性推動作用？

And then secondly, when you look at your capital structure to your credit, I mean, you've got 5-year bond duration, 3 handle on the fully swapped borrowing cost, it's remarkable. But we just had another hot inflation number a few minutes ago.

其次，當你審視你的信用資本結構時，我的意思是，你的債券期限為 5 年，完全互換借貸成本為 3 個，這非常了不起。但幾分鐘前我們剛剛得到了另一個熱門通膨數據。

Is your attitude for leverage over the next 5 years really going to change if we're in this persistent, somewhat higher rate environment? Because surely, if you refinance everything, you'd be materially higher on your debt costs. And congratulations on the transaction.

如果我們處於這種持續的、略高的利率環境中，您對未來 5 年槓桿的態度真的會改變嗎？因為可以肯定的是，如果你為所有東西進行再融資，你的債務成本會大大增加。並祝賀交易成功。

Yes. Thanks, Matt. I look at -- Charlie can work up an answer to the capital structure and leverage point. On the valuation, listen, it's our view that this announcement should create a tailwind for sure because this will be a transaction that occurs in '24, we think a sizable dividend to investors and something that they will -- it's certainly not valued in our stock today. No question about it.

是的。謝謝，馬特。我看看——查理可以找出資本結構和槓桿點的答案。關於估值，聽著，我們認為這項公告肯定會帶來一股順風，因為這將是24 年發生的交易，我們認為會給投資者帶來可觀的股息，他們會的——它肯定不會在我們的估值中被重視。今天有貨。毫無疑問。

So -- and the tailwind it should create is I think it is the first example of a pivot in our approach to distributing value, and it could be followed up by many similar type structures or transactions. And you have to start somewhere. And I think we're starting in the right place with the right asset at the right time.

因此，它應該創造的順風車是我認為這是我們分配價值的方法中樞軸的第一個例子，並且後續可能會出現許多類似類型的結構或交易。你必須從某個地方開始。我認為我們在正確的時間、在正確的地點、使用正確的資產開始。

And I think what's most important for people to understand about these announcements today is what it means about the broader strategic road map we're pursuing. And that's how the lens that we're putting on value creation and value distribution going forward is slightly different, and we'll keep you posted as things start to develop.

我認為人們今天了解這些公告最重要的是它對我們正在追求的更廣泛的策略路線圖意味著什麼。這就是我們對未來價值創造和價值分配的看法略有不同的地方，隨著事情的發展，我們將隨時向您通報情況。

But I think, yes, I think that should create a tailwind if people are looking at it correctly. I appreciate that there is some frustration about our guidance in one particular market, and we'll address that. It seems to me shortsighted to be focused on that. But nonetheless, we'll address it. I think the bigger message here today is the way we're going to create value for you.

但我認為，是的，如果人們正確看待它，我認為這應該會產生順風。我理解我們在某個特定市場的指導存在一些令人沮喪的情況，我們將解決這個問題。在我看來，專注於這一點似乎是短視的。但儘管如此，我們還是會解決這個問題。我認為今天這裡更重要的訊息是我們將為您創造價值的方式。

Matt, on the leverage side, we've been around a lot of time together, you and I, but it's 4 to 5x leverage through the cycle. It's been pretty successful for us, and rates were a lot higher for much of that period.

馬特，在槓桿方面，我們在一起度過了很多時間，你和我，但整個週期的槓桿率是 4 到 5 倍。這對我們來說非常成功，並且在那段時期的大部分時間裡費率都高得多。

So I think that we obviously recognize that we've been benefiting in the last 5, 10 years from some very low rates. But I do also think that these businesses have proven to be able to drive an optimal cost of capital even with higher interest rates.

因此，我認為我們顯然認識到，過去 5 年、10 年我們一直受益於一些非常低的利率。但我也確實認為，即使利率較高，這些企業已被證明能實現最佳資本成本。

And I think the question of whether we'd be at the bottom end or the top end of that range, I want to make a decision when we come off these fixed-rate deals. And just to remind you, I mean, that is a decision that's coming up the back end of the decade because most of our average life of debt as you already point out, is going to come off fixed rates '27, '28, '29, '30, '31 in what's a good year.

我認為我們是否處於該範圍的底部或頂部的問題，我想在我們完成這些固定利率交易時做出決定。我只想提醒您，我的意思是，這是一個將在本世紀末做出的決定，因為正如您已經指出的那樣，我們的大部分平均債務期限將不再採用固定利率“27”、“28 」 29、30、31，這是一個好年。

I think we'll see at that point whether we think it's more prudent to be at the lower end of the range, higher end of the range, it will depend on the underlying growth of the assets. I mean by then, we'll be through the investment cycle, particularly on 5G and most of the fiber builds. We'll be in a position where we will hopefully have much more rational market.

我認為我們將在這一點上看看我們是否認為處於該範圍的下限或較高端更為謹慎，這將取決於資產的潛在增長。我的意思是，到那時，我們將完成投資週期，特別是在 5G 和大部分光纖建設方面。我們將希望擁有更理性的市場。

I just think that it's too early to call it out. But you're 100% right. If we had to [reference] our capital structure today, the underlying base rates we have locked in are significantly lower than the market rates. But let's see where rates are back end of the decade, and we can make some judgments on where we would be in that 4% to 5% range.

我只是覺得現在說出來還太早。但你是100%正確的。如果我們今天必須[參考]我們的資本結構，我們鎖定的基礎利率明顯低於市場利率。但讓我們看看本世紀末的利率水平，我們可以對利率在 4% 到 5% 的範圍內做出一些判斷。

And you would probably agree that there's a material valuation halo on a Swiss asset?

您可能會同意瑞士資產具有實質的估值光環？

Sorry, I didn't hear it.

抱歉，我沒聽到。

No, I'm sorry, you would probably agree that there's a material valuation halo multiple-wise on a Swiss asset?

不，抱歉，您可能會同意瑞士資產存在多重實質估值光環？

Yes, I agree with that. With the free cash flow -- listen, clearly, the free cash flow yields in Switzerland for distributed listed stocks, all things being equal, are lower than for euro or pound stocks. And the reason is, of course, of the low cost of debt, low cost of capital, if you like, in Switzerland. Swiss government bonds are amongst the cheapest in Europe.

是的，我同意這一點。就自由現金流而言，請聽清楚，在所有條件相同的情況下，瑞士分散式上市股票的自由現金流收益率低於歐元或英鎊股票。當然，原因是瑞士債務成本低、資本成本低（如果你願意的話）。瑞士政府債券是歐洲最便宜的政府公債之一。

So clearly, this spin is going to unlock that part of the conglomerate discount. And I think that it's obviously a very attractive market for other reasons. So I think one person can hold all my shares. So I'm very excited about seeing how André and team progress over the next few years.

很明顯，這次重組將釋放企業集團折扣的一部分。我認為，出於其他原因，這顯然是一個非常有吸引力的市場。所以我認為一個人可以持有我所有的股份。因此，我很高興看到安德烈和團隊在未來幾年中的進步。

The next question comes from the line of Polo Tang with UBS.

下一個問題來自 Polo Tang 與 UBS 的對話。

Just two very quick questions. The first one is on U.K. cable ARPU. It was now stable in Q4, but how should we think about the trajectory of U.K. cable ARPU going forward? So are there still legacy voice and video declines as well as maybe back-book repricing in the U.K.? Or are you through a lot of these headwinds?

只有兩個非常簡短的問題。第一個是英國有線 ARPU。現在第四季已經穩定，但我們該如何看待英國有線 ARPU 的未來發展軌跡？那麼，英國是否仍然存在傳統語音和視訊的下降以及可能的重新定價？或是你經歷過很多這樣的逆風嗎？

And the second question is just on Switzerland. Can you comment in terms of what you're seeing on competitive dynamics? And specifically, what are you seeing in terms of promotional activity in Switzerland?

第二個問題是關於瑞士的。您能否就您所看到的競爭動態發表評論？具體來說，您對瑞士的促銷活動有何看法？

Sure. Lutz, we'll get you involved. Do you want to address the cable ARPU point?

當然。盧茲，我們會讓你參與其中。您想解決有線ARPU點問題嗎？

Yes, sure. So yes. So I think as you might have seen it, the good news is that we have managed to stabilize the cable fixed ARPU in the U.K. year-over-year when you compare the number with Q4 '22.

是的，當然。所以是的。因此，我認為您可能已經看到了，好消息是，當您與 22 年第四季度的數字進行比較時，我們已經成功地穩定了英國的有線固定 ARPU。

And going forward, unfortunately, right, there's still the cost of living crisis in U.K. There are still customers calling in for saving costs, which leads to eliminating the landline or mid-tier pay-TV products.

不幸的是，展望未來，英國仍然存在生活成本危機。仍有客戶要求節省成本，這導致固定電話或中階付費電視產品被淘汰。

On the other hand side, we are able to monetize speed and sell customers more. So I mean we are not giving an ARPU guidance for '24, as you know. But I would say the macro hasn't changed, but we take some positivity out of the stabilization of the fixed ARPU out of last quarter compared to a year ago. Hope that helped.

另一方面，我們能夠透過速度貨幣化並向客戶出售更多產品。所以我的意思是，如您所知，我們不會提供 24 年的 ARPU 指導。但我想說的是，宏觀經濟並沒有改變，但我們從上個季度固定 ARPU 與一年前相比的穩定中獲得了一些積極的信息。希望有幫助。

Yes. André, do you want to address the Swiss question?

是的。安德烈，你想解決瑞士問題嗎？

Yes, sure. So I would say it's pretty stable. So no real acceleration or growth of promotions, I would say. We have seen, of course, lots of liquidity in Q4, which was driven by like Friday, driving a lot of consumers onto the market again.

是的，當然。所以我想說它非常穩定。所以我想說，促銷活動並沒有真正加速或成長。當然，我們在第四季度看到了大量的流動性，這是在周五的推動下，促使大量消費者再次進入市場。

We have been more active than in previous quarters just because we had the price rise behind us, and that actually paid off in the numbers that you saw in terms of net adds in the quarter. And still, we have some delayed activations only coming through in Q1. So we're quite happy with our return to the market, if you want, in particular, on the main brand.

我們比前幾季更加活躍，只是因為價格上漲已經過去，而這實際上在本季度淨增加的數字中得到了回報。儘管如此，我們還是有一些延遲啟動僅在第一季完成。因此，如果您特別想要主品牌的話，我們對重返市場感到非常高興。

We have seen Swisscom not being aggressive really with their main brand in the Black Friday period. Essentially, they have not taken any promotions in that period of time. So we think that the market is actually trading quite constant compared to what we have seen previously. We also don't see a lot of more aggressive price points coming in.

我們看到瑞士電信在黑色星期五期間並未對其主要品牌表現出真正的侵略性。本質上，他們在那段時間沒有進行任何促銷活動。因此，我們認為與我們之前看到的相比，市場實際上的交易相當穩定。我們也沒有看到更多更激進的價格點出現。

So it feels like that the main brand flanker brand set up and the promotional games in those 2 segments is pretty stable at this moment in time. And after the price rise, we have come back being more active and taking our share in the market. And I think that's pretty good outcome for Q4 and Q1 is starting in the same way.

因此，感覺主品牌側翼品牌的建立和這兩個細分市場的促銷遊戲目前相當穩定。價格上漲後，我們又變得更加活躍，並在市場上佔據了份額。我認為第四季的結果相當不錯，第一季也以同樣的方式開始。

The next question comes from the line of James Ratzer with New Street Research.

下一個問題來自 New Street Research 的 James Ratzer。

Yes. So I have some questions on the Sunrise part of the announcement today specifically. So Mike, you were saying at the beginning, you kind of never seen as wide a discount between your asset values and the share price.

是的。所以我對今天公告的日出部分有一些具體的問題。麥克，你一開始就說過，你從未見過你的資產價值和股價之間有這麼大的折扣。

So with that in mind, I was wondering why you've decided, therefore, to push cash from the TopCo down into Sunrise and spin it out to shareholders rather than actually use it for share buybacks, which presumably would actually create more value.

因此，考慮到這一點，我想知道為什麼您決定將 TopCo 的現金投入 Sunrise 並將其分拆給股東，而不是實際將其用於股票回購，這可能實際上會創造更多價值。

And then on the Sunrise transaction itself, just from what's going to be left with Liberty Global, can you just run through what it's going to mean for your central costs? I think those have been $200 million to $250 million outflow a year. What does that now come down to?

然後，就 Sunrise 交易本身而言，僅從 Liberty Global 留下的內容來看，您能否大致了解一下它對您的中心成本意味著什麼？我認為每年的資金流出量為 2 億至 2.5 億美元。現在歸結為什麼呢？

And also your shareholder -- sorry, your share compensation costs, those that were running at about $230 million last year, I think, in the 10-K, but you become a smaller company with the spin-off of Sunrise. What happens to your share-based compensation payment for the group?

還有你的股東——抱歉，你的股票補償成本，我認為，去年在10-K 中的成本約為2.3 億美元，但隨著Sunrise 的分拆，你變成了一家規模較小的公司。您為該集團支付的基於股份的薪酬會怎樣？

Yes. All good questions. I'll let Charlie work up an answer to the central costs point. Listen, on your first question, why would we invest the capital into Sunrise pre-spin versus increasing the buyback?

是的。都是好問題。我會讓查理找出中心成本點的答案。聽著，關於你的第一個問題，我們為什麼要將資金投資於 Sunrise 預旋轉而不是增加回購？

Look, I'm really proud of what we've done in terms of buybacks, owning 60% of this business has been the right move, especially given where we're going. And we don't -- we continue to see buybacks as an important part of the strategy, but it's -- they're not mutually exclusive. It's not one or the other.

看，我對我們在回購方面所做的事情感到非常自豪，擁有該業務 60% 的股份是正確的舉措，特別是考慮到我們的發展方向。我們仍然認為回購是該策略的重要組成部分，但它們並不互相排斥。這不是一個或另一個。

And what buybacks do is obviously, they shrink the equity. They demonstrate our commitment to the business. And over time, they reduce the denominator at a point where when these things occur, they occur at a greater multiple or a greater valuation, and that's all well and good.

顯然，回購的作用是減少股權。它們體現了我們對業務的承諾。隨著時間的推移，它們會減少分母，當這些事情發生時，它們會以更大的倍數或更高的估值出現，這一切都很好。

But we also know that something like this, a spin-off of Sunrise, with an injection of cash, which we were doing principally to maximize the fully distributed value of Sunrise, knowing that listing it is going to be difficult at its current leverage, and so we would reduce leverage.

但我們也知道，像這樣的事情，Sunrise 的分拆，注入現金，我們這樣做主要是為了最大化 Sunrise 的完全分配價值，因為我們知道以其目前的槓桿率很難上市，所以我們會減少槓桿。

In essence, what we're doing is giving that money to investors and saying, if you -- whatever you think Sunrise has worked for share in our stock today, pick a number, you're going to have to increase that about $5 or whatever the number is because we're essentially increasing the equity value of the business with this cash injection, $4.50 a share.

本質上，我們正​​在做的就是把這筆錢交給投資者，並說，如果你——無論你認為 Sunrise 今天對我們股票的貢獻如何，選擇一個數字，你將不得不增加大約 5 美元或不管數字是多少，因為我們透過這次現金注入實質上增加了公司的股權價值，即每股4.50 美元。

And so at a minimum, there's a $4.50 share dividend, tax-efficient distribution happening, which I think many investors, maybe most investors, perhaps not analysts, but most investors will see as extremely positive. Because buybacks take time to impact. They have to be followed up by events or moments where that denominator matters. So that's the answer to that question.

因此，至少會有4.50 美元的股票股息，這是一種節稅的分配方式，我認為許多投資者，也許是大多數投資者，也許不是分析師，但大多數投資者都會認為這是非常積極的。因為回購需要時間才能產生影響。緊隨其後的是該分母很重要的事件或時刻。這就是這個問題的答案。

On the share compensation, we'll see how it unfolds. I mean this transaction will happen in second half of the year. We hope it does. There will be -- most of the current employees who have shares in Liberty Global will end up with shares in Sunrise, and the comp committee will determine how best to manage that probably in 2025 and beyond.

關於股權激勵，我們將拭​​目以待。我的意思是這筆交易將在今年下半年進行。我們希望如此。大多數持有 Liberty Global 股份的現有員工最終將持有 Sunrise 股份，而薪酬委員會將在 2025 年及以後確定如何最好地管理這一點。

2024, I don't know that it's going to change anything because this transaction second half of the year, and it's hard to know what impact it will have. 2025 and beyond, we'll let the comp committee figure that out. Charlie, do you want to talk about central costs?

2024年，我不知道會改變什麼，因為這筆交易是在下半年進行的，很難知道它會產生什麼影響。 2025 年及以後，我們將讓薪酬委員會解決這個問題。查理，你想談談中心成本嗎？

Yes, Sure. And as you already pointed out, we've been running about $200 million to $250 million, much lower this time around. And we'll see how the years go on. That's a pretty established number.

是的，當然。正如您已經指出的，我們一直在運行大約 2 億至 2.5 億美元，這次要低得多。我們會看看這些年會如何發展。這是一個相當確定的數字。

Just to remind you, there were 2 additional central costs which are, I believe, assets. One is our Liberty Tech, which Enrique has done an amazing job of creating market-leading connectivity and entertainment platforms that are very attractive, and you heard about that Infosys transaction.

只是提醒您，還有兩項額外的核心成本，我認為它們是資產。其中之一是我們的 Liberty Tech，恩里克在創建市場領先的連接和娛樂平台方面做得非常出色，非常有吸引力，您也聽說過印孚瑟斯的交易。

I'd point out that it has a massive order book and is already, through Infosys, exploring third-party opportunities. So one could argue that, that is a potential unicorn. And we've also aggregated all our back-office services and we've been -- created a company, which itself is also profitable and very attractive. We actually had a reverse inquiry about buying it.

我想指出的是，它擁有大量訂單，並且已經透過印孚瑟斯探索第三方機會。所以有人可能會說，這是一隻潛在的獨角獸。我們還整合了所有後台服務，並且創建了一家公司，該公司本身也能盈利，而且非常有吸引力。我們實際上對購買它進行了反向詢問。

But essentially, the same principle. We have scale. We have best practice. We can invest from the investment in technology. And we think we provide a very, very competitive product to our FMCs, and that's underpinned by some pretty long-term contracts.

但本質上，原理是一樣的。我們有規模。我們有最佳實踐。我們可以從技術投資中進行投資。我們認為我們為我們的 FMC 提供了非常非常有競爭力的產品，這是由一些相當長期的合約支撐的。

So what you're really talking about is a central cost, which broadly breaks down into 3 buckets. One is the cost to maintain the current listing. Secondly, the cost of developing the next wave of growth, investing in things like AtlasEdge and what we hope to be very successful unicorns and potential trackers over time.

所以你真正談論的是核心成本，它大致分為三個部分。一是維持目前上市的成本。其次，開發下一波成長的成本，投資 AtlasEdge 等產品以及我們希望隨著時間的推移成為非常成功的獨角獸和潛在追蹤者的成本。

And then thirdly, a series of a real shared service, high expertise activities. Treasury will be a good example. Tax will be a good example. And I think one of the lessons that we learned from the LiLAC spin was that we actually lost economies of scale. We lost expertise, and we should have preserved it.

第三，一系列真正的共享服務、高專業活動。財政部就是一個很好的例子。稅收就是一個很好的例子。我認為我們從 LiLAC 轉型中學到的教訓之一是我們實際上失去了規模經濟。我們失去了專業知識，我們應該保留它。

So we would be proposing to continue to provide many of the specialist services on arm's length agreements but there will be multiyear agreements, probably broadly in line with what we use for internal transfer pricing purposes I think or GSA, which is often embedded deep in these indentures.

因此，我們建議繼續根據公平協議提供許多專業服務，但將會有多年期協議，我認為這些協議可能與我們用於內部轉讓定價目的或GSA 所使用的協議大致一致，而GSA 通常深深嵌入這些協議中。契約。

So you should assume that with Sunrise, there will be some long-term contract for them to provide what we hope will be real value-added expertise. And I really do think it's value added. And I think what a merchant does as a treasurer will be very hard to recreate on each of these OpCos, and they're very happy to take those services.

因此，您應該假設，與 Sunrise 合作，他們將簽訂一些長期合同，以提供我們希望的真正的增值專業知識。我確實認為它具有附加價值。我認為商人作為財務主管所做的事情很難在每個營運公司上重現，而且他們非常樂意接受這些服務。

So I would say the churn will come down over time on a net basis. And hopefully, we're going to create the next wave of multibillion dollar companies from these ventures portfolio.

所以我想說，隨著時間的推移，淨流失率將會下降。希望我們能夠從這些創投組合中創造出下一波價值數十億美元的公司。

So Charlie, does that mean given the size of Sunrise, of your consolidated operations there? I mean can that $200 million to $250 million, does that halve because of the GSA revenues you'll get from Sunrise?

那麼查理，考慮到 Sunrise 的規模，這是否意味著你們在那裡的合併業務？我的意思是，這 2 億至 2.5 億美元是否會因為您從 Sunrise 獲得的 GSA 收入而減半？

No. No. No, it doesn't mean that. Remember, that $200 million, $250 million about -- I mean, I don't want to give precise numbers, but as I said, there were 3 buckets of public listing, the cost of developing these new ventures. But there's a proportion that is allocated to that, we will allocate as we see fit to -- over time to these 4 big companies.

不不不，不是這個意思。請記住，2 億美元、2.5 億美元左右——我的意思是，我不想給出精確的數字，但正如我所說，公開上市的成本分為3 個部分，即開發這些新企業的成本。但隨著時間的推移，我們將按照我們認為合適的方式分配給這四家大公司。

Remember, we still continue to and [on the course]. We still continue to provide significant services to companies like VMO2 and the Benelux, way beyond the spin of Switzerland. But there'll be some net income, and we'll disclose that at the right time as the spin documents unfold.

請記住，我們仍然繼續[在路線上]。我們仍然繼續為 VMO2 和比荷盧經濟聯盟等公司提供重要的服務，遠遠超出了瑞士的範圍。但會有一些淨利潤，我們將在分拆文件展開時適時揭露。

The next question comes from the line of Joshua Mills with BNP Paribas.

下一個問題來自約書亞·米爾斯 (Joshua Mills) 與法國巴黎銀行 (BNP Paribas) 的對話。

Mine was on the Virgin Media O2 guidance on Slide 12. So in the press release, you did comment that there was some anticipation of B2B revenue weakness in 2024, which underpins the guidance for stable to declining revenue. It'd be great if you could just give a bit more color on that, given do you remain some positive on this basis in 2023?

我的想法是幻燈片 12 上的 Virgin Media O2 指引。因此，在新聞稿中，您確實評論說，對 2024 年 B2B 收入疲軟有一些預期，這支撐了收入穩定至下降的指引。考慮到 2023 年您對此仍持積極態度，如果您能對此提供更多說明，那就太好了？

Is it contract losses? Is it something you're seeing on that side? Or is it just a reflection of the macro situation? And then secondly, on the EBITDA guide for low to mid single-digit declines. If I were to estimate, that was around, say, $200 million of EBITDA.

是合約損失嗎？你在那邊看到的是東西嗎？還是只是宏觀情勢的反映？其次，關於 EBITDA 指南，出現低至中個位數的下降。如果我估計的話，EBITDA 約為 2 億美元。

Can you give us a bit of a breakdown perhaps on how much is being spent on IT efficiencies versus marketing expenses just so we can build a picture for? Or would be one-off investments, which may be reversed in 2025 and beyond? And which of these higher investment levels are more structural?

您能否給我們一些詳細信息，也許是關於 IT 效率與行銷費用之間的支出，以便我們能夠了解情況？還是一次性投資，可能會在 2025 年及以後逆轉？這些較高的投資水準中哪些更具結構性？

Lutz, why don't you handle the B2B point straightaway?

Lutz，為什麼不直接處理 B2B 點呢？

Yes, sure. So we have done a lot of sales-type lease deals. So meaning we are selling dark fiber or Ethernet, a lot of mobile backhaul to link base stations to other mobile network operator. And the nature of these deals are that you can identify the revenue and the EBITDA right away at the beginning.

是的，當然。所以我們做了很多銷售型的租賃交易。因此，這意味著我們正在銷售暗光纖或以太網，以及將基地台連接到其他行動網路營運商的大量行動回程。這些交易的本質是您可以在一開始就確定收入和 EBITDA。

Now we see, at the moment, less of these types of deals happening in '24, which is a bigger driver for less revenue on the B2B side. The other factor we take into account in our revenue guidance is still on the consumer side, the cost of living crisis. And the mobile handset market is materially down.

現在我們看到，24 年發生的此類交易較少，這是 B2B 方面收入減少的更大推動因素。我們在收入指導中考慮的另一個因素仍然是消費者方面，即生活成本危機。手機市場也大幅下滑。

I think you've seen it also from competitors or something in the region of 20% or more year-on-year. So therefore, we are simply cautious on that one. Do you want to answer the EBITDA question, Mike, or should I do?

我想你也從競爭對手或同比 20% 或更多的地區看到了這一點。因此，我們對此持謹慎態度。麥克，你想回答 EBITDA 問題，還是我應該回答？

Well, you can address that. I mean we're not providing where in that range we'll be, whether it's low or mid. But [looking at the] budget, I know where it's going to be. I'm not sure how much detail we can provide. If I have a point to make on the EBITDA, the growth rate is quite a few one-offs in 2023.

好吧，你可以解決這個問題。我的意思是，我們沒有提供我們在這個範圍內的位置，無論是低端還是中端。但[看看]預算，我知道它會在哪裡。我不確定我們能提供多少細節。如果我對 EBITDA 有觀點的話，那就是 2023 年的成長率是相當一次性的。

Those are also impacting the ability to generate a higher result on a percentage basis because of the pretty big one-offs in the fourth quarter that are not a great comparable. So I don't know how much detail you want to provide, Lutz, but I think the question was, when you look at IT, you look at marketing, you look at things that we're doing in the year to drive growth, maybe provide a little color on that.

這些也影響了產生更高百分比結果的能力，因為第四季度出現了相當大的一次性事件，不具有很好的可比性。所以我不知道你想提供多少細節，Lutz，但我認為問題是，當你看 IT、你看行銷、你看我們今年為推動成長所做的事情，也許對此提供一點顏色。

I think for -- what I would provide without giving a number is, I mean, if you add, right, also nexfibre has announced a number today, what they are going to spend on network rollout. So that means, right, nexfibre has 800,000 homes, right? It's easy to understand that the additional fiber homes will be more than 1 million.

我想，在不給出數字的情況下，我想提供的是，我的意思是，如果你補充一下，對吧，nexfibre 今天也宣布了一個數字，他們將在網路部署上花費多少錢。那麼這意味著，nexfibre 擁有 80 萬個家庭，對嗎？很容易理解，新增的光纖家庭將超過100萬戶。

So if you think about what typical penetrations are from Virgin Media in these fiber, new fiber homes, right, it's easy to understand that this already leads to material cost in EBITDA, yes? And for that, you also need marketing and stuff.

因此，如果您考慮維珍媒體在這些光纖、新光纖家庭中的典型滲透率是多少，對吧，很容易理解這已經導致了 EBITDA 的材料成本，是嗎？為此，你還需要行銷之類的東西。

So I don't give numbers. We don't give numbers. But I think this is a big driver, and it's therefore also easy to understand that when we have these customers that will -- they will help us then with additional growth in '25. Our IT costs, they're not immaterial, but I think the biggest hard to mention is the customer growth.

所以我不給出數字。我們不提供數字。但我認為這是一個很大的驅動力，因此也很容易理解，當我們擁有這些客戶時，他們將幫助我們在 25 年實現額外成長。我們的IT成本，它們並非無關緊要，但我認為最難提及的是客戶成長。

I think we're at the bottom of the hour here. Yes.

我想我們正處於最後時刻。是的。

Yes. This will conclude our Q&A session. So I will hand the call back to Mr. Mike Fries for closing remarks.

是的。我們的問答環節到此結束。因此，我將把電話轉回給麥克·弗里斯先生，讓其致閉幕詞。

Yes. Thanks, everybody. Appreciate you staying on so long. I know it's been a busy morning, and 90 minutes is a big ask. So thank you for that. Slightly tough day to announce these results with market conditions, but clearly, there's a lot of anticipation for what we had to say and maybe that's been part of the buildup.

是的。謝謝大家。感謝您堅持這麼久。我知道這是一個忙碌的早晨，90 分鐘是一個很大的要求。非常感謝你的幫忙。在市場條件下宣布這些結果有點困難，但顯然，人們對我們所說的內容有很多期待，也許這是累積的一部分。

Obviously, I sense and we all sense the disappointment in the VMO2 guidance. I will simply say whether it's investment or one-offs, this business will return to growth. And in our view, it's a blip, not a major issue whatsoever. And we're excited about Lutz and what he and the team are doing for sure. Our excitement hasn't changed one bit.

顯然，我和我們都感受到了對 VMO2 指南的失望。我簡單說，無論是投資還是一次性，這個業務都會恢復成長。在我們看來，這只是一個暫時現象，而不是一個主要問題。我們對 Lutz 以及他和團隊正在做的事情感到興奮。我們的興奮絲毫沒有改變。

And I also think the announcements we made today are substantial. The gap in our stock is real, whether you think the FMCs are valued at $2, $5 or $6 or not valued at $30, we will show you with the spin-off of Switzerland, what that business will be worth. That will be a big moment, and I'm confident that, that will be a positive event for investors. And I think we have a pipeline of opportunities very, very similar to that.

我也認為我們今天發布的公告意義重大。我們股票的缺口是真實存在的，無論您認為FMC 的估值為2 美元、5 美元或6 美元，還是估值為30 美元，我們都會向您展示瑞士的分拆業務，該業務的價值是多少。這將是一個重要時刻，我相信這對投資者來說將是一個積極的事件。我認為我們擁有一系列與此非常非常相似的機會。

So shareholder remuneration is multi-pronged going forward. It's not simply buybacks. It's finding ways to put value in the hands of shareholders, and that will be how we approach things going forward.

因此，股東薪酬未來將是多管齊下的。這不僅僅是回購。它正在尋找將價值交到股東手中的方法，這將是我們處理未來事務的方式。

Thank you for your continued support and patience. And as always, you know where to find us if you have follow-up questions. Thanks, everybody.

感謝您一直以來的支持與耐心。一如既往，如果您有後續問題，您知道在哪裡可以找到我們。謝謝大家。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes Liberty Global's Full Year 2023 Results and Strategic Update Investor Call. As a reminder, a replay of the call will be available in the Investor Relations section of Liberty Global's website. There, you can also find a copy of today's presentation materials. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，Liberty Global 2023 年全年業績和策略更新投資者電話會議到此結束。請注意，Liberty Global 網站的投資者關係部分將提供電話會議的重播。在那裡，您還可以找到今天演示材料的副本。現在您可以斷開線路。