Optus 1H profit, up 22%
Australian telco Optus reported an increase in net profit of 22% to $152 million for the six months to 30 September 2009, from the previous corresponding period ("pcp"). Meanwhile Optus’s parent company, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGT) reported an 8.9% jump in net profit to $1.9 billion for the six months to 30 September 2009 from the pcp.
Optus CEO, Paul O’Sullivan, said Optus had recorded four quarters of double-digit mobile service revenue growth.
”In addition, it continued to build profitable scale across its fixed networks with the fixed on-net telephony customer base now exceeding one million,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Optus added further scale in the quarter with the opening of the 200th Optus ‘yes’ store and with the announcement by Woolworths Limited that they would use the Optus mobile network to offer a prepaid mobile service across Australia,” Mr O’Sullivan added.
Optus ‘Mobile’ operating revenue grew 12% to $1.38 billion, with business and wholesale fixed revenue up 2.2%.
Free cash flow increased 2.5% to $271 million.
Looking to the Singapore based parent company, Singtel CEO, Ms Chua Sock Koong, said the company, not including one-off items and hedging expenses, posted a 14.4% increase in underlying profit to $1.658 billion.
”We had another quarter of double-digit growth in the group’s underlying net profit and this reflects the continued strength of the group to innovate with differentiated products and services and our agility in responding to challenging market conditions,” Ms Koong said.
”Our strong financial results were achieved amid a cautious economic climate and despite the negative currency impact.”
Looking ahead, Ms Koong said that taking into account the results of the group to date and the general improved economic outlook, the telco was now expecting that for the current financial year, the operating revenue of each of the Singapore and Australia businesses to grow at single-digit levels and EBITDA of the respective businesses to grow at low single-digit levels.
As at 1025 AEDT, Singtel shares had gained 4c to $2.30.
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