Telecom Lifts Quarterly Earnings To $209 Million
16 November 1999
TELECOM LIFTS QUARTERLY EARNINGS TO $209 MILLION
Telecom today reported after-tax earnings of $209 million for the three months to 30 September 1999. Telecom will pay an 11.5 cents per share first quarter dividend.
Chief Executive Theresa Gattung said the main boosters to Telecom's performance in the first quarter were very strong growth in New Zealand's mobile phone market and increasing growth in data revenues.
Overview Result % change
Operating revenues $887
m + 2.1%
Operating expenses $522 m + 2.4%
Earnings
before interest and tax $365 m + 1.7%
Net earnings $209
m + 1.5%
Adjusted net earnings # $216 m + 4.9%
Earnings per share 11.9c + 1.4%
Dividends per share
11.5c unchanged
# Adjusted for Southern Cross startup costs and AAPT holding costs
Ms
Gattung said startup costs associated with the Southern
Cross Cable across the Pacific and funding costs for
Telecom's purchase of the initial 19.8 percent shareholding
in Australian telecommunications company AAPT had reduced
earnings by $7 million.
"Both of these projects are expected to add significant long-term value and net earnings adjusted for Southern Cross and AAPT would have been $216 million for the quarter, up 4.9%," Ms Gattung said.
The three months to 30 September had been the best ever period for signing up new mobile customers, with more than 83,000 new mobile connections.
Ms Gattung said the huge growth in New Zealand's mobile phone market, and the continued surge in XTRA customer numbers and usage reflected changes in the way New Zealanders were communicating with each other and with the rest of the world.
Volume Growth Y-o-Y
% change, for period to 30 Sept
Cellular connections +
50.7% 760,800
Cellular call minutes + 38.3 % 240.3 m
Fixed line to cellular call minutes + 33.0% 129.8 m
XTRA customers + 61.2% 228,300
XTRA usage (per
customer in Sept) + 79.6% 17.6 hours
ISDN lines + 60.2%
60,700
Telephone access lines + 1.5 % 1.88 m
National call minutes + 0.5% 506.8 m
International
outward call minutes + 27.0 % 137.8 m
International
inward call minutes + 16.4% 96.6 m
"National and international toll call prices continue
to drop. This is great for Telecom customers and while it
means lower revenues from these lines of business, growth in
other parts of the business such as mobile and data is
offsetting declines in voice calling revenues," Ms Gattung
said.
Data revenues now exceeded international calling revenues because increasing numbers of New Zealand businesses were going online and because New Zealanders had almost doubled the amount of time they spent emailing and web-surfing.
ENDS