Telstra's H1 profit grows 23%

For the first half ended 31 December, Telstra reported a net profit of AUD 1.5 billion, up 22.9 percent from AUD 1.2 billion in the year earlier period. Revenues were AUD 12.4 billion, up 1.1 percent and EBITDA stood at AUD 4.8 billion, up 3.7 percent year-on-year. Mobile revenues rose 10.9 percent to AUD 4.39 billion while fixed revenues fell 6.1 percent to AUD 4.53 billion. IP access and data services revenues were AUD 901 million, up 1.1 percent, and NAS revenues grew 19.4 percent to AUD 579 million. Telstra added 106,000 fixed broadband customers in the first half to 2.52 million while the number of mobile customers grew by 958,000 to 13.18 million. The number of basic access lines in service (wholesale and retail) dropped by 136,000 to 8.23 million in the six month period. Capex went up 18.2 percent to AUD 1.72 billion as spending was driven to meet increasing data demand. Free cash flow dropped by 11.1 percent to AUD 1.8 billion. Telstra re-affirmed its guidance for the full year. In fiscal 2012, the company expects low single-digit revenue and EBITDA growth. Capex is expected to remain at around 14 percent of sales, and free cash flow is estimated at AUD 4.5-5.0 billion.