Irish operator Eir has reported group revenue of EUR 325 million for the first quarter ending 30 September, up 4 percent year-on-year, the second consecutive quarter of revenue growth. EBITDA was up 6 percent year-on-year to EUR 120 million, the third consecutive quarter of EBITDA growth.
Eir added 16,000 broadband connections to end the quarter with a total of 798,000, with 41 percent of network broadband connections high speed. It added 45,000 fibre broadband connections in the quarter, with the eir Vision TV base reaching 43,000 customers (24% take-up by the consumer fibre base).
The post-paid mobile customer base increased by 11,000 in Q1, with the total mobile customer base up by 7,000 to 1.09 million (of which 317,000 4G customers). Post-paid customers now make up 45 percent of the mobile base. Eir saw increased triple and quad-play bundle penetration in the quarter, with 65 percent of customers now subscribing to two or more products.
In the fixed line segment, revenue for the quarter was EUR 245 million, an increase of 3 percent year-on-year. Fixed line EBITDA of EUR 105 million was broadly flat, decreasing by EUR 1 million or 1 percent in the quarter compared to the prior year period. Fixed line net access losses for the quarter ended 30 September were 16,0005.
The total group broadband customer base was 798,000 at 30 September, growing 66,000 in the last twelve months. The retail broadband base was 453,000 at end-September, broadly flat on the same period last year. The slight decline in broadband lines in the retail base has been more than compensated by gains in the wholesale business. Wholesale broadband connections grew by 17,000 during the quarter and 71,000 compared to 30 September 2014, bringing the total wholesale broadband lines to 344,000 lines at end-September.
In the mobile segment, EBITDA for the quarter increased to EUR 15 million, from EUR 8 million in the prior year quarter. Mobile revenue was EUR 91 million for the quarter, up 5 percent from a year-earlier.
