Telstra has confirmed its full-year growth outlook and raised its dividend after reporting a solid set of results for the fiscal first half to December 2015. The Australian operator's revenues rose 9.1 percent to AUD 14.2 billion (excluding finance income), and EBITDA was up 1.7 percent to AUD 5.4 billion. Net profit increased 0.8 percent to USD 2.1 billion, and Telstra increased the dividend by 3.3 percent to 15.5 cents per share, equal to a total pay-out of AUD 1.9 billion to shareholders. The results were helped by the takeover of Pacnet; excluding this, revenue was up 7.3 percent and EBITDA rose 1.4 percent.
In the mobile market, Telstra grew H1 revenue 3.7 percent to AUD 5.5 billion. The operator added 235,000 retail customers in Australia, including 80,000 postpaid phone customers, to take its total mobile subscriber base to 16.9 million. Revenue from Telstra’s fixed business declined 1.5 percent over the same period to AUD 3.6 billion, as 6.7 percent growth in fixed data revenue was offset by a 7.6 percent fall in voice revenue.
Telstra attributed the improved results to a focus on customer experience and network investment. The company said its net promoter score rose by 3 points compared to the year-earlier period. 4G network coverage reached 96 percent of the population at the end of the period and is on track to reach 99 percent by June 2017. In addition, it achieved a reduction of 1.1 percent or AUD 40 million in adjusted fixed costs in the first half.
For the full year, Telstra maintained its guidance for mid-single digit revenue growth and low-single digit EBITDA growth. Free cashflow is expected at AUD 4.6-5.1 billion, after AUD 1.9 billion in H1, and capital expenditure is estimated at around 15 percent of sales, in line with the 15.2 percent in H1.
