Australian operator Telstra has increased its total income for financial year 2018 by 3 percent on a reported basis. Revenue amounted to AUD 26 billion for the year to June 2018. EBITDA fell 5.2 percent to AUD 10.1 billion, while net profit decreased by 8.9 percent to AUD 3.6 billion. This means results are in line with the company’s guidance, Telstra said.
The company has also announced that its shareholders will receive a dividend of 11 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the financial year to 22 cents per share, comprising an ordinary dividend of 15 cents per share and a special dividend of 7 cents per share, in accordance with the dividend policy announced in August 2017.
Telstra said that it has seen strong subscriber growth, particularly in the second half on the year, adding 342,000 retail mobile customers, 88,000 retail fixed broadband customers, 135,000 retail bundles and 229,000 wholesale mobile services during FY18. In the NBN market, Telstra added 770,000 connections, reaching a total of 1.94 million for a market share of 51 percent (excluding satellite services).
In June, Telstra announced it would target a further AUD 1 billion annual reduction in underlying core fixed costs by FY 2022 in addition to the previous stated target of AUD 1.5 billion, meaning underlying core fixed costs will be AUD 2.5 billion per annum lower in FY22 compared with FY16. The company expects total costs to be flat or decline in each year from FY18 excluding restructuring costs.
In the new fiscal year, Telstra expects income to grow to AUD 26.5-28.6 billion based on new accounting standards. EBITDA (excluding restructuring costs) is expected to decline to AUD 8.8-9.5 billion, and restructuring costs will amount to around AUD 600 million. Capex is forecast at AUD 3.9-4.4 billion, and free cash flow is expected to reach AUD 3.1-3.6 billion in FY19.
