TPG Telecom predicts it will continue to accumulate new subscribers in the face of economic uncertainty after the telecommunications provider’s full year profit increased by 40 per cent.
The group also said it expected to complete the takeover of IntraPower this financial year as it reported net profit for the 12 months ending July 31 of $78.2 million, up from $55.7 million a year earlier.
TPG executive director Alan Latimer said the group intended to accumulate a comparable number of subscribers in 2011/12.
“We’re planning to grow at a similar rate at what we have done before,” Mr Latimer told AAP.
He added that the telecommunications industry was not subject to the vagaries of the retail downturn and “economic ups and downs”.
“People want a phone service and they still want an internet service,” he said.
TPG said strong subscriber growth in its core consumer broadband business had continued with a net increase in the year of 59,000 subscribers.
The group’s on-net broadband and home phone bundle continued to be the major growth driver, adding 98,000 subscribers during the year.
The group reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 37 per cent to $234 million.
“We’ve issued guidance for our earnings of $250 million to $260 million for the fiscal 2012 year,” Mr Latimer said.
Its full year 2011 earnings result was higher than expected.
TPG said its PIPE Networks business had continued to grow strongly and its network rollout for the Vodafone Hutchison Australia contract was “progressing well” and to schedule.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the group will complete its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in cloud computing provider IntraPower, which is building two server farms to service 33,000 desktops.
TPG Telecom’s revenue grew 13 per cent to $574.5 million.
Shares in TPG fell one cent, or 0.7 per cent, to $1.46 by the close of trade, broadly in line with a broader market decline.
The company declared a final dividend of 2.25 cents, fully franked.
TPG’s executive chairman David Teoh holds a 36 per cent stake in the group while investment firm Washington H Soul Pattinson and Co holds a further 27 per cent.
The group was formerly called SP Telemedia Ltd and in 2008 acquired all interest in TPG Holdings Ltd and joined the TPG and Soul brands.
