NBN Co nine-month revenue grows 38%

NBN Co has reported a 38% increase in revenue for the first nine months of the financial year to $2.8 billion, putting the company within distance of meeting its FY20 target of $3.7 billion.

During the quarter the company activated 445,000 new premises, taking total activations up to 6.9 million. In April, the company exceeded its 2020–23 target of 7 million activations two months ahead of schedule.

As of the end of March, there were 11.2 million premises within the nbn footprint and ready to connect. The company is on track to complete the initial rollout, making 11.5 million premises ready to connect, at the end of next month.

Average revenue per user grew by $1 to $45, driven by a rise in new and existing customers signing up to higher speed tier plans.

Business revenue meanwhile grew to just under $500 million, up from $341 million in the year-ago period.

But during the nine months, NBN Co paid a record $1.98 billion in subscriber costs to Telstra and Optus, well above the $1.25 billion in EBITDA before subscriber costs the company earned over the same period.

The strong nine months comes despite NBN Co’s decision to increase connectivity virtual circuit capacity by up to 40% during the COVID-19 lockdown. The company has also introduced a $150 million relief package designed to allow its retail service provider customers to assist residential and business customers through the period.

“I’m pleased to announce a strong third-quarter performance by NBN Co, during what has been an unprecedented and challenging time for Australians and the Australian economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue commented.

“Furthermore, we recently announced our inaugural debt raising of $6.1 billion from the private debt market. This raising demonstrates both the importance of nbn as critical national infrastructure, and the confidence that lenders have in the long-term financial standing of the company.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Monster Ztudio