Telstra grows 1H profit 0.8% in a tight market

Telstra has reported a slight 0.8% increase in net profit for the six months ending in December to $2.1 billion, after achieving income growth across all its segments.

The company reported total revenue of $14.2 billion, up 9.1% from the same period last year. Mobile revenue grew 3.7% to $5.5 billion, with the company adding 235,000 domestic retail mobile customers, taking its total mobile subscriber base to 16.9 million.

Fixed line revenue by contrast declined 1.5% to $3.6 billion, with a 7.6% slump in fixed voice revenue negating a 6.7% increase in fixed data revenue.

Telstra also made progress with its international growth strategy. The acquisition of Hong Kong-headquartered global telecom service provider Pacnet contributed $247 million to total income growth.

The company’s joint venture with Telkom Indonesia, Telkomtelstra, meanwhile recently started serving its first customers.

“Our results have been achieved against increased mobile competition and acceleration in the NBN multitechnology model rollout,” Telstra CEO Andrew Penn commented.

“We have continued to innovate and develop products and services to meet changing customer preferences and expectations in our fixed and mobile businesses.”

Based on the results, Telstra has maintained its guidance for the full financial year. The company expects to report a mid-single-digit income growth and low single-digit EBITDA gains.

Image courtesy of Ed Dunens under CC