Optus profit falls 11.9% in June quarter

Optus has announced that its net profit for the June quarter fell 11.9% to $173 million as a result of costs associated with a workforce restructuring.

Excluding this provision, underlying net profit fell 1.9% due to higher financing costs, the operator said.

Operating revenues for the quarter also fell 12.9%, as the operator felt the effects of an ACCC-mandated reduction in mobile termination rates, the fees mobile operators charge for fielding calls from another mobile network.

Optus reported postpaid customer net additions of 19,000 for the quarter, but higher customer churn arising from the introduction of customer identification verification regulations resulted in a net decline of 24,000 prepaid customers.

Demand for 4G services continued to swell, with Optus adding another 257,000 4G customers during the quarter to take its total to 4.93 million. The operator’s 4G Plus subscribers now account for 53% of its total mobile customer base. The 4G network now covers 95% of Australians.

Fixed-line consumer operating revenues meanwhile grew 4% due to take-up of Optus TV, the operator’s NBN services and strong demand for wholesale DSL services in regional markets.

Optus’s NBN subscriber base has more than doubled in the past 12 months from 54,000 to 136,000. Total broadband customers grew to 1.08 million.

“This was a very busy quarter, as price competition remained intense, especially in the MVNO market,” Optus CEO Allen Lew commented.

“We’ve competed effectively with our branded, wholesale and fixed-line products, and have focused on delivering a quality live video experience, starting with the launch of the Optus Sport channel in early July.”

Optus’s Singapore-based parent company Singtel reported flat profit and a 7% decline in operating revenue for the quarter.

Image courtesy of Alan Levine under CC