Australian telco TPG has reported flat revenues of AUD2.5 billion (USD1.8 billion) for the twelve months ended 31 July 2018, alongside EBITDA of AUD841.1 million, down from AUD890.8 million in the year-ago period. Net profit (after tax) for the year under review, meanwhile, dropped from AUD413.8 million to AUD396.9 million.
In operational terms, the telco reported 1.931 million fixed broadband subscribers, broken down as follows: 861,000 NBN subscribers; 50,000 fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) users; 840,000 on-net ADSL customers; 100,000 off-net ADSL accounts; and 80,000 ‘other’ subscriptions. MVNO subscribers, meanwhile, dropped to 422,000 at end-July, down from 445,000 in July 2017 and 475,000 in July 2016. Finally, the telco’s iiNet fixed voice user base stood at 238,000 at 31 July 2018, down from 347,000 one year earlier and 426,000 in July 2016.
In an update on its recently announced ‘merger of equals’ with Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), TPG notes that its application for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) informal clearance has been lodged, with a provisional timeline of twelve weeks; notifications have also been lodged with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA).
With regards to its ongoing mobile network rollout, TPG said that its Australian small cell site rollout is continuing, noting: ‘TPG’s small cell network would be complementary to VHA’s mobile network, bringing greater strength to the combined group in densely populated areas through increased coverage and capacity’. Further, the TPG-VHA joint venture has applied to participate in the government’s November 2018 3.5GHz spectrum auction.
Finally, TPG’s planned Singaporean mobile network remains on track to provide outdoor coverage across Singapore by the end of 2018. As such, the network already covers more than 90% of outdoor areas and has displayed ‘strong initial testing results’.