Profits for Telstra and Optus increase by 10 percent thanks largely to the iPhone
A huge increase in mobile phone and mobile broadband usage that has been caused by the massive take-up of the Apple iPhone has been announced as a key factor in a rise in the profits recently announced by network operators Telstra and Singtel.
The huge gain in the number of mobile phone customers signing up with network operator Optus was given as one of the main reasons for the 12 percent gain in revenue over 2008-2009 announced recently by it parent company Singtel.
Sales results were also announced by the Australian incumbent Telstra, which also attributed an increase in mobile phone and mobile broadband usage as a reason for the 10.3 percent increase in its full-year profits to $4.07 billion.
Telecoms giant Singtel advised that more than 200 000 new users had joined its subsidiary network provider, Optus over the last three month bringing the total number of customers now signed up with Optus to around eight million and it noted that the huge interest in the iPhone was the main reason for this growth
Singtel said “This growth was underpinned by demand for Apple iPhone 3G, other smart phones and ‘Timeless’ plans”. The Timeless plans offer customers unlimited SMS messages and calls for a set fee.
The revenue for Optus a year ago had been $1.95 billion and has now increased by 12 percent to $2.19 billion, with operating earnings increasing by 2.1 percent to $505 million before depreciation, amortisation, interest and tax, the company said.
Mobile communications accounted for 61 percent of the total revenue, which was a 4 percent increase compared to the first quarter of the year and the hype that surrounded the release of the iPhone 3GS was given as the main reason for this latest increase according to Singtel.
In a statement Singtel said “The popularity of the iPhone 3G continued through the quarter, complemented by attractive promotional offers and extending into the launch of the iPhone 3GS on 26 June 2009. This was reflected in the record number of iPhone 3G activations this quarter, which increased by almost 50% compared to the preceding quarter. Approximately 53% of the iPhone 3G activations this quarter were customers new to Optus.”
An increase in the number of mobile broadband customers was the reason given by Telstra when it announced an increase in its full-year profits of 10.3 percent. The network operator also saw an increase of 2.7 percent in revenue with a jump from $24.8 billion to $25.5 billion, with a rise of 5.3 percent to $6.56 billion in earnings before tax and interest.
Fixed line revenues including local and international calls dropped by 4.9 percent according to reports from Telstra, although an increase in demand for wireless broadband and Next G services that are used by devices like the iPhone led to an increase of 10 percent in mobile services taking it to $6.1 billion.
This is a guest post by Warren who usually blogs about mobile phones for Dialaphone.
Source – Smart Company.com.au
