Telecom New Zealand Profits Down…But Things are Looking Positive

In a bit of financial news this morning, I’ve read that Telecom New Zealand’s net profits for the year have dropped about a third, to NZ$483 million. The reason? TNZ (no, not TMZ ) is chalking the loss up to a 20% increase in depreciation and amortization costs… plus a 32% increase in net financial expenses. In comparison to their previous fiscal year, revenue was down 2% and expenses increased by 1%. However, the biggie out of all this comes in what looked to be a disastrous fourth quarter for TNZ. In the quarter, net income was down by 60% (yes, I said 60%), and revenues dropped by 7%. Ouch… not exactly ‘running through the finish line.

Paul Reynolds, CEO of Telecom New Zealand commented:

“This was a big year for Telecom in which we made significant operational and service improvements on a broad range of fronts. Telecom is getting it right as we invest and re-build with the aim of returning to earnings growth…We improved customer service and public perception, and made huge strides in improving our infrastructure, as exemplified by the successful launch of the XT Mobile Network and significant progress in the roll-out of fibre-to-the-node broadband. These world-class networks form impressive platforms on which to grow and to secure the long-term health of the business.”

But it’s not all bad news. Since the launch of their XT Mobile Network, TNZ has noticed an increasing customer base, an increase in voice traffic, and a 300% increase in data download traffic on the new network.

Should be interesting to see how things shake out for them in their next quarter.

[Via: Cellular-News]