GO reports €34.2 million pre-tax profit

GO continued to grow its customer base in 2015, servicing well in excess of 500,000 customer connections, which the company said was by far the largest customer base of any operator in Malta.

GO registered a pre-tax profit of €34.2 million, with operating profit amounted to €27.8 million, up from €21.8 million in 2014, an increase of 27.9%. A dividend of €0.10 net of tax is being recommended.

The group generated revenue of €123.7 million, an increase of 1.2% over the comparative year as it continues to achieve growth in retail activities within the context of a fiercely competitive market and constantly evolving customer expectations.

In December 2015, GO launched Malta’s only fibre-powered 4G network and throughout the year GO continued with the rollout of its game-changing Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network. “We expect GO’s fibre-powered 4G network to achieve nationwide coverage by the summer and will also continue to extend the reach of our FTTH network as fibre is rolled out in more towns and villages, part of an extensive, multi-year, investment programme,” GO CEO, Yiannos Michaelides, said.

As was the case in 2014, during 2015 group performance was impacted by items of unusual nature, size or incidence relating to voluntary retirement schemes and provisions for pension obligations. Excluding these items, cost of sales and administrative costs declined by 2.8% to €96.3 million (2014: €99.1 million) as the group maintained its focus on managing costs without compromising the customer experience.

On a normalised basis, group EBITDA amounted to €52.8 million (2014: €49.2 million) an increase of 7.3% over the prior year. Normalised operating profit improved from €24.4 million in 2014 to €29.0 in 2015, representing growth of 19%.

The year’s results were positively influenced by an upward revaluation of €7 million of GO’s options to acquire control of Cablenet in Cyprus. On the other hand, because of the prevailing economic and political environment in Greece, Forgendo could not complete the sale of its shareholding in Forthnet. As a result, the carrying amount of GO’s equity investment in this joint venture was restated to nil.

GO also successfully completed the spin-off of Malta Properties Company p.l.c. through a special dividend of €33.6 million.

In spite of this significant dividend GO remains adequately funded with shareholders’ funds amounting to €92.1 million and a low level of leverage as GO continues to enjoy a strong balance sheet with reducing level of net debt.

“2015 has been an excellent year for GO and its shareholders. Profitability continues to increase based on a proven programme that is delivering growth in retail revenue and control over costs driven by improved efficiency,” GO p.l.c. chairman Deepak Padmanabhan said.

“The recent investment in Kinetix IT Solutions Limited will provide opportunity to further grow the group’s business to business propositions. GO has also earlier this year exercised its options and gained majority control of Cablenet Communication Systems Limited, the Cypriot-based broadband and TV company. This will provide GO with growth opportunities in a market which is twice the size of its domestic market in Malta.”