Eir earnings rise as customer numbers grow

Telecoms company Eir said revenue and earnings rose in the third quarter as the company continued to grow its customer base.
Revenue for the third quarter of the year was 3 per cent higher at €324 million, driven mainly by consumer mobile growth. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) climbed 1 per cent. Pretax profit was €29 million, up from €15 million a year earlier.
Still, operating costs rose 6 per cent to €102 million, with non-pay costs up 13 per cent as accommodation and marketing costs rose. Pay costs fell 3 per cent over the period.
“Eir has achieved another quarter of solid performance, underpinned by our commitment to building Ireland’s best fibre and mobile networks,” chief executive Oliver Loomes said. “These results reflect the effective execution of Eir’s strategic priorities, particularly our focus on expanding high-quality telecommunications infrastructure to meet growing customer demand,” he added.
Eir now has a total of 883,000 customers using its fibre broadband services, and had1.498 million mobile customers at the end of the quarter, up 7 per cent year on year and end. Its Eir TV service won a further 16,000 customers, a 17 per cent rise that brings its total to 112,000.
Chief financial officer Stephen Tighe said the performance was in line with expectations.
“We saw growth across the eir fibre broadband base and in total mobile customers, with a further increase seen in the multiplay bundling of Eir fixed households. Our solid commercial momentum is now delivering organic revenue growth on a consistent basis,” he said.
In the first nine months of the year, Eir’s revenue rose 2 per cent to €955 million, driven by growth in postpay mobile and bundling, and an increase in National Broadband Plan access revenue. This was offset by reductions in revenue for voice traffic. Fixed line revenues continued to fall, declining by €3 million to €704 million. Ebitda rose 4 per cent year on year to €475 million.