Robust demand for new high-speed internet packages and superfast '4G' services helped Isle of Man telecom services provider Manx Telecom (MANX) deliver cash profits of £13.8m in the period - up nearly 1 per cent.
The launch of superfast Ultima Plus internet boosted broadband revenues by 4 per cent to £4.3m. That more than compensated for ongoing declines in landline usage in the core fixed-line, broadband and data segment. New '4G' services proved popular, too. Indeed, supplying 99 per cent of the population with mobile speeds 10 times faster than '3G' triggered a 12 per cent increase in turnover for the group's second biggest division.
The telecom specialist's expansion into data centres is also faring well. The first construction phase of the Greenhill building achieved 50 per cent occupancy, while a three-year deal with Poker Stars means an anchor tenant has now been found for the second phase. New customers requiring fresh kit sent divisional revenues soaring 30 per cent to £4.1m, but the sales were at lower margins.
Management hopes the group operating margin, which fell 1 percentage point to 23.5 per cent, will be lifted by growing demand for connected devices tapping into the 'internet of things' and machine-to-machine communications. But steady progress there failed to offset plummeting SMS termination revenues in the global solutions division.
Broker Liberum expects full-year EPS of 12.9p, up from 12.2p in 2014.
| MANX TELECOM (MANX) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 190p | MARKET VALUE: | £214m | |
| TOUCH: | 188-191p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 202p | LOW: 166p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.3% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 76p* | NET DEBT: | 65% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 39.5 | -5.1 | -5.1 | 3.3 |
| 2015 | 39.8 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 3.5 |
| % change | +1 | - | - | +6 |
Ex-div: 15 Oct Payment: 9 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £84.7m, or 75p a share | ||||
