Telecom Plus profits rise on strong customer growth

UK multi-utility supplier Telecom Plus reported a 12.7 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profit driven by a rise in customers and a record increase in service numbers.

Pre-tax profits for the year ended March 31st came to £34.6m, compared to £30.7m the previous year.

The company, which supplies gas, electricity, telephone and broadband services, saw revenue grow 27.6% to £601.m from £471.5m. Average revenues per customer were up 14.5% to £1,363.

Earnings per share climbed 14.5% to 38.7p.

Results were supported by strong growth in the number of customers using the company's services, an industry wide increase in energy prices last autumn and a rise in the amount of energy used by clients during an exceptionally cold winter.

The group achieved record service numbers of 221,037 and its customer base ros to 461,000 from 415,000.

"I am very pleased with our strong performance this year, during which we have achieved record growth of more than 220,000 net services, taking the total number we provide to over 1.6m," said Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Lindsay.

"The quality of our customer base has continued to improve, with over 55% of new members applying for at least 4 core services during the year. This has resulted in lower churn, lower bad debts and higher average revenue per customer."

Telecom recommended a full-year dividend of 31p, up 14.8% from the previous year's 27p.

The firm plans to build on its growth momentum as it targets more customers in the year ahead.

Shares fell 2.72% to 1,250p at 08:44 Tuesday.

RD