GO declares €17.1 million profit in first half of 2016

Group revenues for the six month period ended 30 June 2016 amounted to €76.7 million, up from €60.7 million in 2015. Go's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased to €29.9 million, compared to €25.1 million in 2015, whilst profit before tax increased to €17.1 million - an increase of nearly €4 million from last year.

Local telecoms provider GO Group has registered a pre-tax profit of €17.1 million in the first half of 2016, according to a statement released this afternoon.

GO Group released its unaudited financial results for the six month period ended 30 June 2016 this afternoon. The Group attribute the substantial profit to improvements in performance, enhanced revenues, profitability and EBITDA as well as underlying customer numbers.

Group revenues for the six month period ended 30 June 2016 amounted to €76.7 million, up from €60.7 million in 2015. Go's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased to €29.9 million, compared to €25.1 million in 2015, whilst profit before tax increased to €17.1 million - an increase of nearly €4 million from last year.

During the period under review GO increased its shareholding in the Cypriot telecommunications services provider Cablenet Communication Systems Limited to 51% and also acquired 51% of the share capital of Maltese ICT services provider Kinetix IT Solutions Limited. The consolidation of both these companies has had a positive impact on the Group's financial results; for the first time Group revenues include the consolidation of €14.4 million revenue generated by Cablenet.

On the other hand, Group results were also impacted by lease charges payable to Malta Properties Company plc, which was spun-off in 2015.

The financial results compare favourably to the generally negative trends in the telecommunications sector across much of Europe. The company said this was due to its vision to internationalise and grow GO beyond Malta through acquisitions and a resilient performance in GO’s domestic market, with initiatives to grow retail revenues and manage costs.

GO achieved stronger revenues from its own telecommunications business, driven by growth in retail as well as wholesale activities. The introduction of Fibre-to-the-Home is leading to growth in GO’s Broadband and TV client base, as reach extends to new towns and villages. This June, GO also completed the rollout of Malta’s only fibre-connected 4G network, leading to a larger mobile customer base and growth in usage of mobile data, the telecoms provider said.

“These investments, together with the ongoing improvement in GO’s product portfolio, continue to strengthen GO’s position and its overall client base which exceeds 500,000 connections across the main retail products, a significant portion through bundled services notably its highly successful bundled Limitless mobile plans and Limitless Homepack,” the company said in a statement.

“GO’s growth is driven by substantial ongoing investments in network infrastructure, superior customer experience and attractive multiplay bundles that satisfy the telecommunication needs of our clients,” said Yiannos Michaelides, GO's CEO.

GO Chairman Deepak Padmanabhan expressed his satisfaction at the Group's growth strategy, both at home and abroad. “Our consistently strong results not only validate GO’s strategy, as it continues to deliver value to clients, employees and shareholders, but also clearly augur very well for the future.’’