Telecommunications lines company Chorus has posted a 25 percent jump in profit, as it benefited from continued growth for fibre broadband and a number of one-off factors.
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Key numbers for the 12 months ended June compared to a year ago:
- Net profit $64m vs $51m
- Revenue $965m vs $955m
- Operating earnings $675m vs $657m
- FY 22 dividend 35 cents per share vs 25 cps
The company saw revenue grow from a legal settlement, disposal of surplus property, as well as a reversal of Holidays Act provision.
Chorus said the strong result allowed it to return to earning more than it was investing in the network for the first time in a decade, with shareholders set to benefit from a dividend of 35 cents per share for 2022.
Gross capital expenditure was $492 million, down from $672m a year ago.
Chief executive JB Rousselot said the finish line was in sight for its 11-year-fibre rollout, with connections hitting 959,000, up from 871,000.
"Our fibre rollout is now 98 percent complete, and we have just 17,000 premises left to pass by Christmas. We added 88,000 new fibre connections to the network, and overall uptake increased from 65 percent to 69 percent.
"We were pleased to see strong growth in our major centres of Auckland and Wellington, where uptake increased to 79 percent and 68 percent, respectively," he said.
The growing fibre uptake in urban areas meant Chorus was moving from more rapid withdrawal of the copper network.
Of the 2500 copper broadband cabinets in its fibre areas, a quarter had been notified for withdrawal.
"The shift to more efficient fibre broadband will be a significant contributor to our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint," Rousselot said.
Chorus was forecasting operating earnings to be between $655m and $675m for 2023.
The full-year 2023 dividend was forecast to be 42.5 cents per share, increasing to 47.5 cents per share in 2024.