flame Compare Deals and save hundreds of pounds Sim Only Deals Phone Deals

Three Believes the Future is with Smartphones

28th August 2012
[caption id="attachment_1177" align="aligncenter" width="71"]Three looks to the demand for smartphones to add to further growth Three looks to the demand for smartphones to add to further growth[/caption]

3G Operator Three has revealed that its earnings before tax and interest were £26m for the first half of 2012, an increase of 117% on the previous year. Three CEO David Dyson claimed this was due to the fact that its unlimited data plans had been in demand by customers wanting smartphones.

The figures, including 95m capital expenditure costs, mean that Three was for the first time EBITDA positive for the first time. Sales were upped by 5% to £918m.

The operator’s CFO Richard Woodward ( above ) said that on a like for like basis, with the effects of changes to mobile termination rates (MTRs) stripped out, the company’s revenue growth would have doubled.

Dyson said that the increase in customer demand for smartphones and network investment were responsible for the growth. He added that if the market continues to head toward data and smartphones ‘we are definitely brilliantly positioned to capitalise on that’. He said the operator would continue to make investment in its network to ensure quality, but also maintain the correct cost structure to make sure customers get good value.

Dyson would not comment on the upcoming 4G auction. The operator lost out on getting a guarantee of the sub-1GHz spectrum it had been looking for to add to its existing 2.1GHz holding. Dyson added that he had a team looking through the more-than-1,000-page document.

One million new customers have joined Three in the past 12 months, representing 382,000 net additions and net contract growth of 9%. Contract churn dropped by 0.5% to 1.4%, while blended ARPU was slightly lower year on year, dropping from £22.09 to £21.66.

Data revenues with non-voice ARPU had increased to £10.40 from £8.61, and the average phone data use has increased by more than 100% to 1.1GB a month.

In total, the operator’s registered customer base has increased by more than 13% to reach more than 8.4 million. Dyson said: ‘The key highlight for me is the numbers reflect our performance in the market. The one million growth in customers is really supported by strong growth in the smartphone side.’

Company director for our 4 websites as follows: 

  • 3G.co.uk 
  • 4G.co.uk
  • 5G.co.uk 
  • SIMOnly.co.uk

Kevin Thomas has worked for companies AT&T and BT with 15 years practical experience in the world of telecoms. He has a HND in telecommunications.

Kevin has also  worked in the world of Telecom reporting for 18 years. He has joint responsibility for 3G.co.uk and SIMOnly.co.uk and is lead Director for 5G.co.uk.

Sign up for our newsletter.