Go plc said yesterday that it made a pre-tax loss of €3.2 million last year, compared to a profit of €0.3 million in 2008, while its operating profit reached €7.4 million compared to €13.3 million in 2008.
The group said that, while the number of customer connections and services increased significantly in 2009 and amounted to just under 480,000, it had a decline in revenues and profitability.
"However, both 2009 and 2008 results include various one-time charges for voluntary retirement costs of €11.5 million (2008: €2 million), write back of provision for pensions of €0.3 million (2008: €12.9 million), impairment loss on receivables of €3.1 million (2008: €0.3 million) and release of financial liabilities of €3.2million (2008: €0.2 million)," Go said.
"This decline in performance is primarily the result of lower revenue. In fact, group turnover amounted to €123.7 million, a decline of 4.5 per cent over 2008. Group revenues have also been impacted, positively, by the results of the BM Group in which the company acquired a 60 per cent strategic shareholding in April."
Go said its 2009 results were negatively affected by the group's share of the results of Forthnet in Greece but said it was encouraging to note that Forthnet continued to register growth in its client base, revenue streams and EBITDA levels and it was confident that in the medium term this investment would start to make a positive contribution.
The board of directors is recommending the payment of a final dividend of €0.10c net of tax per share for the approval of the shareholders at the next annual general meeting to be held on May 17 which dividend will be payable on May 21. This net dividend will be payable to shareholders who will be on the register of shareholders as at April 16.
Commenting about these results, Go plc chairman Deepak Padmanabhan said: "2009 has been a challenging year as demand for the group's services has been impacted by the international economic climate, increased competitive environment and the impact of regulation of certain tariffs."
He added: "Demand for the various core services remains strong and the group continues to manage the decline of traditional fixed-line voice services by maximising on the growth opportunities of broadband internet and TV services. Revenue from mobile services experienced a decline due to a combination of increased competition and weaker demand due to the economic environment."
Mr Padmanabhan said in 2009 the group managed to grow its broadband internet, TV and mobile client base and register only a marginal decline in its fixed-line voice connections. At year end, the group serviced nearly 480,000 customer connections, an increase of almost 22,000 over 2008. This achievement auger well for the future, he said.
Go's CEO David Kay said the group's cost base remained stable with most discretionary expenditure in decline. Cost increases were primarily the result of either these being directly related to the operations of the BM Group or to revenue growth areas such as TV.
He added that, in 2009, Go pursued a right-sizing programme at a cost of €11.5 million. "This right-sizing programme is part of a larger initiative to restructure the way the group operates to ensure it can serve its clients better and in a more cost effective manner. This reduced headcount level will deliver a significantly lower cost base in the coming years," he said.