Communications group Go plc is determined to return to profitability after announcing an interim net loss of €5.43 million for the six months to June on Wednesday.
Asked when the company realistically expected to return to reporting a profit, chief executive officer David Kay told The Sunday Times: "Go is not in a position to make forward-looking statements, however, management is pursuing various initiatives to ensure that the group returns to profitability in the shortest possible time."
Go plc has around 8,000 shareholders. No interim dividend was declared.
In the span of 10 weeks between May and July, Go invested €9.5 million in acquiring 60 per cent of the Malta-based Bell Med Group, and over €7 million to raise its stake in Greek telecoms group Forthnet (through its special purposes vehicle Forgendo Ltd, jointly owned with Emirates International Ltd) to 37.1 per cent.
The intention of Go and its majority shareholder EIT, Mr Kay explained, was that of investing both locally in terms of Go's operations, networks, human resources and systems - as well as to exploit any investment opportunities. These investments were not only potential fresh sources of income but there were synergies and experiences that could be shared and new ways of "doing things which can benefit both us and our investments abroad and locally", he said.
Operating results to June showed a loss of €1.14 million compared to a profit of €1.04 million in the comparative period last year. Go's bottom line has continued to be knocked by one-off transactions: voluntary retirement costs amounted to €7.26 million (€4.80 million of which were paid by June 30). Over 200 employees are now set to leave the group by December - Go's headcount currently stands at 1,262 and Mr Kay said the company's staff complement target was 1,000.
"Go had stated that the reduction in headcount, especially in the fixed business, is key to ensure the sustainability of the group," Mr Kay said.
"Hence the need to right-size our business and make sure we have the right resources to sustain our operations.
"The last voluntary retirement scheme was terminated in May through which Go expects to achieve a headcount level of approximately 1,150 by end this year."
Mr Kay conceded that competition affected profitability but said Go had risen to the occasion and faced the challenges. He said Go had already withstood the effects of the entry of two mobile virtual network operators (one has since folded) and a third mobile operator in the past year by offering its "best level customer experience, better value offers and bundles". Innovative products and services had helped retain market position and increase customer connections by two per cent from December to June to 469,000, Mr Kay said.
Customer service at all levels, Mr Kay emphasised, was essentially Go's key differentiator in this highly competitive market. One of its major strengths was the consumer trust it enjoyed. Mr Kay pointed out that the company had 30 years' experience in the local market and understood it well.
Go has a significant edge over its competitors by being the only local provider to own and operate its own two submarine cables to Europe.
Mr Kay said Go had seen a "surge of interest" from local and international companies which required high bandwidth capabilities and resilience. High-speed bandwidth, he added, was also being made available locally by constant investment and improvement in Go's access network.