GO p.l.c. said today that it made an operating profit of €9.4 million in the first six months of this year.

Non-operating profit before non-recurring items was €10.4 million.

Profit before tax during the first six months of 2013 was €8.3 million, down from €20.4 million during the same period last year. Last year's figure had reflected an exceptional gain of €11.4 million attributable to the sale of a plot of land in Qawra to the Government.

The Group’s revenue amounted to €60.5 million compared to €63.6 million in 2012 representing a reduction of 4.9%.

"GO retains a strong client base servicing more than 500,000 connections across its main retail products including Homepack, the Group’s successful bundle of services aimed at satisfying all telecommunication needs of a household," the company said.

"However, the telecommunications market continues to be characterised by intense competition across all product lines resulting in lower ARPU (Average Revenue Per Unit) levels. Furthermore, revenues continue to be negatively impacted by the ongoing annual reduction in mobile termination rates and roaming as mandated by the Malta Communications Authority and the EU."

The Group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and before non-recurring costs, amounted to €24.1 million as against €24.5 million in 2012. Cash generation remains healthy and as at 30 June 2013 the Group held cash and cash equivalents of €5.6 million. Whilst cash holdings represent a decrease of €6.8 million over the levels registered as at 30 June 2012, this is as a result of a reduction in borrowings of nearly €16 million.

GO said that while its investment in the Greek telecommunications company Forthnet, through Forgendo, had been written off, this investment remained on the agenda and was constantly monitored.