Highlights
Strong recovery in Q4: net adds flat, +148k RGUs, lowest ever churn at 1.3%
FY EBITDA of £260m in line with guidance; material step up in H2 margin to 18.4%
Reiterating FY17 guidance: modest revenue growth and £320m-£360m EBITDA*
Net debt/EBITDA reduced to 2.6x (H1: 2.8x); expected to fall towards target of 2x by Y/E FY17
Dividend per share up 15% to 15.87p (FY15: 13.80p), in line with commitment
FY17 dividend expected to be at least in line with FY16 and covered by free cashflow
FY16 Financial Highlights
Headline total revenue +2.4% to £1,838m (FY15: £1,795m)
On-net revenue +5.0% to £1,399m (FY15: £1,333m); ARPU +5.8%
Corporate revenue +2.4% to £384m (FY15: £375m); Data revenues +23.7%
Headline EBITDA +6.1% to £260m (FY15: £245m); Headline EPS up 2.4% to 8.4p (FY15: 8.2p)
Statutory Profit Before Tax £14m (FY15: £32m) - after exceptional items of £83m (FY15: £46m)
Statutory EPS 0.2p (FY15: 7.8p)
Q4 Operating Highlights
On-net net adds flat; RGU growth +148k
Mobile +90k (14.9% share of new SIM market); fibre +72k; TV -14k
Lowest ever quarterly churn at 1.3%
On-Net revenue flat year on year; ARPU +3.9%
Corporate revenue -2.9% year on year against strong comparative; Data revenues +40.0%
Dido Harding, Chief Executive of TalkTalk commented:
The business bounced back strongly in the final quarter following the cyber attack in October. We recorded our lowest ever churn and stabilised the broadband base, testimony to the speed with which customer sentiment towards TalkTalk has recovered, the success of our greater focus on existing customers, and the growing benefits of our simplification programme. We reported full year results in line with our guidance and have declared a 15% higher dividend for the year.
TalkTalk is well positioned to build upon our already strong credentials as the UK's leading value for money quad-play and B2B operator. There has never been a clearer space for a trusted value champion and our learnings from and experience since the cyber attack have helped to focus our plans for the year ahead. We see strong opportunities for growth across all our products, both for consumers and for businesses, against the backdrop of an increasingly supportive regulatory environment. As a result we are reiterating our financial guidance for FY17 of £320m-£360m EBITDA.
