|
Telecom Plus PLC on Tuesday warned that lower energy usage means that full-year profit will be at the low-end of prior guidance. In response, shares in the London-based provider of bundled household utility services, under the Utility Warehouse brand, plunged 11% to 1,262.00 pence each in London on Tuesday. It was the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 which was down 0.3%. Adjusted pre-tax profits for the financial year to March are expected to be at the bottom end of the previously guided range of £132 million to £138 million, Telecom Plus said in a trading update. In the year to March 2025, Telecom Plus reported adjusted pretax profit of £126.3 million. This follows reduced energy consumption during an ‘unseasonably’ warm winter, the firm said. Customer numbers increased by 23% to 1.43 million from 1.16 million a year ago, including 193,000 fixed-line/broadband customers acquired from TalkTalk as part of a cross-sell trial partnership. Organic customer numbers continued their ‘double digit growth trajectory’, increasing by 10% to 1.26 million from 1.14 million the firm added. Telecom Plus highlighted continued strong competitive activity in the energy and broadband markets, resulting in lower than expected growth in energy and organic broadband services, whilst insurance has been ‘slower than expected’ to recover from the temporary pause in new insurance sales during financial 2025. In addition, churn rates increased to 14.2% from 13.7%. Telecom Plus said it is considering ‘a number of potential initiatives’ to increase services per customer, reduce churn, and grow contribution per customer. It will provide an update on this, alongside full-year results on June 23. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
