Revenues fell 4 per cent in the second half at Eir to €590 million, due primarily to declines in traditional access and voice revenue.
Operating profit jumped to €279 million from €85 million, although the increase was largely due to an exceptional gain of €186 million deriving from the disposal of its masts business.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) rose 1 per cent to €312 million during the six-month period due to cost savings.
Fixed-line turnover fell 5 per cent year on year to €437 million, while mobile revenue fell 2 per cent to €169 million. An increase in post-pay mobile sales was offset by decreases in prepay, roaming and equipment revenues, Eir said.
Overall it had 1.19 million mobile customers at the end of the half, of which 815,000 were post-pay customers.
Operating costs fell by €30 million, or 10 per cent year on year, to €278 million.
The group had cash on hand of €140 million at the end of 2020, it said.
"We expect further improvements in our performance as the year progresses, with continued ebitda growth, business streamlining and optimisation, further cash generation, and capital expenditure on our networks to drive future growth," said chief financial officer Stephen Tighe.
Turnover down
Turnover was down 5 per cent in Eir’s second quarter to €297 million but earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (ebitda) remained stable at €147 million.
The group said it had 969,000 broadband customers at the end of the second quarter, up 2 per cent or 22,000 year on year. Of these, 798,000 customers were using high-speed fibre broadband, up 9 per cent on the previous year.
Mobile customers rose 5 per cent to 1.91 million in the quarter, with post-pay subscribers rising 16 per cent and now comprising 68 per cent of all such customers.
Eir TV customers increased 8 per cent to 81,000, the company said.
Overall, multi-play bundling accounted for 37 per cent of fixed households in the second quarter, up 3 per cent year on year.
"Our investment programme is the most significant investment programme by any telecommunications provider in Ireland, and we will continue to advance our network, bringing ultra-speed broadband and mobile connectivity to customers across Ireland," said chief executive Carolan Lennon.
