Carphone Warehouse plots broadband campaign
Carphone Warehouse gave a further boost to the telecoms sector today as it looked to build on a 36% rise in first-half profits with a move into the broadband market.
The mobile phone retailer and telecoms provider said pre-tax profits were up to £37m (€54.5m) after an increase in connections and the opening of nearly 150 new stores.
And Carphone unveiled plans for a push into the lucrative UK broadband market in 2006.
Turnover was up 25% at £1.29 billion in the 26 weeks to October 1 as Carphone opened 147 new shops but closed 22 older ones – taking its number of outlets to 1,711.
Total connections grew 17% to 3.2 million as subscriptions increased 21% to 1.6 million and the number of pre-pay customers grew 16% to 1.4 million.
Chief executive Charles Dunstone said: “We saw strong and consistent demand throughout the first half as incentives for customers continued to be compelling, with free handsets and half-price line rental deals widespread.
“The level of innovation and design currently being achieved by the leading handset manufacturers is creating a particularly attractive environment for customers.”
The TalkTalk fixed-line service, which signed up its millionth customer in July, added a further 139,000 customers during the first half. The company has also just launched TalkTalk Mobile, which bundles fixed and mobile services.
Carphone said there would be a major push into the broadband market in 2006, with the company planning to unbundle up to 1,000 UK telephone exchanges.
This involves putting Carphone equipment into BT exchanges so it can control the line to the home and offer a range of telecoms services, such as phone lines and internet access.
Mr Dunstone said: “The outlook continues to be positive. We expect the mobile phone market to continue to grow year-on-year over the Christmas period and into New Year, with our own prospects underpinned by our store opening programme and a very strong product portfolio.”
He added: “Our strong commitment to the UK broadband market further builds on our foundations to become the clear number one alternative telecoms provider.”
Shares in Carphone were up 1% today, or 1.75p to 200.25p.
