iinet profit 29pc up article

Shares up to 2.31 this morning, from 1.93 close on friday.

iiNet profit jumps 29pc
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August 17, 2009

Article from: Australian Associated Press
AUSTRALIA'S third largest internet service provider, iiNet, has posted a 28.8 per cent jump in full year profit after growing subscriber numbers and says it's well placed for the current financial year.

The Perth-based company posted a net profit of $25.63 million for the year to June 30, up from $19.90 million in the previous financial year.

iiNet said the lift in profit was a result of continued sustained growth in its broadband and telephone products.

The result was also boosted by the full year contribution from the Westnet business, a rival internet service provider that it acquired for $81 million, against only a month in the comparative financial period.

The company said earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) lifted 36 per cent to $67 million, while revenue was up 67 per cent to $418 million in 2008/09.

iiNet said it grew its Naked DSL subscribers by 123 per cent during the year and now has more than 67,000 subscribers.

"We were the first to market with this product, providing customers with unrestricted broadband speeds without the added costs of paying for a traditional phone line that they dont use," managing director Michael Malone said

Mr Malone said despite the difficult economic times, overall customer service numbers had increased by 10 per cent to more than 753,000 representing an eight per cent share of the broadband market, up from four per cent in the previous financial year.

The federal government's National Broadband Network (NBN) would provide many opportunities for the company, Mr Malone said.

"In terms of the key criteria we were looking for in a NBN - open access, structural separation, fixing backhaul `black spots' and regulatory reform - the government has delivered a true vision.

"We see the government's open-access NBN as a fantastic new opportunity for iiNet."

"We are well placed for an even better year in 2010," he said.

iiNet declared a full franked final dividend of five cents, taking the total dividend for the year to eight cents per share, compared to seven cents in the prior financial year.