Aussie Broadband posts bumper first half revenue in first post-IPO financials

Aussie Broadband has beat its own forecasts in its first public financial report following its initial public offering last year.

In the half year ended 31 December 2020, the telco posted revenue of $157.4 million, up 89 percent year over year and 4.9 percent better than its forecast in the IPO prospectus. EBITDA was $7.3 million for the period, up 87 percent year over year and also ahead of forecast.

The growth came alongside a 31 percent increase in broadband connections and the company  now boasts servicing 342,643 residential and business customers.

The increase in services also boosted Aussie Broadband’s market share among NBN fixed-line and fixed-wireless connections to 4.2 percent, up from 2.8 percent in December 2019.

“I’m extremely proud of the half year results and the awesome work our team has done,”
Aussie Broadband managing director Phillip Britt said.

“In a year with significant disruption to the community and many people and businesses doing it very tough, our team has managed to significantly grow our market share, maintain network performance and further improve our already great customer experience …all during the peak of a pandemic and whilst listing the company on the ASX.”

During the period, AussieBB also completed 79km of dark fibre construction, with 68km connecting 6 data centres and 7 NBN POIs in Victoria and 11km in New South Wales.

Construction has also started on more dark fibre networks, including a further 27km to connect 6 data centres and 6 NBN POIs in New South Wales, 59km to connect 2 data centres and 4 POIs in Western Australia and a further 62km to connect an additional 7 NBN POIs in Victoria.

“We have continued to build out critical infrastructure for our network that will shape the quality of our service for years to come, and invested heavily in our Australian team and technology capability, including internal software enhancements and network automation,” Britt said.

“Without the continued dedication of our team, and their commitment to changing the telco game, these results would not have been possible.”

The company also expects to take a hit from NBN Co's decision to temporarily pause orders for new hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connections earlier this month, potentially affecting 9 percent of its orders based on January numbers. AussieBB plans to boost marketing to offset the impact and grow the customer base for other NBN technologies. 

Looking ahead, the telco updated its guidance for the full 2021 financial year from the prospectus.

AussieBB expects revenue to be between $345 million to $355 million, compared to the original forecast of $338 million. EBITDA is expected to reach $13 million to $15 million, also up from the $12.3 million forecast.