Eir’s revenue rises but earnings fall in first quarter

Revenue at Eir rose in the first three months of the year, as the company added to its postpay mobile customers and increased access revenue from the National Broadband Plan.

However, the gains in Evros and access revenue were partially offset by reductions in traditional access, and TV and content.

The telecoms group said revenue was 1 per cent higher at €304 million for the three months to the end of March 2023, an increase of €3 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 9 per cent lower at €144 million, down €14 million year on year. Some €9 million of that related to gross margin driven by handset costs and product mix changes, with €4 million attributed to pay and other costs, fuelled by increased commercial investment.

Operating costs rose 5 per cent to €89 million, mainly on the back of increased mobile network costs.

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Looking at the individual business units, the decline in traditional voice services saw fixed line revenue fall €3 million to €232 million.

The company also lost broadband customers, shedding 2 per cent to 946,000. This was primarily driven by a 5 per cent decline in wholesale customers, leading to a decrease of 27,000. That was partially offset by 12,000 new retail customers.

Eir said its total fibre broadband base increased by 2 per cent year on year to 845,000 customers. Just under half of households – 46 per cent – have multiple Eir services, a rise of 5 percentage points year on year.

Mobile revenue was 10 per cent higher at €82 million, on a 10 per cent increase in postpay customers. Eir now has just under 1.34 million customers, of which 1.01 million are postpay.

“The first quarter of 2023 has proved a solid start to the year and we remain on course to add another 250,000 homes and businesses to our fibre-to-the-home broadband network, already available to more than one million premises,” said Oliver Loomes, Eir chief executive.

“Eir is investing €250 million annually in new technologies and networks which is truly transforming Ireland, allowing individuals and businesses to access new services or markets at speeds and capacity unimaginable before now. We are also becoming increasingly reliant on mobile data to live and work.

“In Q1 this year Eir recorded a 41 per cent increase in the use of mobile data over the first quarter of 2022. Eir has responded to this growing demand for data by, not only enabling incredible 5G speeds on all of its mobile plans, but by significantly expanding its 5G mobile network, which now offers ultra-fast data access to customers across 547 towns and cities in Ireland.”