'Pleasing' profit for Telstra's half-year

Telecommunications heavyweight TelstraClear has released half-year results to December 31 showing an increase in revenue and, more importantly, a profit.

Revenue of $351 million represented a 4.2 per cent increase on last year's $337 million, while $1 million earnings before interest and tax compared favourably with a loss of $5 million in the same period last year.

Chief executive officer Rosemary Howard said she was "pleased" with a result driven by continued focus on the business market and growth in the residential customer base.

Howard said the $12 million purchase in November of Sytec, the information communication technology consultancy and outsourcing business, ensured TelstraClear continued to "lead the way on internet protocol solutions".

The Sytec portfolio contains a number of large corporate and Government clients, including BP and the New Zealand Lotteries Commission.

Purchase of Sytec was followed in December by a new partnership with power line company Network Tasman.

Tasman will provide fibre in the Nelson business area and build a new 170km back-up fibre link from Nelson to Blenheim.

"We can build our own networks and reach customers that way, or we can buy from Telecom, but now we've got a third way which is really exciting," Howard said.

The company hoped to build more such partnerships in the near future, she said.

The residential line rental product, Home Plan, was also launched in November.

Howard said 26,000 customers signed on for the new plan in the first three months, taking the total residential line rental customer base to about 86,000.

Strong growth of more than 40 per cent is expected to continue, with a new customer signing up every five minutes.

"There's a lot of pent-up demand out there," she said.

"People want choice, they want different value propositions and they like our offer."

Market access to customers, in particular broadband internet provision, continues to be an issue.

Plans for a third mobile phone network to rival Telecom and Vodafone are in a tendering process, with Telstra's Australian partner, Ericsson, among the front-runners.

Australian parent Telstra earlier reported net profit growth for the six months to December 31 of 1.9 per cent to A$2.33 billion ($2.57 billion), compared with the previous corresponding period.

Telstra reported first-half revenue growth of 5.1 per cent to A$11.4 billion ($12.56 billion).

- Additional reporting NZPA