KEY POINTS:
Government broadcast and telecommunications business Kordia Group has lifted annual net profit after tax by 21 per cent to $11.9 million.
The result, for the year to the end of June, compares with $9.8 million a year earlier and comes on group revenue up 31 per cent to $264.3 million.
The state-owned enterprise is making a final dividend of $5.4 million, taking its total dividend for the year to $8.4 million, compared to $6.8 million the year before.
Chairman Wayne Brown yesterday said the year was one of solid achievement in the company's move towards much faster growth in revenues and earnings.
"We have streamlined internal processes to support growth across our broadcast, telecommunications and converged solutions businesses, and are integrating the different parts of the company across Australia and New Zealand into a more unified group," he said.
Chief executive Geoff Hunt said that traditionally the company's business was in transmission, but that had been coming under significant threat.
A heavier emphasis on telecommunications, media and technology was needed, he said.
Securing the contract to provide Parliament Television Services, including the director and producers, was a great example of that transition.
But the company's biggest move was buying Orcon internet which happened, just after balance date, on July 2.
Orcon provided the retail front-end to Kordia's telecommunications capability and enabled the company to invest in and deliver access technologies including Wi-Fi and WiMax, Hunt said.
Orcon was being operated at arm's-length as a wholesale customer, under the same terms and conditions as Kordia's other retail service providers.
Orcon would be taking advantage of local loop unbundling to invest in the installation of equipment into Telecom's exchanges to ensure a much better quality of broadband for residential and business customers.
In Australia, agreement was reached just after the end of the financial year to sell Broadcast Australia the Kordia broadcast maintenance business that was providing the maintenance services for its network, he said.
That cleared the way for Kordia's Australian activities to be consolidated into a single company delivering broadcast, telecommunications and converged solutions.
- NZPA
