New customers boost growth and profits for Telecom Plus

UTILITIES: Word of mouth referrals are credited with strong performance

Utility Warehouse owner Telecom Plus attracted higher numbers of customers last year, as the company said it was poised to take advantage of the “challenging” energy marketplace.

The firm, which supplies mobile and landline services as well as gas and electricity, saw revenue rise 1.5% to £804.4 million in the year to March 31.

Adjusted profit before tax was up 3.7% to £56.3m.

The company said this was partly down to higher confidence among its “partners” – customers who recruit new sign-ups through word of mouth.

Chief executive Andrew Lindsay said: “Partner confidence built steadily during the course of the year and this manifested itself in higher levels of activity and an acceleration in the numbers of new partners joining the business.

“This in turn drove faster growth in both customer and service numbers.”

Customer numbers hit 635,039 in the period, an increase of 4% compared to slower growth of 0.5% this time last year.

Service numbers jumped by 8.2% to 2.5m.

The company also said it was sheltered from the energy price cap through its wholesale arrangement with Npower, but that the measure had caused a “modest improvement in our competitive position”.

Mr Lindsay added:“Our balance sheet remains robust, with low leverage and strong cash flow.

Our balance sheet remains robust with strong cash flow

“In contrast to the majority of other energy suppliers, this puts us in a strong position to take advantage of a challenging retail marketplace.”

Mr Lindsay, an Olympic gold medallist, joined Telecom Plus in 2007.