By Sarah Falson
SYDNEY: Unwired has earned $15.8 million and decreased its operating expenses by 6 per cent in the six months to 31 December 2006, meaning the internet provider has upped its revenue by 46 per cent from the same period in 2005.
“We are very happy with our financial position,” said Unwired CEO, David Spence.
“We have achieved a sustainable growth rate while at the same time decreasing operating costs. Out EBITDA continues to improve and we are well on the way to achieving positive EBITDA. We have a solid cash position and are well advanced in our plans to transition to WiMAX in 2008.”
According to Unwired, its $15.8 million revenue figure is comprised from sales of mainly modems and internet service subscriptions, and compares favourably to the previous six months’ earnings of $12.6 million and the corresponding period in 2005 which earned Unwired $10.9 million.
Marketing and product development both cost the company a little more at $4.1 million compared to $3 million for the corresponding period. The marketing spend was increased due to publicity for the launch of the Unwired network in Melbourne in September 2006.
The company saved money on spectrum lease rentals, which it spent $693,000 on the year before, however it forked out a significant sum purchasing the 2.3GHz spectrum from Austar in late 2005.
Unwired also didn’t perform any fundraising initiatives for the period, compared to $1.7 million in the corresponding six months.
Customers using the Unwired network increased 51 per cent up to 63,587 compared with 42,400 in second half 2005.
Still, the company lost $14.7 million all up, which is 20 per cent better than the $7.4 million lost in the corresponding period.