Eir revenue jumps 4% but earnings decline slightly

Operating costs also increased following investment into retail last year

Wed, 13 Mar, 2024 - 08:37

Cáit Caden

Telecoms company eir posted a small jump in revenue driven by a rise in commercial customers, but earnings also declined slightly in the same period.

In its annual results, eir reported a 4% rise in revenue to almost €1.3bn, boosted by strong growth toward the end of the year when consumer spending was also up according to recent Central Statistics Office figures.

However, the company also posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of €591m, down 3% on the previous year.

The company’s operating costs climbed 3% to €399 following expansion investments. Eir invested €4m into refurbishing 21 stores on high streets and in retail parks throughout Ireland.

The rise in operating costs has not deterred Eir from further growth as its chief executive Oliver Loomes said the company “plans to continue to invest in our presence in towns and communities across Ireland to support local employment”.

Eir said the rise was due to an increase in labour costs, which increased by around 2% to €1m in the final three months alone, while accommodation prices also increased in that time.

Chief financial officer Stephen Tighe said that the large-scale investment by the company into 5G networks has “well-positioned” the company to expand its customer base over the coming years.

Total eir fibre broadband base increased by 3% year on year to 869,000 customers, multi-play bundling accounted for 51% of eir fixed households, up 6 percentage points year on year while eir TV customers increased 19% to 101,000.

Eir is the largest provider of fixed line telecommunications services in Ireland, offering broadband, voice, TV, and data services to residential, small business, enterprise and government segments.

It is the third largest mobile operator in Ireland in terms of revenue and customers. The company operates the eir mobile and GoMo services.