Spark saw a net after tax profit of $64 million for the six months ended December.
Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Telecommunications company Spark’s mobile and broadband businesses delivered slight revenue growth over the first half, contributing to an 83 percent increase in net profit.
“The first half of FY26 has delivered a clear step up in Spark’s performance, as we build momentum towards our SPK-30 strategy ambitions,” chair Justine Smyth said.
Key numbers for the six months ended December compared with a year ago:
Smyth said [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/569697/spark-to-sell-75-percent-stake-in-data-centre-to-pacific-equity-partners
proceeds from the sale] of 75 percent of its data centre business, completed 30 January 2026, will be used to reduce debt in the second half of the year ending in June.
The board also reaffirmed Spark’s underlying full year profit guidance in a range of $1.01 billion and and $1.07b.
Spark chief executive Jolie Hodson said growth of its mobile network was the core of its growth strategy, along with remaining competitive, while working to simplify its portfolio of products.
“What I’ve been really pleased about in this first half is the growth we’ve seen in mobile, and that’s core and central to our strategy ahead.
“And that includes both from an investment that we’re making the network, but also the work we’re doing around our customer experience. We’ve reset the business, and it was pleasing to be able to deliver the step-up of performance in first half.”
Amova portfolio manager Michael De Cesare said the result was largely in line with expectations, with the company’s cost cutting programme delivering substantial savings.
“Becoming a leaner operation with improved productivity effectively takes some pressure off the top line performance,” he said.
While Spark delivered slight revenue growth in mobile and broadband, De Cesare said the company had challenges ahead, including the decline of its traditional phone lines and older network services.
Forsyth Barr analyst Ben Crozier said the result was softer than expected though growth in mobile and broadband segments were broadly in line with expectations.
Crozier said the net profit growth was a “meaningful” step-up, but missed its $93m estimate.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
