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Welcome to our shareholder update for the financial results for the first half of fiscal
year 2014.
I am very pleased to say the company is performing well.
This half we have grown revenue and we have grown profit. Very important we have also
grown customer numbers.
Total income grew by 4.1% to $12.8 billion, while EBITDA profitability grew by 7% to more
than $5 billion. Net-profit-after-tax increased by 9.7% to $1.7 billion.
Based on these results, the Board has increased the interim dividend for the first time in
eight years, to 14 and-a-half cents, returning $1.8 billion to you, our shareholders.
We also saw strong customer growth in key products and services. We welcomed 739,000
new domestic mobile retail customers and 75,000 new retail fixed data customers. We are very
grateful to the many customers who continue to choose Telstra.
During the first half, we invested $1.8 billion to maintain our technology and product leadership.
This investment is delivering tangible outcomes for our customers. For example,
our 4G network now covers 85% of the Australian population giving us four times the coverage
area of any of our competitors. We have also invested in new business initiatives as we
rebalance our portfolio and drive innovation right throughout the business. These investments
have enhanced our capabilities in our growth businesses of Network Applications and Services
or "NAS", Asia and e-health.
Operating expenses have increased by 2.1% in the first half, largely driven by costs
supporting revenue growth such as the transition of the Department of Defence contract -- our
largest ever contract -- and expenditure on customer service initiatives.
These results reflect our dedicated focus on our refreshed strategy which is: improving
customer advocacy; driving value from the core; and thirdly, building new growth businesses.
We are committed to improving the way we serve our customers, as well as providing them with
access to the best networks in Australia. While there is undoubtedly a lot more we can
do, we continue to make improvements such as enhancing our digital and online service
capability; refreshing our mobile plans; and most importantly improving our processes.
We have a strong focus for the rest of this year and importantly, we are on track to
meet our full-year guidance.
None of these achievements could have been possible without the incredible commitment
of the many dedicated Telstra employees. I would like to thank them for their efforts
and commitment. I would also like to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued
support. Thank you very much.