TIDMTEP
RNS Number : 8964Z
Telecom Plus PLC
30 September 2009
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Telecom plus Plc
Issue Date: 30 September 2009
TELECOM PLUS PLC
Pre-Close Trading Statement
Telecom plus PLC (trading as the Utility Warehouse), which supplies a wide range
of utility services (gas, electricity, fixed line telephony, mobile telephony
and broadband internet) to both residential and business customers, is today
issuing a trading update in advance of its half year results for the period
ending 30 September 2009.
The first half of the current financial year has seen a continuation of the
strong organic growth we have been experiencing recently, with customer numbers
increasing at an annualised rate of 25% during the period to around 316,000 (31
March 2009: 281,175) and service numbers increasing by around 110,000 to more
than 904,000 (31 March 2009: 794,118).
Substantial numbers of new distributors continue to join the business each month
in search of a secure and reliable part-time income; we saw a net increase in
the number of distributors during the first half of almost 5,000 bringing the
total to just under 32,000 at the end of September (31 March 2009: 27,051).
To optimise the quality of our customer base, we took steps at the end of
July to focus the activity of our distributors on gathering new customers who
owned their homes, as this type of household has a significantly more attractive
profile on average (higher consumption, more services, longer lifetime and lower
bad debts) than those who are living in tenanted properties. We also changed our
training requirements, making it compulsory for all new distributors to attend
our training courses, which give them the tools and skills they need to maximise
their productivity and earnings. As a result, we saw a slowdown in the rate at
which new distributors and customers were being recruited during the following 6
weeks, as our distribution channel adjusted to these changes.
On 13th and 14th September we held motivational sales conferences in Southport
and Cheltenham, with a record attendance of almost 3,000 distributors; we took
advantage of the high turnout at these events to launch a number of new
incentives and promotions. Since then, we have seen encouraging signs that
distributor activity has started to return towards the record levels we were
experiencing earlier in the year.
The board remain comfortable with market expectations of both earnings and
dividends for the full year.
Half Yearly Results Date
Half Yearly results for the six months ending 30 September 2009 will be
announced on Wednesday 25 November 2009.
Commenting on current trading, Charles Wigoder, Chief Executive said:
"I am delighted to report a further period of strong organic growth in customer,
distributor and service numbers during the first half of the current financial
year. The steps we have taken to tighten our training requirements and improve
the mix of new customers can be expected to improve the quality of our earnings
going forward, and I look forward to announcing our half yearly results in
November."
For more information please contact:
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| Telecom plus PLC | |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Charles Wigoder, Chief Executive | 020 8955 5000 |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Chris Houghton, Finance Director | |
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| | |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Smithfield | |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Tania Wild / Reg Hoare / Will | 020 7360 4900 |
| Henderson | |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express
management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences and
prospects are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United
States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect Telecom
plus's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may
differ materially from current expectations or historical results. Any such
forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties,
including those set out on pages 15 and 16 of the Report and Accounts for the
year ended 31st March 2009. A copy of this is available on the Company's website
at www.telecomplus.co.uk/annual report.
About Telecom plus PLC:
Telecom plus, which owns and operates the Utility Warehouse brand, is the UK's
only fully integrated provider of a wide range of competitively priced utility
services spanning both the Communications and Energy markets.
Customers benefit from the convenience of a single monthly bill, consistently
good value across all their utilities and exceptional levels of customer
service. The Company does not advertise, relying instead on "word of mouth"
recommendation by existing satisfied customers in order to grow their market
share.
Telecom plus is listed on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: TEP LN). For
further information please visit: www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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