Easynet trims losses

Rapid return on DSL unbundling

By Tim Richardson, 9th September 2004

Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery

Easynet is experiencing a "rapid return" on its investment in local loop unbundling (LLU), the pan-European ISP reported today.

It now has 214 "live" unbundled UK exchanges providing broadband services direct to end users. A further 31 exchanges are currently being kitted out for LLU, and the company expects to have installed its kit in around 230 BT telephone exchanges by the end of the year.

David Rowe, chief executive, said the company will "continue to exploit the opportunity in the business broadband arena by developing further our high quality pan-European customer base and executing on our strategy of extending our LLU network where there are rapid returns on investment".

The company noted its satisfaction with the "new regulatory environment", following Oftel's replacement by Ofcom, which makes decisions affecting the industry more quickly than its predecessor.

Easynet today published interims for the first six months of the year, trimming pre-tax losses to -£10.9m (H103: -£15m) on revenue up 24 per cent to £68.5m (H103: £55.2m).

During the reporting period it won a number of customers such as Yakult, Navteq, Boxal Group, Tompla and Christian Dior. This month it confirmed that it had won a £10m contract to supply broadband to 135,000 children in Surrey in a four-year contract worth £10m.

Shares were down 0.5p (0.6 per cent) in mid-morning trading at 87.5p. ®