Thus results paint rosier picture

Telecoms company Thus, spun off from Scottish Power in 1999, pulled in revenues of £532.7m in the year ended 31 March 2007.

While this was 52 per cent up on the previous 12 months, the firm still managed an operating loss of £9.5m.

Operating losses during the previous year were £11.6m, so things are going in the right direction, if slowly.

Thus has had an interesting year, announcing several high profile contracts to provide broadband in the Highlands, as well as decent customer wins away from home.

The company has also been busy integrating it's acquisitions, Legend and Your Communications, a process which has "proceeded ahead of plan with increased synergy savings for less cost than originally anticipated", chief executive William Allen said.

This involved the culling of 280 jobs, as well as removal of other duplicated resources, which were predicted to save the company £25m a year.

Allen then trumpeted the company's claim that 55 per cent of its gross is now coming from next-generation customers - those not using basic voice, leased lines, frame relay or ATM services - before promising that this will be the year when Thus finally moves into operating profit. ®