Telstra has released its first half results for 2017/18. Including the Ooyala investment impairment, total income was up 5.9%, EBITDA was down 2.5%, net profit after tax (NPAT) was down 5.8%.
Excluding the impairment of Ooyala, announced on 2 February 2018, NPAT was up 9.5%.
Telstra continued to add mobile customers, with 235,000 new retail mobile customers, including 130,000 post-paid handheld services added in the half. The company noted it had increased its customer base in mobiles for 20 consecutive halves, despite competitive pressures.
In the NBN market, Telstra added 454,000 connections, maintaining a 51% market share (excluding satellite services). About 57,000 retail bundled customers were added during the half, with one-third of these bundles including an entertainment component.
More than 1.5 million customers watched Netball, NRL and AFL games through the Telstra Live Sports app last year. There are now more than 1 million Telstra TV1 and TV2 devices in the market.