Exetel buy sends Superloop revenue soaring to $119.8M

Publicly listed fibre network operator Superloop has seen its half year revenue soar by 125 per cent year-on-year to $119.8 million off the back of its $110-million Exetel acquisition. 

For the half year ended 31 December 2021, Superloop added 110,000 consumer and business customers from Exetel to its existing base. 

Its consumer business saw the strongest growth from the acquisition, with revenue growing by 303.4 per cent to almost $60 million, while the business unit's revenue grew by 124.5 per cent to $35 million. 

Wholesale business revenue also grew 12.8 per cent partially as a result of the Superloop Connect automated migration and management platform that the company claims now services more than 11,600 wholesale broadband services.   

Meanwhile, the operator also saw an improvement in its losses. Last half year, Superloop posted a $25.7 million comprehensive loss after tax. However, it has since managed to improve this to $18.5 million, a reduction of 28.2 per cent. 

Its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 12 per cent from $8.2 million to $9.1 million.  

Paul Tyler, CEO and managing director of Superloop, said: "At the centre of that objective is our infrastructure-on-demand offering that supports integrated, added-value services and great customer service. In a market that continues to change almost every week, our focus remains the customer and those service providers who support them."

Last half year also saw Superloop announce the sale of its assets from its Singapore operation, along with its Hong Kong business, in a deal worth $140 million. This deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete later this year. 

On this Tyler added: "It is particularly pleasing to see the growth across all three segments, which demonstrates the strength and diversification of the Superloop business model. In the near-term, our focus will continue to be profitability and re-investment." 

In the last half year, Superloop also saw its founder Bevan Slattery step down as chairman, citing his desire to pursue “nationally significant projects".