EE Releases Strong First Quarter Results

EE, a British mobile carrier, has recently revealed its strong first quarter results, with a revenue of $1.42 million pounds ($2.17 million).

“Today’s results are in-line with our expectations, and we are making good progress focusing on high value segments,” EE Chief Financial Officer Neal Milsom said. “We expect to strengthen our industry leadership position in the year ahead as the 4G rollout continues and we introduce double-speed 4GEE.”

The company cited growth in 4G subscribers in particular as one of the major reasons for its success. The company reached 318,000 4G subscribers in five months and expects to reach one million subscribers by the end of the year. Over 1,600 businesses are now using 4G and the company expects to reach 70 percent of the U.K. population by the end of the year.

The company also has acquired 36 percent of the wireless spectrum in the U.K., including 800 megahertz and 2.6 gigahertz spectrum.

EE focuses on high value retention and acquisition. The company achieved a net increase of 166,000 postpaid customers, which has been the best rate seen since the company was founded. 53 percent of the company’s customers are on postpaid plans.

The company is also improving its retail presence, with plans to open 600 more stores by the end of the second quarter.

EE is even optimizing its networks, decommissioning 548 redundant sites for a total number of 3,207.

The company sees its future in smartphones. Over 82 percent of its postpaid customers have smartphones, a year-over-year growth of 11 percent. In addition, 93 percent of new or renewing postpaid handset connections are from smartphones, 42 percent of which are 4G-ready.

“The strong take-up of 4G services amongst new and existing customers validates our data monetisation strategy. We continue to successfully migrate Orange and T-Mobile customers with 4G-ready phones to high value EE 4G price plans in areas where 4G coverage is available,” a company statement said. “We are seeing continued strong demand for 4G from businesses, with more than 1,600 now using the service including NG Bailey, PA News, Reed Recruitment, RAC, Tate & Lyle and United Utilities.”