Canning Fok, group co-managing director of CK Hutchsion with Robert Finnegan CEO of Three Ireland. Photograph: Brenda FitzsimonsAn advertising blitz helped to bump up costs in the first half of the year at mobile operator Three Ireland, crimping its earnings despite strong growth in its customer base.
The financial performance of the Irish unit is outlined in global results released this morning by its parent, Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, which has investments in Asia and Europe across telecoms, utilities, ports and retail. The group’s total base of registered contract customers in the Republic has surged by almost one-third over the past year, although the average spend per head has shrunk nearly as fast as customer volumes have grown. Some of the new customers include “low-value Internet of Things IoT customers”, it said.
Simon Henry, Three Ireland’s chief financial officer, said the results were “in line with expectations”. He said the company was “pleased” with the rise in customer numbers and the associated “strong growth” in its revenues.