Aussie Broadband is set to expand its business customer base through the acquisition of Nexgen Investment Group, a Sydney-based telco. The $44.1 million deal will add approximately 7,500 business customers to Aussie Broadband’s portfolio. This move comes as the internet service provider reported a 58 per cent drop in interim net profit, which fell to $5.1 million.
The reduced net profit reflects a $14.8 million writedown on goodwill associated with the sale of Aussie Broadband’s Digital Sense Hosting business, which provides cloud services. Excluding this writedown, the company’s underlying net profit saw a 41 per cent increase, reaching $22.3 million. Aussie Broadband provides internet and telecommunications services across Australia. The company focuses on delivering high-quality internet and phone services.
The number of internet broadband connections supplied by Aussie Broadband increased by 5 per cent to 827,683 during the first half. This growth has expanded Aussie Broadband’s share of the national broadband market from 8.4 per cent to 8.8 per cent. Earlier this month, Aussie Broadband announced a $115 million agreement to acquire hundreds of thousands of internet and mobile customers from AGL, signaling its ambition to become Australia’s third-largest internet service provider.
Aussie Broadband anticipates reaching the upper end of its full-year underlying EBITDA guidance, with a target range of $162 million to $167 million, revised from earlier forecasts of $157 million to $167 million. The company has declared a half-year dividend of 2.4 cents, representing a 50 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
