Feb 19 (Reuters) – Australia’s Telstra Group’s half-year profit beat estimates on Thursday, supported by its mobile business segment and cost control, while tightening its earnings forecast for fiscal 2026 and increasing its share buyback.
After lifting prices across most mobile plans in July last year, Telstra has pursued earnings growth by refocusing on core mobile and broadband and restructuring its enterprise unit via layoffs and divestments, cementing its lead in Australia’s tightly contested three-player telco market.
The country’s top telecom firm reported a 9.4% rise in profit attributable to A$1.12 billion ($788.03 million) for the half-year ended December 31, edging past Visible Alpha’s A$1.11 billion consensus estimate.
Telstra’s mobile segment, its biggest income generator, made A$5.77 billion in income, up 3.6% from a year earlier, as customer growth lifted segment earnings.
The firm narrowed its full-year underlying EBITDA after lease amortisation (EBITDAaL) guidance to a range of A$8.2 billion to A$8.4 billion, compared to its earlier forecast of between A$8.15 billion and A$8.45 billion.
It said it remains focused on delivering value for customers, communities and shareholders as it builds momentum behind its Connected Future 30 strategy.
Telstra declared an interim dividend of 10.5 Australian cents per share, higher than the 9.5 Australian cents apiece declared last year.
It also lifted the A$1 billion share buyback announced last August to as much as A$1.25 billion, pointing to A$637 million of the buyback completed in the first half and a strong balance sheet.
“The on-market share buyback is expected to support earnings and dividend per share growth,” said Chief Executive Vicky Brady.
($1 = 1.4213 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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