Woosh Delivers First Profit

Wireless broadband provider Woosh made a small but significant profit for the financial year ending June 30, 2010. This represents the first profit in the company’s seven year history. 

The key results are:
• Revenue increased to $18.03m from $16.9m (2009); and
• Profit/(loss) improved to a profit of $1.28m from a loss of $38m (2009) 

Woosh Executive Chairman Rod Inglis said that the business had been operating profitably for the past 18 months and continued to do so.

“The turnaround reflects Woosh’s commitment to maintain a stable, low-cost network, retain customers and consolidate the business towards profitability,” said Mr Inglis.

Woosh also has a number of strategic initiatives underway, which include responding to the Rural Broadband Initiative.  The Woosh and Kordia joint venture, OpenGate, along with its partner FX Networks, was recently shortlisted by the Government to contract for the delivery of a step-change for broadband in rural New Zealand. 

“The OpenGate and FX fibre and LTE solution will exceed the Government’s service level targets and deliver 10-20 Mbps to 83% of rural households, with more than two thirds of them being able to get speeds of greater than 20 Mbps,” added Mr Inglis.

That’s city speeds (or better) at city prices for rural New Zealand. 

The results have provided Woosh’s main investor with the confidence to continue backing the business. Woosh, with its network and strategic spectrum assets, is well placed to benefit from the global deployment of 4G networks. Those 4G networks are seen as complementary to fibre rollouts.