LONDON (Alliance News) - The People's Operator PLC on Wednesday reiterated its plans to substantially grow both its UK and US subscriber base by the end of 2016, and said revenue next year will exceed GBP8.0 million if it can deliver on those goals.
The People's Operator shares were trading down 2.6% to 95.00 pence per share on Wednesday morning.
The commercial mobile virtual network operator only made GBP602,964 in revenue during the first half of 2015, but has since launched its new US business which was set to markedly improve its full-year results.
However, back in November the company warned revenue for 2015 would be below expectations due to some difficulties in meeting customer demands for registrations in the US.
On Wednesday, The People's Operator said it believes the "technical difficulties" suffered in the US have been overcome, and it now has a system in place that can cope with large numbers of ongoing enquiries.
It also launched new marketing activities in the US in December which have been "well received" and led to a "marked increase" in in the amount of enquiries made about subscriptions and the amount of those enquiries being converted.
The People's Operator is aiming to have 75,000 subscribers in the US by the end of 2016, whilst still keeping customer acquisition costs down and tariffs competitive. At the end of June when the US business was launched, the company said it was chasing 5,000 subscriber commitments.
At its more-established UK operations, the company said it is still aiming to have 69,000 subscribers by the end of 2015, which will then double to 140,000 by the end of 2016.
At the end of June, The People's Operator had 35,122 subscribers in the UK which then rose to 50,360 subscribers by the end of September.
If The People's Operator can deliver on those subscriber targets by the end of 2016 in the US and the UK, it believes revenue in 2016 will jump to around GBP8.1 million. In 2014, before it listed on AIM, it only managed to book GBP432,391 in revenue over the entire year.
"The large-scale investment required to establish the US operation has come to an end, and the company is experiencing revenue growth in both the UK and US. The company maintains adequate financial resources to maintain its strategy and associated activities for the foreseeable future," The People's Operator said in a statement.
"While the pace of growth is slower than expected a year ago, the company is making steady progress and the directors remain confident of the long-term prospects for the company. The directors remain committed to achieving 2% market share across the US and UK by 2021," it added.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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