Telecom Plus to hit upgraded expectations

Telecom Plus, which supplies a range of utility services under the brand name Utility Warehouse, has enjoyed a strong fourth quarter on the back of successful cross-selling of its services.The firm said around half of all new customers now take at least four of its core services, and believes this will drive high average revenue per customer over the next four years and result in "lower churn" over the same period.The results for the full year are in line with consensus market expectations, which were recently upgraded following its third quarter statement. The market is expecting the company to report underlying profit before tax of £30.4m on sales of £498m. The firm is planning to recommend a final dividend of 17p, making a total dividend of 27p per share, in line with market forecasts. In a statement the firm said: "Cash flow has been slightly better than previous guidance, which means we now expect to finish the year with a small positive cash balance. "We are pleased with the continuing positive momentum being demonstrated by the business, with strong underlying growth in distributor, customer and service numbers. We believe that the improving quality of our customer base, which has been achieved through our sustained focus on delivering both consistently good value and exceptional levels of customer service, places us in a strong position to deliver significant shareholder value over the months and years ahead."NR Telecom Plus