(Alliance News) - Toople PLC on Thursday said its loss widened in the first half of its current financial year amid higher operating costs.
The bespoke telecom services provider said its pretax loss widened in the six months to the end of March to GBP1.1 million from GBP843,579 reported a year earlier, as administrative expenses grew to GBP1.4 million from GBP1.1 million.
In addition, Toople said it recorded a GBP78,986 of exceptional restructuring cost, with no such charge reported a year earlier.
Revenue, meanwhile, increased to GBP1.5 million from GBP1.1 million year-on-year.
"Growth is being driven by a number of factors, not least a noticeable switch by UK small and medium enterprises to superfast fibre broadband, ahead of the phasing out of existing legacy copper infrastructure, due for completion by 2025. This trend is coupled with a seismic shift in UK working practices, whereby more workers are either electing or being asked to work from home, driving further reliance on home based telecoms, IT and broadband solutions," said Chief Executive Andy Hollingworth.
"Whether the lockdown eases swiftly, or becomes stricter, Toople is the solution to stay connected," said Non-Executive Chair Richard Horsman.
Toople shares were trading 16% lower in London on Thursday at 0.076 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Toople Plc (TOOP)