MANX.L Regulatory News (MANX)

29 January 2016

Manx Telecom Plc

Pre-Close Trading Update

Manx Telecom Plc (AIM:MANX; the "Company"), the leading communication solutions provider on the Isle of Man, is pleased to announce its pre-close trading update ahead of its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015, due to be announced on 30 March 2016.

The Board confirms that trading remains in line with its expectations.

The Company's domestic business has performed well during the period and we continue to invest in our infrastructure to support the future evolution of our product offering. Our mobile business has performed particularly well, following our investment in 4G in 2014, delivering good rates of 4G adoption and increased ARPU.

High speed VDSL broadband is now available to 91 per cent of homes on the Island and we have 30 per cent of customers using the service, with take up rates continuing to increase. Penetration of our high speed broadband products was boosted by the launch of VDSL plus superfast broadband at the beginning of 2015.

During the last quarter of the year we completed the second phase of our new data centre facility, Greenhill Data Centre (GDC), and were pleased to welcome our anchor tenant in October 2015. Occupancy levels in the GDC are in excess of 50% and our focus continues to be on winning additional contracts across the data centre portfolio.

Global Solutions performed in line with our expectations, delivering an improvement in revenue in the second half of the year and we are pleased that the momentum has continued into 2016. We continue to see growth across the product range, particularly in our strongest signal mobile solution, branded Chameleon.

In November, we announced the appointment of Danny Bakhshi as our Chief Financial Officer and are pleased to confirm that Danny will join the team and the Board on 1 February 2016. The current Interim CFO, Paul Tierney, will remain at Manx Telecom until April 2016 to facilitate a smooth transition. 

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About Manx Telecom

§ Manx Telecom is the leading communication solutions provider on the Isle of Man, offering a wide range of fixed line, broadband, mobile, and data centre services to businesses, consumers and the public sector on the Isle of Man as well as a growing portfolio of innovative hosting and "Smart SIM" solutions to off-Island customers.

§ Manx Telecom has a record of innovation, being the first European operator to launch a 3G mobile service and the first in the world to launch a 3.5G mobile service. 4G service launched in the summer of 2014, and it is now available to contract and pre-pay customers with 99% population coverage. The Company's high speed VDSL broadband service (Ultima) is available to 91 per cent of homes on the Island. A VDSL Plus service launched in February 2015.

§ The Company has three data centres (two of which are Tier 3) plus international connectivity and its operations are business-critical to the economic strategy of the Isle of Man.

§ One of the largest employers on the Island, Manx Telecom employs nearly 300 people. The company plays a major role in the wider community through a range of activities, including charitable donations, sponsorships, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

§ The company is proud to sponsor the Manx Telecom Parish Walk, Tough Mann Adventure Challenge, Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge, Team Manx Telecom (Manx Road Club) and Royal Manx Agricultural Show as well as other smaller events. Manx Telecom also donates annually to local causes through the company's "It's our Community" programme.

§ The Isle of Man has a resilient and growing economy which has experienced 31 years of unbroken GDP growth. Unemployment is low at 1.9 per cent, and there is a zero per cent corporate tax rate which applies to the vast majority of Manx Telecom's business and means that the Group currently pays no corporation tax on its annual profits.

§ Manx Telecom is listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange with the ticker MANX.