Telecom Plus Regulatory News (TEP)

23 Nov 2005 13:57

Telecom Plus PLC23 November 2005 Telecom plus plc ("the Company") Trading Statement In the preliminary results announcement dated 10 June 2005, the Company statedthat it anticipated profits for the current year would be slightly lower, due tothe continuing impact of losses within its gas supply business and increasedcustomer acquisition costs. The Company continues to expect a significant increase in turnover during thecurrent year as both its customer base and the number of services taken by eachcustomer continue to grow, however over the last 2 days the wholesale price ofgas (both day-ahead as well as for the coming 4 winter months) has becomeincreasingly volatile and reached unprecedented highs. As a result, profits arenow expected to be substantially lower than last year. We have recently concluded a long term working capital facility with BarclaysBank plc, enabling us to implement a systematic hedging programme which willprogressively align our wholesale energy costs with those of our maincompetitors. We continue however to purchase the majority of our gas for thiswinter on a short-term basis, as the price demanded for medium term purchasesmakes it commercially unattractive to hedge at present. The final outcome forthe current year therefore remains uncertain. The Company intends to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30September 2005 on Tuesday 13 December 2005. The Directors anticipate that thepre-tax profits for this period will be in excess of £5m. 23 November 2005 END This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange