The amount of revenue O2 Ireland gains from mobile subscribers has declined dramatically over the past year, according to new figures published today.
The monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) from mobile customers fell 7.9 per cent during the year to the end of June from €42.19 to €39.76.
O2’s total customer base at the end of June was 1.717 million, up 1.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2008, and up by 6,093 customers when compared with the first quarter of this year.
During the second quarter O2 gained 11,444 new contract customers to give it a total postpay customer base of 662,604. The number of prepay or 'pay-as-you-go' subscribers fell by 5,351 customers over the, a significant improvement on the previous quarter when a decline of 25,202 prepay subscribers was reported.
Service revenue rose in the quarter, up to €211 million from €210 million in the first three months of 2009.
Data revenue as a percentage of overall service revenue now accounts for 10.7 per cent of overall service revenues, driven in part by a rise in mobile broadband subscribers.
O2 said it had almost 112,000 mobile broadband customers at the end of the second quarter.
During the year to the end of June there was a 44.8 per cent increase in text usage.
In the second quarter, 782 million text messages were sent by 02 customers, up 4.4 per cent on the first three months of the year.
“Looking ahead, we expect tough trading conditions for the remainder of the year. While service revenues increased marginally in the second quarter of 2009, we will continue to maintain our emphasis on cost management and improving cash flow performance within our business,” said Paul Whelan, chief financial officer, Telefónica O2 Ireland.
Last week rival Vodafone reported a fall in mobile customer numbers for the three-month period to the end of June. During the quarter the operator lost 46,000 subscribers to to give it a customer base of 2.12 million.
The operator also reported a decline in service revenues for the second quarter.
