GO plc - Interim Directors’ Statement

On 6 May, GO plc issued its Interim Directors’ Statement covering the three months ended 31 March 2013. During the first quarter of the year, the Group continued to experience downward pressure on its ‘average revenue per user’ (ARPU) levels due to the intense competition present in the local telecommunications market. The Directors explained that in view of the high penetration rate, the scope for growth in the overall subscribers is limited and therefore operators now must seek to attract existing subscribers from competitors through value propositions and attractive offers.

Coupled with the lower mobile termination rates, resulting from regulatory intervention, the Group’s overall revenue has been negatively impacted. As such, the Group needs to constantly focus on cost optimisation in a bid to offset the decline in revenues and therefore maintain its profitability. In this respect, the Group continued to successfully achieve reductions in its cost base during the period under review with cost optimisation initiatives being pursued across all major cost categories.

Overall, profitability during the first quarter of 2013 is marginally below that registered during the same period last year . Nonetheless, the Group maintains a healthy cash generation and a significant level of liquidity and available banking facilities. In fact, during the period under review, GO finalised a financing arrangement with its leading banker which, coupled with its own resources, will permit the Group to pursue its significant investment programme.