NBN Co has reported revenue of $2.04 billion for the first three quarters of its financial year, compared to $1.41 billion for the same nine-month period last year.
The revenue for the nine months ended 31 March represents an increase of 45 per cent on revenue for the comparable period last year — which was a 112 per cent increase on the first nine months of 2017.
As of 31 March, more than 8.83 million households and businesses were able to connect to the National Broadband Network, up 36 per cent from 12 months earlier, and active premises hit almost 5.1 million (also up 36 per cent).
Average revenue per user (ARPU) was steady compared to the prior quarter at $45 per month.
NBN Co reported a cumulative loss of $3.41 billion for the year to date, compared to $3.74 billion in 2018. EBITDA improved 15 per cent from negative $389 million to negative $331 million.
Excluding one-off subscriber payments to Telstra and Optus linked to the migration to the new network, NBN Co registered positive EBITDA of $179 million.
Last year NBN Co released an updated corporate plan revealing that it was projecting revenue of $3.9 billion in FY20, down $1 billion from its previous forecasts.
The plan, which covers 2019-2022, also revealed that the company expected peak funding for its network to be $51 billion, which remains within the range forecast in its previous plan but is still $2 billion higher than expected.
Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland earlier this year revealed that if Labor wins the federal election it intends to commission a government review into the future economics of the NBN and NBN Co’s wholesale pricing.
“The review will examine the implications of the multi-technology mix on NBN Co’s long-term cash flow position, capital structure, pricing evolution, options to grow revenue, options to reduce cost, and the capacity of NBN Co to co-invest in future infrastructure upgrades under a range of market scenarios,” Rowland told the CommsDay Summit in April.