Chorus [CNU] will have new leadership from April this year, with Mark Aue taking over from JB Rousselot as the fibre network builder's chief executive.
Aue who joined Chorus from 2 Degrees in April last year is currently the company's chief operating and financial officer. He is a telco veteran who spent over 14 years with Vodafone UK and its NZ operation (now One NZ) before joining third mobile and broadband provider 2 Degrees where he was promoted to chief executive in 2019.
The current chief executive, JB Rousselot, landed at Chorus after stints at Telstra and NBN Co in Australia. He was appointed in 2019 and Chorus said Rousselot will focus on non-executive directorships for his future roles.
Chorus chair Mark Cross said Rousselot has been an exceptional leader who fully embraced New Zealand's culture during his time in the country. The Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) programme was completed under Rousselot and it now has 1.062 million fibre to the premises connections with a customer service uptake of over 70%.
The total number of premises passed by fibre is now 1.493 million.
Cross said he was delighted to be passing on the leadership to a Aue, a fellow Kiwi. He added that Aue has a deep understanding of Chorus and the telecommunications industry, along with a proven leadership and innovation track record.
Aue will focus on customers and growing fibre connections for Chorus, Cross said.
Chorus puts in "solid financial performance"
The leadership transition announcement coincided with ASX and NZX listed Chorus reporting its financials for the six months to December 31, 2023.
Chorus saw revenue increase to $503 million, (up from $487 million) and earnings before tax reach $347 million, up $5 million from the equivalent preceding reporting period.
Net profit after tax however fell by $4 million to $5 million. Chorus blamed this on higher interest rates and accelerated depreciation of copper assets in fibre areas.
Copper connections have dropped by 94,000 over the last 12 months, Rousselot said. He expects the copper network to be fully retired by the end of 2026, with fibre uptake reaching 80%.
The fibre infrastructure company's next four-year regulatory period starts in January next year. In the proposal lodged with the Commerce Commission, Chorus proposes a total expenditure of $1.3 billion.
A final decision from the Commission on the expenditure is expected in the second quarter of 2024.
Guidance for the 2024 full financial year includes unchanged earnings of $680 to $800 million, which Chorus said is tracking towards the top half of estimates. Capital expenditure is unchanged at $400 to $440 million for FY24.
An unimputed interim dividend of 19 cents a share will be paid in April, taking the amount to 47.5 cps for the FY24.
UFB extension
Although around of quarter of customers subscribe to gigabit and faster UFB plans, Chorus said its lower speed, 50 megabits per second Home Fibre Starter plan has grown considerably, doubling the number of connections during the last half six months.
Home Fibre Starter is designed to compete with wireless broadband options, and Rousselot said it is a key part of Chorus' strategy, particularly in addressing cost of living pressures.
Chorus said this month that it will extend the UFB network to a further 10,000 premises in 59 areas nationwide.
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