Bundling services paying off for Trustpower
Monday, 6 November 2017
Trustpower says its strategy of bundling essential household services and focusing on technology is paying off.
The company has reported a profit of $82 million for the six months to the end of September, up $37m on the same time the year before.
Trustpower's total shareholder return over the six months has been 24 per cent.
'It is pleasing to see this improved performance reflected in our share price,' said chairman Paul Ridley‐Smith. 'We also remain committed to delivering long‐term sustainable value for investors.'
READ MORE: Trustpower rolls out smart meters as new electricity era begins
Chief executive Vince Hawksworth said the company's retail earnings of $29m were a positive sign that its investment in growth was paying off.
'Our multi‐product retail business strategy bundling life's essential utilities including power, gas, internet and phone, is gaining momentum.'
Hawksworth said the strategy was backed by an innovation and technology programme to ensure the company delivered a great customer experience and remained one step ahead in an evolving customer world.
'When you place your customer at the heart of your business, results follow. We have continued to invest in developing a strong service and technology platform, providing new options for our consumer queries including virtual agents and web bots. It's great to see more customers are choosing to engage with us digitally, 43 per cent of our customer interactions are now handled by our virtual workforce.'
Hawksworth said that growth in customer numbers had been modest, with retail acquisition campaigning put on hold during the period while the company leveraged high wholesale electricity prices.
But Trustpower's current marketing campaign for new bundle customers was proving very successful and the company was on track for a 20 per cent increase in telecommunication customers this year.
Total utility account holders reached 390,000, a 1 per cent increase from 385,000 at March 31. Customers with two or more products reached 94,000, a 4 per cent increase from 90,000 at March 31.