Telecoms company Eir has reported higher revenues and earnings for 2024 - in line with expectations - as it continues to expand its customer base here.
Eir said its full year revenue rose by 2% or €30m to €1.326 billion after a strong fourth quarter performance in which revenue rose by 4% or €15m over the same time in 2023.
EBITDA for the year rose by 4% to €614m, while the company's operating costs were up 5% to €417m.
The company said that 1.3 million premises are now passed with its Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband across Ireland, up 17% on 2023, while a total of 2.2 million premises are passed by its combined FTTH and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) networks, or 95% of premises in Ireland.
Eir said it has 886,000 fibre broadband connections, up 2% on 2023 and totalling 94% of its total broadband base. It noted that 56% of customers have on triple or quad-play bundles.
The company also said it has a total of 1.509 million mobile customers, up 6% on the previous year. 1.203 million of these are postpay customers, it added.
It also said it has a total of 112,000 TV customers, up 11% on 2023's figures.
Oliver Loomes, the chief executive of eir, said the company continued to make significant strides across all areas of its operations, with notable growth in its broadband base (up 2%), mobile customers (up 6%), and eir TV users (up 11%).
"Additionally, the fourth quarter marked our ninth consecutive quarter of revenue growth, capping off another successful year for eir," the CEO said.
"Over the past 12 months, we successfully expanded our world-class fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network to over 1.3 million homes and businesses across Ireland. This means that approximately 3.7 million people nationwide now have access to eir's cutting-edge technology and lightning-fast download speeds, transforming the way they live and work," Mr Loomes said.
"We are proud to meet the increasing demand for high-speed internet, with FTTH traffic rising by 38.4% over the past year. We have continued this drive to provide the best available services to Ireland into 2025 with our consumer business becoming the first to bring Wifi7 to the Irish market, offering an unrivalled connectivity solution for households," he added.
The eir CEO also said the company last year saw a narrowing of its gender pay gap to just 1.59%.
The company also launched its first ever Economic and Social Impact Report which highlighted how it has spent €1.7 billion in capital investment in Ireland since 2018 and where it has pledged a further €500m to continue building its fibre network.
"The report also revealed eir's critical role in driving a digitally inclusive Ireland, boasting a network supporting €172 billion of activity in the digital economy," its CEO said.
