Sensis exceeds financial targets

Sensis yesterday announced that it "exceeded all key financial and operational targets" in financial year 2004 (FY04) and would further grow revenue in FY05.

The results were released at the launch of its search engine, sensis.com.au.

Sensis -- a wholly-owned advertising subsidiary of Telstra -- said for the financial year 2003-04, it had a core business revenue of $1.31 billion, which was a 7.6 percent growth, and total portfolio revenue of $1.36 billion after recent acquisitions.

A press release stated that Sensis' total earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the underlying business increased by 8.2 percent to $671 million in FY04, up from $620 million in FY03.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 11.5 percent last financial year.

The release stated that Sensis expected to "continue to deliver sustainable revenue growth in excess of 6 percent from its underlying business for financial year 2005".

Bruce Akhurst, Sensis chairman and group managing director Telstra Wholesale, Broadband and Media, said in the statement that Sensis' contribution to Telstra was "significant" at "approximately 6 percent of total Telstra underlying sales revenue and approaching 10 percent of total Telstra underlying EBIT in financial year 2003."

Sensis CEO, Andrew Day said in a statement that Sensis' total online and electronic business grew by more than 40 percent.

Day said, "The Yellow Pages OnLine results were outstanding, with revenue increasing by 63 percent and Yellow Pages OnLine customer numbers doubling to 35,000. ... Significantly, we now have more than 100,000 White Pages OnLine paying customers. Collectively, the Sensis print business grew by 5.6 percent last financial year."