Spark New Zealand reported a 91.9% jump in annual profit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, as a $278 million gain from a data centre sale offset a 2.4% decline in adjusted EBITDAI. The company posted a net profit after tax of $499 million, up from $259 million a year earlier, while adjusted revenue remained flat at $3.7 billion.
Core net debt fell 35% to $898 million, and total net debt including leases declined to $1.78 billion, with the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improving to 1.7 times from 2.2 times. Free cash flow rose 18.5% to $308 million, supporting a full-year dividend of 16 cents per share, equal to 100% of free cash flow. Shares in the company gained 3.72% to close at $1.68, within a 52-week range of $1.44 to $2.38.
Mobile service revenue grew 1.1% to $998 million, with overall mobile revenue up 4.4% at $1.52 billion. Pay monthly ARPU increased 3.6% to $46.08, while prepaid connections declined 3.6% to 1.07 million. Enterprise and government ARPU fell 7.2% to $24.66, an improvement from a 10.9% drop in the prior year. Spark maintained its market-leading position with a 41% share, though its share erosion slowed to 0.5 percentage points year-over-year.
Capital expenditure rose 9% to $467 million, including $66 million for strategic data centre investments. The company completed a data centre transaction for $462 million, retaining a 25% stake. Structural cost reductions totalled $40 million, bringing cumulative savings to $101 million, with $58 million from labour efficiencies.
Guidance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, includes adjusted EBITDAI of $1.01–$1.08 billion and free cash flow of $300–$350 million. The dividend payout is expected to remain at 90–100% of free cash flow, implying 16–18 cents per share. Longer-term targets include a low single-digit EBITDAI compound annual growth rate through 2030, mid-single-digit free cash flow growth, and a return on invested capital of 11–13%.
Spark also reported progress on sustainability targets, with scope 1 and 2 emissions 59% below its 2020 baseline, surpassing its 2030 goal of a 56% reduction. The company matched 72 GWh of electricity consumption to new renewable generation and directed 71% of supplier spend to companies with science-based targets.
