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Three Ireland profit declines as inflationary challenges mount

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Caoimhe Gordon

Earnings at Three Ireland fell last year as soaring inflation led to a sharp rise in costs for the mobile operator.

The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was €175m in 2022, down 7pc from the year prior.

This decline was attributed to a rise in operational expenditure, with energy costs up by over 46pc across the year, alongside a full year without lockdown restrictions which offset margin growth.

Three’s customer base grew to 3.8 million people across the year, with contract customers up by 13pc in 2022, while prepay customers rose by 1pc.

These increases, which reflected an additional 700,000 customers, were largely driven by growth across the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) division, including the deployment of the ESB’s Smart Meter roll-out project. 

Following this growth in customer base, the mobile operator currently holds a 42.8pc market share here.

The company said it invested €76m into its network last year, bringing the total network investment to €785m since 2015. 

“The strength of our network, successful ongoing rollout of 5G and the quality of our award-winning Limerick based customer service continues to attract new customers to Three,” Three Ireland and UK chief executive Robert Finnegan said.

“Our 2022 financial performance was satisfactory in light of inflationary impacts on operational expenditure and energy price increases,” he added.

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