GO plc (GO), today held its eighteenth Annual General Meeting during which the Company’s senior management team provided shareholders with a detailed review of the positive performance achieved by GO during 2015. The meeting also approved a dividend of €0.10 per share.

Opening the meeting, GO Chairman, Mr Deepak Padmanabhan, said, “2015 was another successful year for GO. Continuing on its positive trajectory, the Group delivered substantially higher levels of profitability and stable revenue streams. It was also an historic year, in which a number of important decisions were taken, including the spin-off of Malta Properties Company plc, which yielded a dividend of 33.13 cents per share, increased investment in the Cypriot operator Cablenet, where GO now has majority control, and the decision to seek bidders for the entire shareholding in GO plc, a process which continues to move forward.”

GO’s Chief Executive Officer Yiannos Michaelides also updated shareholders with a detailed review of GO’s operations and the results achieved. These show a pre-tax profit of €34.2 million and a normalised operating profit of €29.0 million representing an increase of 19.0 per cent over the operating profit of €24.4 million achieved in the prior year. Throughout the year, GO also increased its normalised EBITDA by 7.3 per cent from €49.2 million to €52.8 million.

Mr Michaelides said, “The performance which GO achieved in 2015 does not happen by chance but is the result of a sound and well considered strategy. We have based our approach on four key pillars. We used our multi-play advantage to offer attractive bundled services. We invested in growth areas like mobile internet, fibre to the home, and TV. Our increased efficiency enhances our competitive edge, enabling us to win new customers and increase market share without jeopardising our financial strength. Finally, and importantly, we explored new opportunities particularly in data and ICT services, which now account for 11.6 per cent of Group revenues, and through our investment in Cyprus, where the market is practically double the size of that in Malta.”

GO’s Chief Finance Officer Edmond Brincat also briefed shareholders on the Group’s financial performance. The presentations were followed by a question and answer session during which shareholders put forward queries and suggestions to GO’s senior management team. The AGM elected the board of directors, approved the financial results for the year ended 31st December 2015 and the payment of a net dividend of €0.10 per share (net of taxation), a significant increase on last year’s dividend of €0.07 per share.

Mr Padmanabhan concluded, “GO’s investments, our diversification strategy, and the strong focus on our core business have all helped us to arrive where we are today. Despite all the competitive and regulatory challenges we face, GO is not only a very profitable company but also one with a positive outlook. GO has certainly delivered for its customers, its shareholders, its employees and the society it operates in and all this augurs well for the future.