Optus posts FY26 first half earnings

The outage that occurred on 18 September impacting Triple Zero services was a tragic, unacceptable failure and Optus accepts full accountability.

The Optus Board has commissioned an independent review led by Dr Kerry Schott AO to examine the technical, operational and governance factors that contributed to the outage and to guide further improvements. 

The review is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Dr Schott will report her findings to the Optus Board, and following consideration, the Board will make the report public.

Optus has also appointed Kearney, a leading global consulting firm, to undertake immediate oversight, quality assurance, and verification as Optus continues to uplift its mobile network management, processes, and services. 

As Optus investigates the incident and builds on our response while progressing a sweeping transformation of Optus, we have announced significant changes to strengthen customer focus. This includes expanding Australian contact centres with 300 new roles to ensure customers receive the right support when they need it most. We are also fast-tracking an onshoring program, commenced earlier in 2025, to return network operations, network monitoring, and customer care support functions to Australia.

FY26 H1 Results:

For the half year ended 30 September 2025, performances from mobile, Enterprise-managed network services and network sharing delivered Optus a 7.2% rise in EBITDA and 27% increase in EBIT.  

Operating revenue increased by 1.7%, and operating expenses were stable, while depreciation and amortisation was higher from spectrum acquisition in the prior year. 

Optus added an additional 169,000 customers to its mobile base from a year ago, led by prepaid growth at amaysim, with the number of postpaid customers also increasing by 30,000. 

The revenue performance included growth in mobile service, Enterprise-managed network services and network sharing from the Multi Operator Core Network agreement with TPG Telecom, which offset lower project-based satellite revenues.  

Mobile revenue was 2.4% higher overall for the half, as postpaid revenue growth saw mobile service revenue increase by 4.8%, while mobile equipment sales revenue fell 4.6%, due to a decline in device sales.

Optus’ home customers grew by 8,000, mainly in Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), which was partly offset by a decline in the NBN base.  

Home revenue rose 2.4% with NBN and FWA revenue increasing by 2.8% and 4.7% respectively, driven by higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). 

In July this year, Optus accepted an offer from Nine Entertainment Co and Stan to assign the rights to the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup for the remainder of the rights’ term. The decision was made as part of a strategy to focus on Optus’ core operations in telecommunications, commitment to customers, and to unlock further value for the business in the future. 

Additionally, in early September, Optus agreed to the sale and licence-back of around 340 mobile tower and rooftop sites to Australian infrastructure operator Waveconn to consolidate passive tower assets and unlock capital for future network investments. 

For The Half Year Ending 30 September 2025  

Media Contact: 
Kathy Lipari 
Optus Corporate Affairs 
(02) 9037 8179 
media@optus.com.au