But on an adjusted basis, it fell 0.9% to $225m.
Adjusted ebitdai (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) fell 2.4% to $1.04 billion.
Adjusted revenue was flat at $3.7b.
Spark paid out 100% of its free cashflow in an 8c dividend, taking the full-year dividend to 16c, at the midpoint of 15-17cps guidance.
It is lower than the 25cps for FY2025 and 27.5cps for FY2024, in line with expectations following the telco’s “dividend reset”.
Asset sales helped return the telco’s debt-to-operating earnings ratio from 2.3x to 1.7x, again in line with expectations.
Flat forecast
Spark forecast flat operating earnings for FY27 and a full-year dividend of 16-18cps.
Mobile growth, but more losses at the top end of town
As expected by analysts, there was growth in mobile (a key component of the “core” business set to say with the company in its current restructure – more on which below).
Total mobile revenue increased 4.4% to $1.52b.
But service revenue was up just 1.1% to $998m and the segment saw a 7% fall in enterprise and government revenue to $93m. It’s a sector where analysts see 2degrees has been making inroads.
Spark blamed the fall in its Government and big company business on “competitive pricing pressure”. It added, “The rate of decline has more than halved with the prior year and connections are broadly flat.”
How other divisions fared
Broadband revenue fell 2% to $596m.
Voice revenue fell 16% to $126m.
“Business connectivity” revenue (including managed data networks, IoT or internet of things and security) fell 10% to $327m.
In “Digital Services” (now judged non-core and potentially to be sold by the end of the calendar year):
Cloud revenue fell 1% to $233m.
IT service management revenue fell 10% to $104m.
“Other Digital Services”, including “digital identity” (presumably the “MATTR” unit) increased 2.9% to $35.
Total Digital Services revenue fell 3% to $372m.
Splitting in two
The FY2026 result is being delivered against the backdrop of the telco’s recent announcement that it is restructuring into two business units: “Connectivity” (including voice and broadband services for fixed and mobile and other “core” services) and “Digital Services” (cloud, IT services and other “non-core” products). The latter could be sold.
Some staff fear substantial layoffs after an email was sent to all staff late last week on another restructure. The telco confirmed to the Herald that consultation is underway but also that the “design is still underway”. The final shape of the new workforce will depend, in part, on whether a buyer is found for Digital Services.
On Tuesday, Spark said ex-Mercury chief executive Vince Hawksworth would succeed the long-serving Justine Smyth as chair from November 5.
Earlier, Salt Funds’ managing director Matthew Goodson said, “I’d expect that [a new chief executive] will be on the agenda for the next chair”.
“Jolie Hodson has had over seven years as CEO and has had senior roles at Spark since 2013, so it would be a natural time to transition to a new leader.”
There was no immediate news on further leadership changes this morning.
Bonus for CEO
The board approved a 3.4% increase in Hodson’s remuneration, according to Spark’s 2026 annual report, also released this morning.
The pay bump will take her base salary from $1.27m to $1.31m.
In FY2026, Hodson also received a short-term bonus of $859,908 and a long-term incentive payment of $26,368, taking her total remuneration to $2.2m.
The board also approved a one-off bonus, equivalent to 20% of Hodson’s salary, if “transformation performance targets” are met in FY2027.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
