Northern Ireland broadband business Fibrus has undergone a round of job cuts after a pre-tax loss of nearly £60m in its latest accounts, according to reports.
As first reported in the Irish News, Fibrus is trying to cut jobs in its affiliated installation company Vibreoptix, having already cut around 60 jobs in January last year.
Fibrus’ parent company had seen losses grow by 87% for the financial period ending 31 March 2024, reaching over £58m.
Fibrus told Belfast Telegraph it was restructuring its teams as it nears the completion of its build programme, and that the changes will “support our business priorities and enable the next phase of growth.”
It is understood that the company sought to lose 48 roles in the December round of redundancies, out of a total of 324 staff.
The company said that their financial results came after a year of heavy investment in expanding their infrastructure, and that their turnover growth and other key metrics showed it was on a secure footing for the future.
Fibrus has been undertaking a range of projects in recent years that have seen them increase their number of customers in NI and the north of England.
It has made job cuts to installation teams before, such as in January 2024, when it confirmed it was to “consult closely with our staff about the changing shape of our organisation and we will redeploy where possible”.
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The accounts for the year ending March 2024 for Ox (Holdco) Limited, which is the ultimate parent of the broadband provider, show that it employed an average of 1,020 people over the year, an increase from the 2023 figure of 675.
The strategic report attached to the company’s accounts said: “Fibrus’ principal activity is the deployment of new full fibre broadband infrastructure to homes and businesses across Northern Ireland and parts of Northern England.
“Our strategy is to deploy our full fibre infrastructure to regional and rural areas that currently don’t have access to fibre but get their broadband service via legacy copper phonelines.
“We anticipate that the majority of homes and businesses in the areas that we operate in will eventually have access to one other fibre network in the future, so we focus on being first to get there and proactively acquire the customers we need to deliver long term value.”
During the 12 month period covered by the accounts, the company’s turnover rose by 58% from £11m to £17.5m.
The company generated £11m of income via government grants for a project of delivering “network services by the group to rural and unconnected areas of Northern Ireland and England”.
The strategic report says that this project “will be completed on time and within budget.”
It also received an additional £3.1m of additional operating income from other revenue streams.
However the parent company’s expenses remained high in the last financial year. Administrative expenses were up 60%, from £33m to £53m, while the company also registered £5.3m in exceptional administrative expenses.
The company’s interest payable also notably increased, rising 89% from £10.6m to just over £20m.
These figures meant that the company’s pre-tax loss increased by 87%, rising to a figure of £58m from the 2023 loss of £30.6m.
The strategic report says that the company has had its best ever year for customer acquisition, and more than doubled its customers year on year.
It added that it has agreed to a £100m extension to an existing debt facility of £220m, which “means that the group is fully funded for its remaining network rollout and operations across both GB and NI”.
A Fibrus spokesperson said: “Fibrus is nearing the completion of its planned build programme in Northern Ireland.
“We have restructured our teams to support our business priorities and enable the next phase of growth.
“We have hired, and will continue to hire, customer-focused roles in line with business expansion plans.”