GO plc has returned €154 million to shareholders over the last seven years, said Chief Finance and People Officer Reuben Attard in the company’s annual general meeting.
He noted that the figure amounts to more than half the company’s current market capitalisation.
Mr Attard said GO generated €64 million in operational cash flow and returned €28 million to shareholders for the last financial year.
“GO’s disciplined approach to investment, cost control and innovation continues to deliver long-term shareholder value,” he said.
Presenting its financial performance for 2024, he noted record revenues of €244.9 million, up 3.8 per cent year-on-year, and a stable net profit of €15.7 million.
Operating costs increased in line with revenue growth, reflecting strong customer activity and investments.
Return on equity stood at a robust 16.9 per cent, placing GO “among Malta’s top-performing listed companies.”
At the AGM, the company celebrated 50 years of operations, making it Malta’s longest-standing communications provider.
GO released a video to mark the occasion, featuring interviews with current and former employees and executives.
Highlighting the importance of the company’s services to Malta’s most crucial operations, like hospitals and the airport, the video looks back to the company’s origins in 1975 with the launch of Telemalta as a Government-owned corporation.
In 1997, it became Maltacom, and 40 per cent of its shares were offered to investors on the Malta Stock Exchange. The company was fully privatised in 2006 when the Government’s remaining 60 per cent shareholding was sold to Emirates International Telecommunications Limited.
Among other historical curiosities, the video notes the origin of the company’s name, which started as its mobile telephony brand, ‘go mobile’, in 2000 – the first in Malta. Former CEO Joe Azzopardi noted that the brand’s success and widespread adoption led to the decision to change the company’s name from Maltacom to GO.
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