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The heavily indebted TalkTalk Group, which has recently been going through another turbulent period due to payment disputes with suppliers and reports of a possible sale (here, here and here), has today published a fairly limited Q1 FY26 trading update to 31st May 2025 that attempts to highlight the positives and hints at a new home Wi-Fi proposition.
According to the trading update, the TalkTalk Group has delivered a “quarter of solid strategic progress, with the Group performing in line with management’s expectations“. The internet provider now claims to be “focused on simplifying systems, launching innovative product offerings, and advancing the next phase of its strategic turnaround.”
Q1 FY26 Highlights
➤ Revenue of £341m, underpinned by continued investment in cash-generative activities
➤ Gross margin of £141m (Q1/25 £149m), achieved against highly competitive market backdrop
➤ Successful completion of phase one transformation and separation of Consumer and PXC units
➤ Ongoing cost efficiencies and non-core disposals
➤ EBITDA (pre-IFRS) of £37m (Q1/25 £48m, which included one off benefits of £21m, so an underlying increase of £10m vs prior year) following successful operational separation of the TalkTalk Consumer and PXC businesses, and investment in operational transformation.
➤ Cost reduction initiatives remain on track, with efficiencies achieved across headline and legacy costs and completion of non-core disposals
➤ PXC delivering next generation connectivity products at scale with accelerated transition to fibre-only network
The update also states that TalkTalk’s consumer broadband ISP business is now “focused on customer retention and migration to Kraken platform“, as well as the development of a “pioneering” new in-home Wi-Fi proposition, which is due to launch “later this year“.
Speculation on the above may well point to an improved mesh WiFi solution with Wi-Fi 7 capability – possibly accompanied by new broadband packages, although nothing has yet been confirmed. But it will take a lot more than better WiFi to turn things around.
James Smith, CEO of TalkTalk Group, said:
“We’ve made important strategic progress during the quarter, delivering financial performance in line with our expectations. We’ve hugely simplified what we do as a business and how we deliver it, taking out significant cost and automating our processes.
We are now ready to move to the next phase of launching exciting new product sets across the TalkTalk Consumer and PXC businesses, that will differentiate us in the market and enable us to maintain market share and drive profitability.
We remain firmly focused on disciplined investment and free cashflow generation, with strong support from our financial stakeholders to deliver our ambitious plans.”
The trading update is sadly absent of many key details, such as their latest customer and debt figures etc.