Spark New Zealand Limited FY26 Results

Spark New Zealand Limited
ARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand




MARKET RELEASE – Thursday, 20 August 2026
EMBARGOED UNTIL [DATE] [delete this row if not required]
Mobile service revenue returns to growth as Spark advances
SPK-30 strategy
• Delivered FY26 results within guidance:
o Reported revenue¹ of $3,949 million increased 6.0%; adjusted revenue of $3,700 million
unchanged
o Reported EBITDAI² of $1,295 million increased 23.0%; adjusted EBITDAI of $1,035 million
declined 2.4%
o Reported NPAT³ of $499 million increased 91.9%; adjusted NPAT of $225 million declined 0.9%
o BAU capital expenditure was $401 million, flat on FY25
o Free cash flow (FCF) increased 18.5% to $308 million
• First year of SPK-30 strategy execution delivered mobile revenue up 4.4%, mobile service revenue
back in growth at +1.1%, and $40 million in productivity benefits
• Completion of data centre transaction returning net debt to targeted levels
• Board declared a final dividend of 8 cents per share, taking the total FY26 dividend to 16 cents per
share
4
, representing 100% of FCF

Spark New Zealand (Spark) today announced its FY26 results, with the first year of its SPK-30 strategy
delivering a return to mobile service revenue growth, strong free cash flow growth, ongoing cost
reduction, and a strengthened balance sheet following completion of the data centre transaction.

Spark Chair Justine Smyth said “Our SPK-30 strategy reflects clear choices about where Spark can build
sustainable competitive advantage and deliver improved shareholder returns over time. We are
encouraged by the progress made during this first year of execution, and by the momentum in areas
where we have concentrated effort and investment, particularly mobile.

“With an 18.5% increase in free cash flow to $308 million, the total FY26 dividend is 16 cents per share
4
,
representing a 100% payout ratio, in line with guidance.

“The Board remains focused on ensuring Spark’s portfolio supports the strategic choices we have made
and strengthens long-term performance. During the year we completed the sale of a 75% stake in our
data centre business, generating $462 million in net proceeds and returning debt to targeted levels. Our
retained 25% interest enables Spark to continue participating in the significant long-term growth
opportunity in the sector.

"In July we announced a strategic review into the areas identified as outside core operations, including
cloud and IT services, which now form part of the Digital Services division. This review will assess how to
maximise the value and returns generated by this division for shareholders and is expected to be
completed during the first half of FY27.”

FY26 performance

Spark’s FY26 financial results include reported and adjusted figures (see note to editors).
Reported
revenue of $3,949 million increased 6.0%, while adjusted revenue of $3,700 million remained unchanged
from FY25.

Mobile revenues increased 4.4% to $1,517 million, with mobile service revenue growing 1.1% to $998
million – supported by strong ARPU
5
growth in the consumer and SME
6
segment, as innovation in
product and customer experience delivered more value and choice for customers. Spark saw ongoing

Spark New Zealand Limited
ARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand


connection and ARPU stabilisation in price-driven categories of the market, including its domestic
prepaid base and enterprise and government.

Broadband revenue declined 2.0% to $596 million in a highly competitive, price-driven market, while
gross margin grew through product cost management. Business connectivity revenue declined 9.9% to
$327 million due to the divestment of Digital Island, the transition from legacy managed data and
network products to modern solutions, and the timing of IoT hardware sales, partially offset by continued
IoT connection growth.

In Digital Services, cloud revenue remained broadly flat at $233 million, as 20% growth in public cloud
was offset by the continued transition away from higher-margin private cloud. IT Services revenue
decreased 10.3% to $104 million, reflecting lower project activity in the subdued economic environment
and the ongoing migration of legacy services.

Reported EBITDAI of $1,295 million increased 23.0%, primarily due to the gain on sale of the data centre
transaction. Adjusted EBITDAI of $1,035 million declined 2.4%, primarily reflecting declines in digital
services, the continued decline in legacy voice – which now represents only 3.2 % of overall revenue –
and five fewer months of data centre earnings following the sale partway through the year.

Mobile growth and $40 million in productivity benefits partially offset these impacts. Continued mobile
momentum, further cost reduction, diminishing legacy products, and ongoing portfolio management are
expected to support EBITDAI growth in future years.

Reported NPAT of $499 million increased 91.9%, while adjusted NPAT of $225 million was down 0.9%
on FY25. Free cash flow increased 18.5% to $308 million, supported by strong financial management.

Spark CEO Jolie Hodson said the result reflected strong execution in the areas that matter most to
customers.

"Our focus this year was on turning the SPK-30 strategy into better outcomes for our customers and
measurable performance improvements for our shareholders.

“Mobile service revenue returned to growth as we continued to build in more value for our customers.
We delivered New Zealand’s first Kids Plan, introduced better roaming experiences, and launched
satellite-to-mobile capability. We completed the nationwide shutdown of our 3G network on time and to
plan, freeing up spectrum to support the ongoing expansion of 5G.

“Returning to EBITDAI growth remains a focus, and we are clear on what will deliver it – building on the
healthy mobile growth we saw this year, embedding structural productivity improvements across our
business, reducing our exposure to declining legacy products, and further simplifying our portfolio.

"Our strategic focus on better network and customer experiences is delivering tangible results, with
Spark retaining leadership in 4G and 5G mobile coverage experience in New Zealand
7
and improving
customer experience for the sixth year in a row.

“We are scaling our use of AI to make it easier for customers to get the help they need, and embedding
new technology partnerships to improve efficiency and access global innovation. Our people are pivotal
to our success, and we were pleased to grow employee engagement 11 points during the year. We have
started FY27 with growing momentum in our core business and a clear path to deliver better outcomes
for customers and sustainable value for shareholders.”

FY27 guidance

Spark provided the following guidance for FY27, subject to no material adverse change in operating
outlook:
• Adjusted EBITDAI: $1,010-$1,080 million
• Free cash flow: $300-$350 million
• BAU capital expenditure
8
: $350-$380 million

Spark New Zealand Limited
ARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand


• Dividend payout ratio: Dividend guidance based on a payout ratio of 90-100% of FCF, supported
by a target
9
FY27 dividend range of 16-18 cents per share

Notes to Editors:

Spark’s FY26 financial results include reported and adjusted figures, as follows:

Reported
Reported results include continuing operations and removes the results of the data centre business,
which is classified as a discontinued operation. This means data centre net earnings are disclosed
separately in the financial statements.

Adjusted
Adjusted results include the earnings of the data centre business up until the point of sale, while
excluding the $278 million gain on sale, and in FY25 remove the $71 million gain on sale from the
Connexa stake and the $53 million of transformation costs. This provides a like-for-like, year-on-year
performance comparison. A detailed reconciliation is contained on page 9 of Spark’s detailed FY26
financial statements.

Footnotes

[1] Operating revenues and other gains
[2] Earnings before finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation, amortisation and net
investment income (EBITDAI) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) are non-Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (non-GAAP) performance measures. Free cash flow is also a non-GAAP measure and is
defined on page 7 of Spark’s detailed KPIs
[3] Net profit after tax
[4] 50% imputed
[5] Average revenue per user
[6] Small and medium enterprises.
[7] Spark ranked first for overall coverage experience and 5G coverage experience, as awarded by
Opensignal in the October 2025 NZ Mobile Network Experience report
[8] BAU capital expenditure excludes strategic capital expenditure. In FY26, strategic capital expenditure
included investment associated with the data centre business ahead of completion of the transaction,
which supported the higher sale price achieved through the transaction.
[9] The target FY27 dividend range of 16-18 cents per share is intended to provide investors with a
clearer expected dividend outcome than a payout ratio alone, while maintaining the discipline of linking
dividends to free cash flow generation. Final dividend decisions remain subject to Board approval.

#Ends

Authorised by:
Rodney Deacon
Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations & Commercial


For more information contact
For media queries please contact:
Althea Lovell
Corporate Affairs Lead Partner
+64 21 222 2992
althea.lovell@spark.co.nz
For investor queries please contact:
Rodney Deacon
Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations & Commercial
+64 21 631 074
rodney.deacon@spark.co.nz

---

Results announcement
(for Equity Security issuer/Equity and Debt Security issuer)



Results for announcement to the market
Name of issuer Spark New Zealand Limited
Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2026
Previous Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2025
Currency NZD - New Zealand Dollar
Amount (000s) Percentage change
Revenue from continuing
operations
NZD$3,949,000 6%
Total Revenue NZD$3,978,000
1
5.5%
Net profit/(loss) from
continuing operations
NZD$486,000 92.9%
Total net profit/(loss) NZD$499,000 91.9%
Interim/Final Dividend
Amount per Quoted Equity
Security
NZD$0.08000000 (comprised only of an ordinary dividend)
Imputed amount per Quoted
Equity Security
NZD$0.01555556
Record Date 11 September 2026
Dividend Payment Date 02 October 2026
Current period Prior comparable period
Net tangible assets per
Quoted Equity Security (in
dollars and cents per
security)
As at 30 June 2026: NZD$0.46 As at 30 June 2025: NZD$0.38
A brief explanation of any of
the figures above necessary
to enable the figures to be
understood
In FY26 and FY25, the data centre business is classified as a
discontinued operation, and its results are included in the total
revenue and total net profit/(loss). Changes in Spark’s total
earnings from continuing and discontinued operations before
finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation,
amortisation and net investment income (adjusted total
EBITDAI) are provided in the addendum.
Authority for this announcement
Name of person

authorised
to make this announcement
Stewart Taylor, Chief Financial Officer
Contact person for this
announcement
Rodney Deacon Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations &
Commercial
Contact phone number +64 21 631 074
Contact email address investor-info@spark.co.nz
Date of release through MAP

20 August 2026

Audited financial statements accompany this announcement.


Addendum:

Amount (000s) Percentage
change
Adjusted total EBITDAI (adjusted total earnings from
continuing and discontinued operations before finance
income and expense, income tax, depreciation,
amortisation and net investment income)
2

NZD$1,035,000 (2.4%)

1
Total Revenue includes revenue from continuing and discontinued operations.
2
Adjustments in the FY26 adjusted earnings from continuing and discontinued operations
before finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation, amortisation and net investment
income (adjusted total EBITDAI) reflected the impact of the net gain on sale of data centre
business of $278 million.
Adjustments in the FY25 adjusted total EBITDAI reflected the impact of the net gain on sale of
the remaining Connexa investment of $71 million and the transformation costs associated with
Spark’s SPK-26 Operate Programme amounted to $53 million.
Adjusted total EBITDAI is a non-GAAP measure which is defined and reconciled in note 2.5 of
Spark’s financial statements.

---

Distribution Notice







Section 1: Issuer information
Name of issuer Spark New Zealand Limited
Financial product name/description Ordinary shares
NZX ticker code SPK
ISIN (If unknown, check on NZX
website)
NZ TELE0001S4
Type of distribution
(Please mark with an X in the
relevant box/es)
Full Year X Quarterly
Half Year Special
DRP applies Yes
Record date 11 September 2026 AUST, NZ & USA;
Ex-Date (one business day before the
Record Date)
10 September 2026 AUST & NZ;
11 September 2026 USA
Payment date (and allotment date for
DRP)
02 October 2026 AUST & NZ;
12 October 2026 USA
Total monies associated with the
distribution
1

NZD$151,210,409
(1,890,130,108 shares @ $0.080 per share)
Source of distribution (for example,
retained earnings)
Retained earnings
Currency NZD – New Zealand Dollar
Section 2: Distribution amounts per financial product
Gross distribution
2
NZD$0.09555556
Gross taxable amount
3
NZD$0.09555556
Total cash distribution
4
NZD$0.08000000
Excluded amount (applicable to listed
PIEs)
N/A
Supplementary distribution amount NZD$0.00705882
Section 3: Imputation credits and Resident Withholding Tax
5

Is the distribution imputed Fully imputed

1
Continuous issuers should indicate that this is based on the number of units on issue at the date of the form
2
“Gross distribution” is the total cash distribution plus the amount of imputation credits, per financial product, before the deduction of
Resident Withholding Tax (RWT).
3
“Gross taxable amount” is the gross distribution minus any excluded income.
4
“Total cash distribution” is the cash distribution excluding imputation credits, per financial product, before the deduction of RWT.
This should include any excluded amounts, where applicable to listed PIEs.
5
The imputation credits plus the RWT amount is 33% of the gross taxable amount for the purposes of this form. If the distribution is
fully imputed the imputation credits will be 28% of the gross taxable amount with remaining 5% being RWT. This does not constitute
advice as to whether or not RWT needs to be withheld.

Partial imputation
No imputation
If fully or partially imputed, please
state imputation rate as % applied
6

16%
Imputation tax credits per financial
product
NZD$0.01555556
Resident Withholding Tax per
financial product
NZD$0.01597778
Section 4: Distribution re-investment plan (if applicable)
DRP % discount (if any)
0%
Start date and end date for
determining market price for DRP
Start date: 10 September
2026
End date: 16 September
2026
Date strike price to be announced (if
not available at this time)
17 September 2026
Specify source of financial products to
be issued under DRP programme
(new issue or to be bought on market)
New Issue
DRP strike price per financial product

Last date to submit a participation
notice for this distribution in
accordance with DRP participation
terms
14 September 2026
Section 5: Authority for this announcement
Name of person

authorised to make
this announcement
Stewart Taylor, Chief Financial Officer
Contact person for this
announcement
Rodney Deacon, Finance Lead Partner - Investor
Relations and Commercial
Contact phone number +64 21 631 074
Contact email address investor-info@spark.co.nz
Date of release through MAP

20 August 2026






6
Calculated as (imputation credits/gross taxable amount) x 100. Fully imputed dividends will be 28% as a % rate applied.

---

Spark Annual
Repor t FY26

For running header don't delete
B
About this report1
About Spark2
Creating value for our shareholders4
Performance snapshot6
Chair’s address8
CEO review10
How we create value12
Our performance14
Our Board and Leadership Team18
Our customers20
Our network and technology26
Our environment30
Our communities34
Our people38
Remuneration Report44
Governance53
Risk management67
Contents
Financial statements
Financial statements 69
Notes to the financial statements75
Independent auditor's report122
Appendix
Spark’s managing risk framework roles and responsibilities 126
Sustainability appendix127
Glossary131
Contact details132
Tahutahuna
te Kora
Papā te whatitiri,
hikohiko te uira
Ko te pae anamata,
whakamaua, kia ngita
Kei reira te kora e
pūrātoke ana
Kua kitea te kora
e pūrātoke ana
Mā wai rā te kora e tutungi,
e poipoi?
Mā tātou te kora e tutungi,
e poipoi
Tahutahuna te kora, (hī!)
te kora whitawhita, (hī!)
te kora tangata ēi!
The thunder peels,
the lightning flashes
Fix your attention
to the future horizon and secure it
There, is a small gleaming fragment
We have found the small
gleaming fragment
Who will light and nurture
this spark?
It is us who will light and nurture
the spark!
Set fire to the spark, yes!
The zealous spark, yes!
The spark of humanity!
A karakia is a traditional opening used in Aotearoa to
focus attention on the work ahead. In this context, it
marks the beginning of this report. This karakia was
developed specifically for Spark and reflects our role
in shaping Aotearoa’s future.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY261
About this report
• This report covers the activities of Spark New Zealand
Limited and its subsidiaries for the period 1 July 2025 to
30 June 2026.
• This is an integrated report that covers our financial
performance alongside the economic, social, and
environmental factors that underpin our short, medium,
and long-term value creation for our shareholders and
other stakeholders.
• To inform our approach we have applied the Integrated
Reporting <IR> Framework and the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) standards, two widely adopted global
reporting standards. See pages 63 – 66 for more
information on our approach to sustainability reporting.
• This Annual Report is published alongside a suite of other
disclosures, including our Corporate Governance
Statement, Climate-related Disclosures Report, our Modern
Slavery and Human Rights Statement, and our
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Data Pack.
• For the full suite of FY26 disclosures please visit
spark.co.nz/governance.
• This report is dated 20 August 2026 and is signed on behalf
of the Board of Spark New Zealand Limited by Justine
Smyth, Chair; and Lindsay Wright, Chair Audit and Risk
Management Committee.
FY26 reporting suite
Spark Annual
Repor t FY26
Modern Slavery
and Human Rights
Statement FY26
Corporate
Governance
Statement
FY26
Climate-related
Disclosures
Repor t FY26
Lindsay Wright
Chair Audit and Risk
Management Committee
Justine Smyth CNZM
Chair

2 About Spark
Market share in mobile
and broadband
1,2
For widest mobile
network coverage
experience
(4G and 5G)
3

#
1
#
1
Spark is New Zealand’s largest telecommunications
company. Our customers range from individual
New Zealanders and households to small businesses,
government, and large enterprise clients. Across all
our services – mobile, broadband, and digital connectivity
– we have relevance for almost every New Zealander.
About
Spark
1. IDC New Zealand mobile service revenue market share report as at 30 June 2026.
2. 2025 Telecommunications Monitoring Report, National retail broadband market share.
3. Spark ranked first for overall coverage experience and 5G coverage experience, as awarded by Opensignal in the October 2025 NZ Mobile Network
Experience report.
4. Total headcount as of 30 June 2026. Spark FTE (full time employee) number is 3,317 as of 30 June 2026.
5. Spark’s network connects 99% of the population across New Zealand, in areas where people work and live. Population coverage is calculated by
measuring the percentage of address points that fall within the predicted coverage area generated by Spark’s propagation model.
6. Includes Spark active equipment on 1,600 third party towers, 572 Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) towers and 90 small cells active at 30 June 2026.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY263
2.5m
devices connected to our Internet
of Things (IoT) network
60%+
of the population reached by our
5G network
5
+42
customer interaction
net promoter score
58
retail stores
3, 416
employees
4
99%
of New Zealanders reached
by our 4G network
5
24
regional business hubs
110 k+
small-medium
business customers
629k
broadband connections
2.6m
mobile connections
1,100+
enterprise and
government customers
2,262
mobile sites housing our active
infrastructure
6

4 Creating value for our shareholders
Creating value for
our shareholders
During FY26 we released SPK-30, our new five-year strategy, which
focuses Spark on our biggest strength – connecting New Zealanders
when and where it matters.
The strategy includes four key focus areas – growing core
connectivity, simplifying and optimising beyond the core in digital
services, and delivering a better network and better customer
experiences to differentiate Spark with customers. These priorities
are enabled by a focus on people and culture, embedding
technologies such as AI across Spark, disciplined financial
management, and an enduring commitment to sustainability.
Our ambition over the next five years is It’s better with Spark. Whether
it’s the returns we deliver to our shareholders, our network
performance, our customer experiences, or the culture we create
with our people – we want it to be better with Spark.
Since the strategy launched in September 2025, we have made
significant progress embedding it across the business.
Lead in core connectivity
We have focused our resources and investment where returns are
highest, with mobile central. We delivered a strong pipeline of
mobile product innovation, increased marketing investment to
support growth in a highly competitive market, and continued to
invest behind better retail and digital customer experiences. As a
result, we’ve delivered strong overall mobile revenue growth,
returned mobile service revenue to growth, and continued to
stabilise more price-driven segments.
Simplify and optimise beyond the core
We made significant progress simplifying our IT services and cloud
businesses – including rationalisation of product sets, reducing
labour costs in line with changing revenues, migrating customers
from legacy products to modern alternatives, and embedding new
global partnerships with Microsoft and HPE to improve efficiency and
access global capability.
In line with the strategic choices made under SPK-30, at the start of
FY27 we announced a transition to a new organisational structure
comprising two divisions – Connectivity and Digital Services – with a
strategic review of the Digital Services division now underway. The
review will assess how to maximise shareholder value from this part
of Spark in the future.
Better network
Our network performance is critical to our competitive advantage in
connectivity. In FY26, we reaffirmed our network leadership, ranking
first for overall mobile network coverage experience for 4G and 5G
1

as independently assessed by Opensignal. Following our build of a
5G Standalone network in FY25, we launched a trial of 5G+, giving
customers access to prioritised connectivity during congested events.
We also added satellite-to-mobile services and completed the
shutdown of our 3G network on time and to plan, enabling us to
repurpose spectrum for more modern 4G and 5G mobile connectivity.
Better customer experiences
We continued to invest in both our digital and in-store experience to
make our customers’ interactions with us easier and more effective.
We’ve updated our website and refreshed our MySpark app to make
it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for, and kicked off
a programme to redesign our retail spaces with a new layout that
brings our online and in-store experience together. When combined
with our focus on resolving issues more quickly for our customers,
this has seen our interaction net promoter score increase for the sixth
consecutive year.
1. Spark has ranked first for overall coverage experience and 5G coverage
experience, as awarded by Opensignal in the October 2025 NZ Mobile
Network Experience report.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY265
Enablers of our strategy
Throughout the year we continued to strengthen the fundamentals
of the business.
We delivered further significant cost reductions with productivity
savings of $40 million, returned net debt to targeted levels, and grew
free cash flow.
We’re also making progress towards embedding AI into our
operations for enterprise-wide process efficiency, with use cases
across our customer care and sales teams already resulting in better
customer experiences.
We increased employee engagement by 11 percentage points and
continued to invest in learning and development opportunities for
our people. Our emissions are tracking 59% below our FY20
baseline, ahead of the pathway required to meet our science-based
target, and over 38,000 homes are now connected through our
not-for-profit broadband services Skinny Jump.
This progress supports the overall logic of SPK-30 – capital and
resources aligned to the areas of highest return, investment behind
what customers value, and stronger foundations to support growing
shareholder returns over time.
FY26 delivered stronger foundations for
future value creation
The first year of SPK-30 delivered financial performance within
guidance while strengthening our foundations. Free cash flow
increased 18.5% to $308 million, enabling Spark to deliver a total
FY26 dividend of 16.0 cents per share, in line with guidance.
The completion of the data centre transaction drove a 23% increase
in reported EBITDAI to $1,295 million and strengthened the balance
sheet, with proceeds being used to return net debt to targeted levels.
Adjusted EBITDAI of $1,035 million declined 2.4%, primarily reflecting
the continued decline in legacy voice and five fewer months of data
centre earnings following the sale partway through the year. Mobile
growth and $40 million in productivity benefits partially offset these
impacts, and we expect continued mobile momentum, further cost
reduction, diminishing legacy products, and ongoing portfolio
management to support EBITDAI growth in future years.
Adjusted ROIC of 8.4% remained stable from FY25 and above our
estimated cost of capital, and we are confident in achieving our FY30
ambition of 11-13%.
Together, these outcomes demonstrate disciplined capital allocation,
improved cash generation, and a stronger platform for sustainable
shareholder returns as SPK-30 progresses.
Our Strategic ChoicesOur AmbitionOur PurposeOur Enablers
Technology
and AI
People and
culture
Financial
discipline
Sustainable
Spark
Lead in core
connectivity
Simplify and
optimise beyond
the core
1
2
Better network
Better customer
experiences
It’s better
with Spark
To help all of
New Zealand
win big in a
digital world

6Performance snapshot
Reported operating revenues and other gains
1
$3,949m
6.0% increase vs FY25
Adjusted EBITDAI
2,3
$1,035m
2.4% decrease vs FY25
Reported net earnings
4
$499m
91.9% increase vs FY25
Adjusted operating revenues and other gains
2
$3,700m
no change vs FY25
Reported EBITDAI
1,3
$1, 295m
23.0% increase vs FY25
Adjusted net earnings
2
$225m
0.9% decrease vs FY25
Performance snapshot
1. Reported revenues and earnings before finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation, amortisation and net investment (loss)/income (EBITDAI) exclude the
results of the data centre business which has been classified as a discontinued operation in the financial statements.
2. Adjusted numbers in FY26 exclude the $278 million gain from the sale of the data centre business and any associated tax impacts. Adjusted numbers in FY25 exclude the
$71 million gain on sale of the remaining investment in Connexa, and the $53 million transformation costs associated with Spark’s SPK-26 Operate Programme and any
associated tax impacts. They also include the results of the data centre business for both years which has been classified as a discontinued operation in the financial
statements.
3. EBITDAI and capital expenditure (CAPEX) are non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (non-GAAP) performance measures that are defined in note 2.5 of the
financial statements.
4. Reported net earnings include earnings from both continuing and discontinued operations.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY267
5. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is defined on page 7 of Spark’s FY26 detailed financial statements.
6. Reported return on invested capital (ROIC) is calculated as net operating profit (EBITDAI less depreciation and amortisation for both continuing and discontinued
operations) after tax (at 28%) as a percentage of average invested capital (total debt including leases plus equity).
7. ROIC from adjusted earnings is calculated as net operating profit (adjusted EBITDAI less depreciation and amortisation) after tax (at 28%) as a percentage of average
invested capital (total debt including leases plus equity). Adjusted EBITDAI includes the earnings from the data centre business up until the time of sale in both years,
and in FY26 excludes the gain on sale of the data centres and in FY25 excludes the gain on sale of Connexa and the transformation costs.
Capital expenditure
3
$467m
8.9% increase vs FY25
Reported return on invested capital
6
13. 8%
5.1 pts increase vs FY25
Adjusted return on invested capital
7
8.4%
no change vs FY25
Mobile service revenue
$998m
1.1% increase vs FY25
Broadband revenue
$596m
2.0% decrease vs FY25
Free cash flow
5
$308m
18.5% increase vs FY25

8Chair‘s address
Chair‘s address
Tēnā koutou,
Last year, the Board approved a new strategic direction for Spark.
SPK-30 is a clear choice about where we believe Spark is best
positioned to create sustainable competitive advantage, and in
doing so, long-term shareholder value.
Connectivity remains the foundation of our business. It is where we
have scale, market leadership, trusted customer relationships, and a
long history of keeping New Zealand connected through sustained
network investment.
During a period of lower economic growth, SPK-30 re-focuses Spark
on its core of connectivity, while simplifying and optimising beyond
the core in IT services and cloud.
FY26 marked the first year of executing this new strategy. As a Board
our focus has been on supporting Spark as it delivered against these
strategic choices and continued to respond to a highly competitive
environment.
We recognise shareholder concern regarding Spark’s share price
performance over the past two years, and we remain resolutely
focused on improving long-term value through disciplined execution
of SPK-30 to deliver stronger business performance.
While there is still more work ahead, we are encouraged by the
progress made during this first year and by the early signs of
momentum in areas where we have concentrated effort and
investment.
We finish FY26 with our results in line with guidance, supported by a
return to mobile service revenue growth and strong cost
management.
Creating value through active portfolio management
In this first year of SPK-30, one of the Board’s key areas of focus was
ensuring the company’s portfolio supports the strategic choices we
have made and strengthens long-term performance.
During the year, we completed the sale of a 75% stake in our data
centre business, unlocking significant value while retaining a
meaningful interest in the TenPeaks business alongside Pacific
Equity Partners.
We also announced a strategic review into the areas of Spark
identified as beyond core operations in SPK-30.
Spark has made strong progress simplifying and optimising cloud
and IT services over the past year. Having progressed that work, the
Board concluded this is the right time to assess how this part of Spark
can create the greatest value for shareholders in the future.
Justine Smyth
CNZM
Accordingly, in July we announced that Spark will transition to a new
organisational structure comprising two divisions – Connectivity and
Digital Services. Connectivity will encompass consumer mobile,
broadband, and business connectivity, while Digital Services will
comprise cloud, IT services, and adjacent products. The new structure
enhances end-to-end accountability and is designed to sharpen
execution, improve focus, and accelerate progress towards our
FY30 ambitions.
Alongside this change, the Board initiated a strategic review of
Digital Services.
Cloud and IT services have played an important role in Spark’s growth
over many years. Through acquisitions, strategic partnerships and
organic growth, Spark has established leading positions in these
markets and helped New Zealand organisations progress their own
digital transformation journeys.
Today, Digital Services remains a high-quality business with strong
customer relationships, talented people, differentiated intellectual
property, and leading market positions.
At the same time, the markets in which these businesses operate
have changed materially over the years. Long-term digitisation
trends, ongoing cloud adoption, and growth in data and AI continue
to support customer demand. However, these tailwinds are
increasingly being offset by lower business spending, margin

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY269
pressure from the shift towards public cloud, and continued
commoditisation across some technology services markets.
Against this backdrop, the review will assess how Digital Services is
best positioned for its next phase of growth, and how Spark can
maximise the value generated by these businesses while maintaining
clear focus on the connectivity strategy at the heart of SPK-30. We
expect the review to complete during the first half of FY27.
Returning debt to targeted levels
Disciplined capital management remains a focus of the Board.
Following completion of the data centre transaction, our net debt to
EBITDA ratio
1
is now within our targeted range, providing greater
flexibility and resilience.
The Board remains committed to balancing investment for future
growth with improving returns for shareholders over time. From
FY26, we made changes to our Dividend Policy to support a
sustainable dividend funded by free cash flow (FCF) and changed
our target dividend payout ratio to 70–100% of FCF, to provide
flexibility if needed in the future.
Return on invested capital (ROIC)
2
in FY26 was 8.4% and we continue
to work towards our FY30 ambition of 11-13% by simplifying the
portfolio, improving earnings quality, and strengthening free cash
flow.
3
FY26 was the first step towards this goal, with free cash flow
increasing 18.5% to $308 million. Accordingly, the Board has
declared a total FY26 dividend of 16.0 cents per share, representing
a 100% payout ratio in line with guidance.
Board renewal
FY26 was also a significant year for Board renewal.
We welcomed three new directors whose experience spans
telecommunications, infrastructure, technology, finance, and
governance. Together they bring fresh perspectives and valuable
expertise that will support Spark through its next strategy period.
Ensuring successful onboarding and immersion in Spark’s business
has been a focus.
The Board has also been focused on Chair succession, and I was
pleased to announce that non-executive Director Vince Hawksworth
will become the next Chair of Spark, commencing 6 November 2026.
I will remain Chair until the conclusion of the Board meeting on 5
November 2026, marking the completion of my tenure and enabling
Vince to lead Spark’s FY26 AGM the following day.
Vince joined the Spark Board in October 2025 following an
accomplished executive career spanning more than 18 years of Chief
Executive roles within regulated utility and infrastructure businesses
across New Zealand and Australia. Most recently Chief Executive of
Mercury Energy, and previously Trustpower New Zealand, he brings
deep expertise in infrastructure investment and managing large-
scale customer businesses, with a track record of creating
shareholder value. This experience will be a valuable asset for Spark.
Together with the broader Board I am confident that Vince will
continue to support Spark to improve performance as it works
towards its FY30 ambitions. His deep experience running large-scale
businesses with significant workforces, customer bases, and capital
investment profiles will be a valuable asset as Spark continues to
execute its strategy and deliver value for shareholders.
Looking back
As I prepare to step down from the Spark Board, I have had the
opportunity to reflect on how much has changed during my tenure.
The company has transformed from its early Telecom days, into the
more customer-focused and fast-moving business that Spark is today.
Over that time Spark has played a significant role in the development
of New Zealand’s digital infrastructure, brought new technologies to
our shores, and enabled households, communities, and businesses
to win big in a digital world.
Not every period has delivered the outcomes we have aspired to,
and I recognise the frustration many shareholders have felt in recent
years. While market conditions have been challenging and
technology continues to evolve rapidly, we also recognise the
importance of adapting our business and improving performance.
SPK-30 reflects the actions we are taking to do that.
Spark has a long history of transforming itself to adapt to the
changing environment, and I have every confidence that SPK-30 will
enable the business to do so once again, for the benefit of our
customers and shareholders.
I am confident that Spark has clear strategic direction, strong
leadership, and a firm foundation on which to build.
Most importantly, I will leave with a deep appreciation for the people
who have contributed to the company’s success over many years,
and for the support of our shareholders throughout that journey.
It has been a privilege to serve.
Ngā mihi
Justine Smyth CNZM
Chair
1. EBITDAI means earnings before finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation, amortisation, and net investment (loss)/income.
2. ROIC from adjusted earnings is calculated as net operating profit (adjusted EBITDAI less depreciation and amortisation) after tax (at 28%) as a percentage of
average invested capital (total debt including leases plus equity). Adjusted EBITDAI includes the earnings from the data centre business up until the time of
sale in both years, and in FY26 excludes the gain on sale of the data centres and in FY25 excludes the gain on sale of Connexa and the transformation costs.
3. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is defined in Spark’s detailed KPI disclosures.

10CEO review
CEO review
Tēnā koutou,
FY26 was a year focused on disciplined execution.
Our operating environment remained challenging, with heightened
competition and economic conditions continuing to influence
spending across households, businesses, and government. While
there were some signs of improvement during the year, these
pressures continued to affect performance in some areas. Against
this backdrop, we are encouraged by the progress made in the first
year of SPK-30.
We have concentrated capital and resources where returns are
highest – growing our core connectivity business, simplifying and
optimising beyond it, delivering strong overall mobile revenue
growth, and a more sustainable cost base. At the same time, we
invested in what differentiates Spark – our network and customer
experiences.
On a reported basis, revenue
1
increased 6.0% to $3.95 billion,
EBITDAI
2
increased 23.0% to $1.295 billion, and NPAT
3
increased
91.9% to $499 million, reflecting the completion of the sale of a 75%
stake in our data centre business during the year.
4
Adjusted revenue
5
of $3.7 billion was unchanged on FY25, despite
lower contribution from the data centre business following the sale.
Adjusted EBITDAI
2,5
of $1.035 billion was down 2.4%, primarily
reflecting declines in digital services, the continued decline in legacy
voice – which now represents only 3.2% of overall revenue – and five
fewer months of data centre earnings following the sale partway
through the year. Mobile growth and $40 million in productivity
benefits partially offset these impacts. Continued mobile momentum,
further cost reduction, diminishing legacy products, and ongoing
portfolio management are expected to support EBITDAI growth in
future years. Free cash flow of $308 million was up 18.5%.
Underpinning this progress were stronger business fundamentals –
disciplined cost management, successful implementation of new
strategic partnerships, employee engagement up 11 points, and
emissions reductions running ahead of the pathway needed to meet
our science-based target.
7
Together, these outcomes demonstrate further stabilisation in
performance and provide encouragement that SPK-30 is gaining
traction.
Building momentum in mobile
Mobile is central to our strategy. It represents our largest market
opportunity, our strongest competitive position, and the category
remains well positioned for growth, as customers continue to use
more data every year.
During FY26, total mobile revenue grew 4.4% to $1,517 million, with
mobile service revenue increasing 1.1% to $998 million.
We continued strengthening our mobile propositions through
product innovation, improved customer experiences, and greater
value. During the year we launched satellite-to-mobile services
through our partnership with Starlink, introduced New Zealand’s first
Kids Plan, expanded roaming options, and continued growing
Jolie Hodson
MNZM
acquisitions on interest-free payments – an important driver of
higher-value plans and retention. Together these initiatives are
helping to differentiate Spark and give customers more reasons to
choose us and stay with us.
Off the back of this work, Consumer and SME
8
mobile service
revenue grew 1.4%, supported by strong pay monthly ARPU
9
growth
and continued stabilisation of our domestic prepaid base, which
accounts for around 89% of prepaid revenue.
Enterprise and government mobile service revenue remains under
pressure from pricing competition, but the rate of decline has slowed
compared with FY25 and customer connections remained stable.
Collectively these improvements give us confidence that the actions
we are taking are moving the business in the right direction.
Better network
Network leadership remains one of Spark’s most important
competitive advantages.
The investment we make in our network underpins everything we do
and remains fundamental to our long-term success.
Independent testing again recognised Spark’s leadership in overall
4G and 5G mobile coverage experience, reinforcing the strength of
our network position in New Zealand.
10
A major milestone during FY26 was the nationwide shutdown of our
3G network. This was one of the largest operational programmes we
have undertaken in recent years, involving extensive customer
engagement, network builds and planning, and industry
coordination. The programme was delivered to plan and on schedule
and enables us to repurpose valuable spectrum to support future

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2611
growth in 4G and 5G services. While the transition was smooth for
the vast majority of customers, we continue to support a small
number of customers in more remote and edge-of-network locations
through our dedicated 3G care team.
We also continued investing in network capability and resilience.
During the year we launched 5G+, trialling network slicing capability
to create new opportunities to monetise our 5G investment through
differentiated services for customers. We also enhanced scam
protection capabilities and secured a new telecommunications
resilience agreement with Government to support 24-hour battery
backup on cell towers, recognising the critical role our network plays
during emergencies.
11
Satellite strengthens our advantage
One of the most exciting developments during the year was the launch
of satellite-to-mobile services through our partnership with Starlink.
Satellite extends the reach of our network to the edge, helping
customers stay connected in remote locations and areas beyond
traditional mobile coverage. Since launch, more than 146,000
eligible customers have connected to the service.
12
Satellite technology has attracted significant interest globally,
however terrestrial mobile networks remain unmatched when it
comes to serving large numbers of customers simultaneously,
delivering high throughput, and providing the indoor coverage and
always-on connectivity people expect every day.
What satellite does is extend the coverage experience further. It fills
gaps where towers cannot reach and provides customers with
greater confidence that they can stay connected wherever they are.
Together, those capabilities make Spark’s connectivity proposition
even stronger.
Better customer experiences
Improving customer experience is another core pillar of SPK-30.
During FY26 our measure of customer satisfaction – our interaction
Net Promoter Score – increased for the sixth consecutive year. This
reflects our sustained focus on simplifying customer interactions,
improving resolution times, and making it easier for customers to
access support when they need it.
It also reflects the investments we make into our digital, retail, and
care channels. During the year we improved digital journeys,
expanded AI-enabled support tools, and increased the use of AI
across customer and employee experiences.
AI is becoming an increasingly important enabler of both productivity
and innovation across Spark, and we expect its role to continue
growing in the years ahead. In our contact centres, AI-enabled tools
are helping our people resolve enquiries faster and more consistently.
In our stores, we began rolling out a refreshed retail format designed
to improve the service experience of our retail customers, and bring
digital and physical experiences together more effectively.
Looking ahead
Our FY26 results give us a stronger platform to build on as we
move into FY27.
We remain focused on returning to EBITDAI growth by sustaining
momentum in mobile, continuing to improve productivity, and
further simplifying our portfolio so we can focus investment and
resources where we have the strongest potential to create
shareholder value.
We have a strong programme of activity planned for the year ahead
to drive growth in our core – refreshing mobile and wireless
broadband propositions, a new MySpark app, new reward and
recognition initiatives for our loyal customers, and further investment
in network and customer experience leadership.
We have already announced the strategic review of our Digital
Services division, which has seen us move to a new organisational
structure that creates clear ownership of performance across
Connectivity and Digital Services, strengthens execution, and enables
us to allocate capital and resources appropriately, to support each
division to perform in line with its distinct needs and growth potential.
At the same time, we will continue driving productivity
improvements, simplifying how we operate, and maintaining
disciplined cost management.
We are realistic about the environment ahead. Competitive intensity
remains high and economic conditions continue to present challenges.
However, we believe the strategic choices we have made are the
right ones. The first year of SPK-30 has established a stronger
foundation, and we are entering FY27 with clearer focus, stronger
execution, and a confident view of where Spark can create value in
the future.
Our ambition remains unchanged. We want it to be better with Spark
– for our customers, our people, and our shareholders.
Thank you for your continued support.
Ngā mihi
Jolie Hodson MNZM
CEO
1. Revenue means operating revenues and other gains.
2. EBITDAI means earnings before finance income and expense, income tax, depreciation, amortisation, and net (loss)/investment income.
3. NPAT means net profit after tax.
4. Reported revenue and EBITDAI exclude the results of the data centre business, which has been classified as a discontinued operation in the financial statements.
5. Adjusted revenue, EBITDAI and NPAT include the data centre business in FY26 and FY25. Adjusted numbers in FY26 exclude the $278 million gain from the sale of the
data centre business and any associated tax impacts. Adjusted numbers in FY25 exclude the $71 million gain on sale of the remaining investment in Connexa, and the
$53 million transformation costs associated with Spark’s SPK-26 Operate Programme and any associated tax impacts.
6. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is defined in Spark’s detailed KPI disclosures.
7. Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduced 57% year-on-year, tracking 59% below Spark’s FY20 baseline and ahead of the pathway required to meet Spark’s FY30 science-based
target of a 56% reduction.
8. SME means small and medium enterprises.
9. ARPU means average revenue per user.
10. Spark ranked first for overall coverage experience and 5G coverage experience in Opensignal’s October 2025 NZ Mobile Network Experience report.
11. Spark and Connexa were awarded a contract by the National Infrastructure Funding and Financing. The 1.7 million addresses figure includes overlapping coverage into
neighbouring areas. Upgrades will start in the second half of 2026 and are expected to be completed by June 2027.
12. More than 146,000 eligible customers have connected to Spark’s satellite-to-mobile service since launch in April 2026.

For running header don't delete
12 How we create value
INPUTS
What we rely on to operate
our business
OUR BUSINESS MODEL
How we use these inputs to create outputs and outcomes
Network &
Technology
Our mobile and fixed
networks, technology,
and data centres
People
Skilled, engaged and
effective teams
Nature
Energy, water, materials,
and land we use in our
operations
Partnerships
Global and local
partnerships that
strengthen and broaden
our capability
How we
create value
Relationships
With customers, suppliers,
communities and
stakeholders
Finance
Strong balance sheet
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UNDERPINNED BY STRONG GOVERNANCE
AND OUR VALUES
Whakamana (We empower)
Matomato (We succeed together)
Tūhono (We connect)
Māia (We are bold)
OUR PURPOSE
To help all of New Zealand win big in a digital world

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2613
OUTPUTS
What we aim to create
OUTCOMES
The benefits of these outputs
See pages 4–5
See page 39
See page 26
See page 21
See page 31
See page 35
Connected and enabled
New Zealanders
Reliable connectivity
for our customers
Skilled, safe and
diverse workforce
Employment and skill development
Protecting the environment and
supporting New Zealand’s
decarbonisation
Reduced use of
natural resources
Resilient, automated
and adaptive network
and technology
Connected New Zealand and
resilient digital economy
Improved customer
experience, digital equity,
and supply chain practices
Better customer experience, social
outcomes, and participation
Financial growth and
shareholder returns
Creating value for shareholders

For running header don't delete
14 Our performance
Our performance
Reported basic earnings per share
3
26.4 cents
88.6% increase vs FY25
Adjusted basic earnings per share
4
11.9 cents
3.3% decrease vs FY25
Dividends per share
5
16.0 cents
36.0% decrease vs FY25
Reported EBITDAI
1,2
$1, 295m
23.0% increase vs FY25
Adjusted EBITDAI
1,4
$1,035m
2.4% decrease vs FY25
Adjusted net earnings
1,4
$225m
0.9% decrease vs FY25
Reported net earnings
3
$499m
91.9% increase vs FY25
1. EBITDAI is a non-GAAP performance measure that is defined in note 2.5 of the financial statements.
2. Reported revenues, operating expenses, and EBITDAI exclude the results of the data centre business which has been classified as a discontinued operation in the
financial statements.
3. Reported net earnings and basic earnings per share includes earnings from both continuing and discontinued operations.
4. Adjusted numbers in FY26 exclude the $278 million gain from the sale of the data centre business and any associated tax impacts. Adjusted numbers in FY25 exclude the
$71 million gain on sale of the remaining investment in Connexa, and the $53 million transformation costs associated with Spark’s SPK-26 Operate Programme and any
associated tax impacts. They also include the results of the data centre business for both years which has been classified as a discontinued operation in the financial
statements.
5. This represents the H1 FY26 first-half dividend of 8.0 cents per share, together with the H2 FY26 second-half ordinary dividend declared of 8.0 cents per share.
Referenced on page 108.
$ Million
Mobile
Broadband
Voice
Other connectivity
Cloud
IT service
management
Procurement
and partners
Other operating
revenue
Other gains
Net gain on data
centre transaction
Gain on divestment
of Connexa
FY26 FY25
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
$3,949m
reported (up 6.0%)
$3,700m
adjusted (no change)
Operating revenues and other gains
Reported revenues
2
• Mobile revenue increased $64m, or 4.4%, driven by growth in
both service and non-service revenue.
• Mobile service revenue grew $11 million or 1.1%, driven by
consumer pricing and plan mix, partly offset by lower
connections.
• Mobile non-service revenue grew $53m, or 11.4%, reflecting
strong growth in handset sales, supported by customer uptake of
interest free payments (IFP), accessories sales, and increased
revenue from distribution sales through retail channel partners.
• Broadband revenue declined $12 million, or 2.0%. Mainly driven
by a decline in broadband connections in a highly competitive
market.
• Legacy voice revenue declined $24 million, or 16.0%, in line with
the long-term trend. Voice now contributes only 3.2% of total
revenue.
• Other connectivity revenue declined $36 million, or 9.9%,
reflecting the divestment of Digital Island in FY25, the transition
from legacy product to modern solutions, and the timing of
hardware sales in IoT.
• Cloud revenue declined $2 million, or 0.9%, as customers
continued to transition from private cloud to public cloud.
• Procurement and partners revenue increased $25 million, or
4.6%, driven by stronger hardware sales.
Reported and adjusted results
Spark’s FY26 financial results include reported and adjusted figures. Reported EBITDAI includes continuing operations and removes the results of
the data centre business, which is classified as a discontinued operation. This means data centre net earnings are disclosed separately in the
financial statements. Adjusted results include the earnings of the data centre business up until the sale, while excluding the $278 million gain on
sale, and in FY25 remove the $71 million gain on sale from the Connexa stake and the $53 million of transformation costs. This provides a
like-for-like, year-on-year performance comparison. A detailed reconciliation is contained on page 9 of Spark’s detailed FY26 financial statements.
• IT service management revenue declined $12 million, or 10.3%,
reflecting lower project activity as challenging economic
conditions continued to dampen customer demand.
• Other product revenue increased $11 million, or 6.9%, driven by
higher network infrastructure delivery revenue by Entelar.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2615
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
$ Million
Product
costs
LabourOther
FY26 FY25
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Depreciation
and
amortisation
Net
finance
expense
Tax
expense
Net tax
income on
adjusting items
$ Million
FY26 FY25
Operating expenses
Reported operating expenses
2

• Product costs increased $31 million, or 1.8%. Higher volumes,
predominantly across mobile and procurement, drove a
$66 million increase. This was partially offset by the cost reduction
programme, which delivered $35 million of savings related to
improved buying terms, exit of legacy products, and simplification.
• Labour costs decreased $58 million, or 13.2%, reflecting the
ongoing benefits of the operating model changes and technology
and network partnerships (which are now reflected in other
operating costs).
• Other operating expenses increased $9 million, or 1.8%, with the
non-recurrence of the prior year $53 million transformation costs
being offset by a combination of the higher technology and
network partnership costs, higher brand advertising costs to
remain competitive in the market, inflationary increases in software
licence costs and severances.
Adjusted operating expenses
4
• Total adjusted operating expenses increased $25 million, or 0.9%,
from FY25 with the key year-on-year impacts outlined above, after
adjusting for the $53 million prior year transformation costs and
the net year-on-year reduction in data centre costs of $10 million
which are included in adjusted operating expenses.
$2,654m
reported (down 0.7%)
$2,665m
adjusted (up 0.9%)
Other
• Total depreciation and amortisation increased $12 million, or
2.0%, largely driven by higher depreciation associated with
prior-period capital investment and right-of-use assets.
• Net finance expense was flat year-on-year with lower interest
expense, driven by lower debt levels, partly offset by lower
interest income.
• Tax expense decreased $7 million, reflecting lower underlying
earnings before tax and a return to a more normalised corporate
tax rate after removing the impact of the gain on sale from the
data centre business.
• Other gains increased to $312 million, including the $278 million
gain on sale of the data centre business. Excluding this gain,
other gains increased modestly to $34 million.
Net earnings from discontinued operation
The data centre business has been classified as a discontinued operation, with its sale completing on 30 January 2026. Data centre net
earnings up to the sale date were $13 million in FY26 compared with $8 million in FY25, with the increase largely driven by ceasing
depreciation on assets from the date that it was classified as held for sale.
Adjusted revenues
4
• Adjusted revenues include $29 million of data centre revenue
reported within the discontinued operation and excludes the
$278 million gain on sale of the data centre business.
Operating revenues and other gains (continued)

For running header don't delete
16 Our performance
650
700
750
800
850
900
950
1000
1050
1100
1150
FY25 Net cash flows from
operating activities
Cash received from IFP sale
Payments to suppliers
and employees
Payments for income tax
Payments for interest on debt
Payments for interest on leased
customer equipment assets
Receipts from interest
Receipts from customers
FY26 Net cash flows from
operating activities
FY25 Net cash flows from operating activities
Cash received from IFP sale
Payments to suppliers and employees
Payments for income tax
Payments for interest on debt
Payments for interest on leased customer equipment assets
Receipts from interest
Receipts from customers
FY26 Net cash flows from operating activities
$ Million
680
238
93
59
221(9)
(40)
1,044
Operating cash flows
• Operating cash flows increased $364 million to $1,044 million,
primarily reflecting a net $238 million
7
increase in relation to the
interest-free payment (IFP) receivable book sale, timing of
payments, and lower income tax payments, partially offset by
reduced customer receipts largely due to increased net
settlement of receivables and payables, which reduced gross
cash receipts and payments during the year.
• Investing cash flows increased $202 million, primarily driven by
$462 million of net proceeds from the sale of the data centre
business. This was partially offset by lower proceeds from the sale
of long-term investments, where $48 million was received for the
sale of Hutchinson in FY26 compared to $309 million of net
proceeds from the sale of the remaining interest in the Connexa
business in FY25.
• Financing cash outflows were $1,011 million in FY26, consisting
mainly of net repayments of debt of $464 million (following the
receipts of the data centre proceeds and IFP sale proceeds),
dividend payments of $387 million, and lease payments of
$108 million.
• Free cash flow increased $48m, with the decline in adjusted
EBITDAI and increased lease payments more than offset by lower
cash payments for tax, and favourable working capital movements.
20262025
YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE$M$M
Net cash flows from operating activities1,044680
Net cash flows from investing activities90(112)
Net cash flows from financing activities(1,011)(593)
Net cash flows123(25)
Free cash flow
6
308260
6. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is defined on page 7 of Spark’s FY26 Detailed financial statements.
7. Payments for discounts on derecognised IFP receivables of $19 million are included in cash flows from financing activities.
Operating cash flows
$1,044m
(up 53.5%)

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2617
Capital expenditure in FY26 included the following key focus areas
and projects:
• Investment in the lifecycle and licensing of internal IT systems
focused on automation and enterprise platform integration to
drive efficiency.
• Expanding AI investment to embed intelligence across
operations, accelerating automation, and service transformation.
• Continued investment in Spark’s mobile core and radio access
network (RAN), delivering greater network capacity, coverage,
and reliability.
• Fixed network infrastructure and international cable capacity to
meet requirements for Spark’s fibre, transport and IP network,
continuation of the core networks expansion and resilience
programme, continued exit of the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN), and international cable capacity purchases to
meet forecasted demand for data.
• Property investment in Spark’s corporate offices, retail stores
fitouts and refits, and sustaining investment for power and
building services for Spark-owned exchanges.
• Data centre investment, $66 million of strategic capital
expenditure, includes land purchases and pre-construction
activities on Takanini and Northshore campuses prior to sale.
• Total capex comprised $401 million of BAU capital expenditure
and $66 million of strategic capital expenditure.
$401m$66m
Capital expenditure
8

Capital expenditure to
adjusted operating revenues
and other gains
9
BAU capital
expenditure
Total capital
expenditure
Strategic capital
expenditure


$
1
5
5
m

Cloud
Fixed network and international
cable capacity
IT systems
Mobile network
Property
Other
Data centres






$
7
m

$
6
6
m

$
8
m

$
8
8
m


$
3
m


$
1
4
0
m


BAU CapexStrategic Capex
12 . 6%

Return on invested capital (ROIC)
10
• FY26 reported ROIC of 13.8% increased from 8.7% in FY25
largely due to the gain on sale of the data centre business.
• FY26 ROIC from adjusted earnings
11
of 8.4% remained
unchanged from FY25.
• Both ROIC measures are above our estimated WACC and
outperform the majority of Spark’s global peers.
8. CAPEX is a non-GAAP performance measure that is defined in note 2.5 of the financial statements.
9. CAPEX to operating revenues and other gains for FY26 is calculated on adjusted operating revenue (excluding the gain on sale of the data centre business) to enable a
meaningful analysis.
10. Reported return on invested capital (ROIC) is calculated as net operating profit (EBITDAI less depreciation and amortisation for both continuing and discontinued
operations) after tax (at 28%) as a percentage of average invested capital (total debt including leases plus equity).
11. ROIC from adjusted earnings is calculated as net operating profit (adjusted EBITDAI less depreciation and amortisation) after tax (at 28%) as a percentage of average
invested capital (total debt including leases plus equity). Adjusted EBITDAI includes the earnings from the data centre business up until the time of sale in both years,
and in FY26 excludes the gain on sale of the data centres and in FY25 excludes the gain on sale of Connexa and the transformation costs.
BAU capital expenditure
to adjusted operating
revenues and other gains
10.8%

$467m
(No change from FY25)(FY25 11.6%)

For running header don't delete
18Our Board and Leadership Team
Jolie Hodson MNZM
Chief Executive and
Executive Director
Jolie joined the Board in
September 2019, following her
appointment to CEO in July
the same year. Jolie brings
strategic knowledge within
the telecommunications and
technology sector, financial
and commercial, and people
leadership and culture
development experience to
the Board.
Warwick Bray
Non-executive Director
Warwick joined the Board in
September 2019 and brings
financial, commercial, capital
markets, customer insight, listed
company governance, and
strategic telecommunications
industry experience to the Board.
David Havercroft
Non-executive Director
David joined the Board in
October 2021 and became
Chair of the Human Resources
and Compensation Committee
(HRCC) in 2024. David brings risk
management, regulatory policy,
data, digital technologies, and
strategic telecommunications
industry knowledge and
experience to the Board.
Our Board and
Leadership Team
Justine Smyth CNZM
Chair and Non-executive
Director
1
Justine was appointed to the
Board in December 2011 and
was last re-elected in November
2025. She was appointed
Chair in October 2017, and
has experience in listed
company governance, capital
markets, and the financial and
commercial performance of large
corporate enterprises.
Lindsay Wright
Non-Executive Director
Lindsay joined the Board in
August 2025, and became
Chair of the Audit and Risk
Management Committee
(ARMC) in September. She
brings substantial expertise in
commercial operations, strategy,
investment management,
finance, capital markets, and
risk and capital management
to the Board.
Our Board
Tarek Robbiati
Non-Executive Director
Tarek joined the Board in
October 2025, and brings
financial and commercial
acumen, strategic business
transformation, and deep
telecommunications industry
experience to the Board.
Vince Hawksworth
Non-executive Director
2
Vince joined the Board in
October 2025, and brings
experience in infrastructure
investment, management of
large-scale customer bases,
and people and culture
leadership to the Board.
Lisa Nelson
Non-executive Director
Lisa joined the Spark Board in
May 2024 and brings financial,
commercial, customer insight,
listed company governance,
capital structures, global data,
and digital technology business
experience to the Board.
1. Justine Smyth will step down from the Spark Board at the conclusion of the Board meeting on 5 November 2026.
2. Vince Hawksworth will commence as Chair of the Spark Board at the AGM on 6 November 2026.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2619
Matt Bain
Chief AI and
Technology Officer
Matt brings his digital marketing
and customer experience skills
to place the customer at the
centre of Spark’s strategies.
He has extensive experience
using data and technologies
like Artificial Intelligence (AI)
to enable organisations to
better understand and
predict their customers’ needs
more accurately.
Leadership Team
Stewart Taylor
Chief Financial Officer
Stewart leads the finance function
at Spark. He brings financial,
capital management, business
strategy, and performance
delivery expertise to the business.
Mark Beder
Chief Customer Officer
Connectivity
Mark leads the performance
of Spark’s core connectivity
business. He brings extensive
experience in technology
leadership, network customer
operations, capital investment,
sales, and business strategy.
Tommy Bjorkberg
Chief Operating Officer
Tommy will join the Leadership
Team on 1 October 2026 to lead
Spark’s network operations,
business technology services,
and cyber security. He brings
more than 25 years of
international telecommunications
and technology leadership
experience, spanning mobile and
fixed networks, cloud, and digital
infrastructure.
Greg Clark
Interim Chief Customer Officer
Digital Services
Greg is responsible for leading
Spark’s digital services division,
which includes cloud, IT services,
and adjacent products. He brings
retail, sales, customer experience
and marketing expertise to the
business. Greg will depart Spark
in December 2026.
Heather Langton
Chief People and Culture
Officer
Heather is responsible for
leading the People and Culture
team at Spark. She brings
extensive leadership
development, culture, and
workforce transformation
expertise to the business.
John Wesley-Smith
Chief Legal and Strategy
Officer
John is responsible for leading
the development of Spark’s
commercial strategy and
overseeing its legal, regulatory,
and public policy processes.
He brings strategy, public
policy, and regulatory expertise
to the business.
More information about the Board and Leadership Team:
spark.co.nz/leadership
Leela Ashford
Chief Marketing and Corporate
Affairs Officer
Leela leads Spark’s marketing,
brand, corporate affairs, and
sustainability functions. She brings
extensive experience in brand and
reputation building, corporate
communications, and stakeholder
engagement across government,
industry, and communities.

Our customers
Our customers are key to Spark’s success, and creating better customer experiences is a core part
of our SPK-30 strategy. We provide mobile, broadband, and business connectivity services that
connect individuals and households, small businesses, government, and large enterprise
customers. These products and services connect customers and communities across the country,
creating value for New Zealand as well as Spark.
20Our customers
Our customers

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2621
Better customer experiences
Creating better customer experiences is a key SPK-30 ambition, and
in FY26 this was reflected in several initiatives that made our
customers’ interactions with us easier and more effective.
This progress is reflected in customer feedback, with our interaction
net promoter score (our measure of customer satisfaction) for our
consumer and SME customers increasing annually for six consecutive
years, and up 2 points to +42 in FY26.
Better online experiences
In the past year we have made improvements to our online
experiences across all our digital channels, including the website and
MySpark app.
We’ve updated our website with a brand new homepage and made
it easier for customers to find our plans, products, and other details
they need.
This is supported by our refreshed MySpark app, which has a more
intuitive user experience based on customer feedback, and smarter
features that help customers get what they need faster. Through the
new app we’ve enabled ‘Verified Call’, a New Zealand-first feature
that helps our customers to quickly identify genuine calls from Spark.
It’s better with Spark
At the start of FY26, Spark introduced a new five-year business
ambition and brand platform – it’s better with Spark.
Whether it is our returns to shareholders, our customer
experience, our network performance, or the culture we create
with our people – we want it to be better with Spark.
This ambition is now what guides how we build the Spark brand
to support long-term growth.
During FY26 we increased brand investment, recognising that
differentiation is critical to our success in a highly competitive
market. Since the launch of our first campaign bringing the new
brand platform to life, we have seen growth in core metrics,
such as brand strength in Auckland, where Spark is traditionally
underweight in market share.
In June we launched our first proof point of ‘better’, focused on
Spark’s safety and security credentials.
Every day, Spark stops millions of online threats from reaching
our customers. The challenge is that this work is largely unseen.
To make the invisible, visible, we created a world that shows
what is happening behind the screen of your phone – with
scams personified by a character that is universally recognised
as deceptive, the wolf. Recognising that no one business can
stop every single scam from getting through, we also launched
a new Safety and Security Hub for our customers, with new tools
and practical information on how to stay safe from scams.
In the year ahead, our brand investment will continue to bring
to life our ambition of it’s better with Spark, through examples of
the investment we’re making in our network and customer
experience.
+42
Customer interaction net promoter score up 2 points in FY26

For running header don't delete
22Our customers
Using AI to improve customer experience
Over the past year we continued to scale the use of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) across our operations to improve service quality for
our customers and efficiency for Spark.
AI-powered assistants securely connect to Spark systems and
support our team of contact centre advisors by providing relevant
information about customers, products, and services in real time.
These assistants are now answering approximately 2,000 complex
internal queries on average each month, reducing the proportion of
queries requiring escalation, and resulting in faster, more consistent
support for customers.
In April, Skinny launched its first AI-powered assistant, Bravado,
designed to support Skinny’s care team with instant answers through
an easy-to-use chat interface. This ultimately enables faster support
for Skinny customers
Enhancing our retail experience
While we improve our online customer experiences, we know many
New Zealanders still value going into our stores to talk to our teams
in person. In FY26 we began a programme to redesign our retail
spaces with a new layout that brings our online and in-store
experience together.
This new layout was first launched in March at our Westfield St Lukes
store in Auckland, and in June we opened our newly designed,
flagship Manukau store. The refits have been designed for better
customer experiences and include faster payment and processing, a
centralised service hub for personalised support, clearer in-store
signage for easier navigation, and more hands-on technology
experiences through our partners.
Designed with a customer-first approach, our new retail spaces are
all about making technology feel more accessible, comfortable and
connected. Over the next five years, the new design will be rolled out
across our retail stores nationwide.
Strengthening our mobile proposition
Mobile is central to our SPK-30 strategy, and we have a strategic
ambition to extend our market-leading position. During the year, we
retained our #1 mobile service revenue market share and continued
to stabilise overall connections despite ongoing pricing pressure and
increasing competition. We continued to build momentum through
network leadership, product innovation, and a strong programme of
customer experience enhancements.
Launching satellite-to-mobile services
Spark launched its satellite-to-mobile service in April, through a new
partnership with Starlink, extending our mobile coverage to some of
the most remote parts of Aotearoa. Satellite connectivity is included
for customers on eligible consumer, SME and enterprise plans, with
an optional add-on available for other plans.
Customers with satellite-capable devices on eligible plans can use
Spark’s satellite-to-mobile technology to send and receive texts and
use data on selected satellite-ready apps, in areas without standard
Spark network coverage, provided there is line of sight to the sky.
This significantly extends the reach of Spark’s network for customers
who live, work or travel in remote areas.
In the first three months since launch, over 146,000 Spark customers
have used our satellite-to-mobile service.
New and improved roaming experience
Spark developed a new mobile roaming experience during the year,
which better reflects our customers’ needs, with increased data
allowances and value.
New daily roaming allows Spark pay monthly customers to use their
existing plan allowances of data, texts, and calls in over 100 destinations
around the world, for just $10 a day. Two new roaming packs were also
launched to provide data only, and data and talk options for longer
trips. The new experience launched at the start of FY27, in early July.
Spark’s Westfield St Lukes store was the first in the country to feature our
new layout.
Spark launched its satellite-to-mobile service in April.
146,000
Spark customers have used our satellite-to-mobile service in the first three
months since launch

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2623
SKI1496 | BRAND 3.0 | OOH
SKI1496 OOH BRAND 3.0
ANYTHING TO
KEEP PRICES LOW
& CUSTOMERS
HAPPY
SKI1496-Brand3.0-JCD-2080x848.pdf
More value for Skinny customers
Skinny, our low-cost mobile brand, introduced long-term prepaid
plans during the year.
Customers who purchase these 52-week plans receive further value
by saving 15% on their annual mobile bills. The plans are offered at
two price points, which customers can select based on their calling,
texting and data needs. Around 6% of all Skinny mobile customers
are now on these long-term plans.
During the year, Skinny also formed a partnership with Woolworths
New Zealand’s Everyday Rewards Loyalty Programme, enabling
eligible customers to earn loyalty points when they purchase Skinny
SIMs or top-up in participating Woolworths stores. Skinny further
expanded its distribution through a partnership with The Warehouse
Group, introducing Skinny SIMs and top-ups across The Warehouse’s
nationwide retail network.
These partnerships significantly extend Skinny’s reach and will
support prepaid customer connection growth and strengthen
retention in the competitive pre-paid market segment.
Connecting New Zealand businesses
Connectivity is a critical enabler of productivity, resilience and service
delivery across New Zealand’s economy.
Spark supports businesses and government organisations with
connectivity and digital solutions that help them operate reliably,
manage complexity, and respond to changing economic and
operational conditions.
New Zealand’s first Kids Plan
During FY26 Spark launched New Zealand’s first mobile
plan designed specifically for kids and parents.
Spark’s Kids Plan puts parents in control, with built-in
protections – including no promotional marketing texts
or emails from Spark, no surprise charges thanks to
restrictions on buying extras or replying to premium
short code texts, and incremental data limits. The plan
starts with 1GB, which is enough for practical use like bus
tracking or Find My iPhone, but not endless scrolling.
Parents can then allocate a further 1GB when, and if, they
choose to.
The plan offers families a thoughtful way to introduce
mobile phones with clear boundaries, offering a solution
that empowers parents to make choices that fit their
family’s needs.
As part of the launch, Spark also partnered with The
Parenting Place to create an online ‘Parent Hub’ with
valuable insights and resources, expert guidance, and
evidence-based tools from child psychologist Dr Emma
Woodward and Netsafe (New Zealand’s online safety
organisation) so parents can feel confident, not
overwhelmed, as they support their children’s digital
journeys.
Skinny launched a new AI brand ambassador campaign in FY26.
Spark Kids plan is New Zealand’s first mobile plan designed
specifically for kids and parents.

For running header don't delete
24Our customers
1. CCL was Spark’s cloud services business.
Supporting small-medium businesses to
lift productivity
Over 110,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand
are supported through our network of locally owned Spark
business hubs.
In FY26, Spark launched a partnership with SME leadership training
experts, Icehouse, to deliver free workshops across seven locations
nationwide. Designed to help SMEs lift productivity, the partnership
brings together Spark’s technology expertise and Icehouse’s deep
experience in business growth.
The programme was designed around the realities of SME owners,
who are time-poor and often juggling competing priorities.
Participants learn how small changes in leadership habits can
materially lift productivity, supported by simple digital workflows, and
a risk –and accuracy checklist for safe AI adoption and implementation
within their businesses. They also gain free access to the Spark AI
Foundations course upon completion of the workshop to continue
improving their AI literacy for better workplace productivity.
Since launch, more than 400 people have completed the programme.
Port Nelson deploys private 5G network with Spark
and Ericsson
A key gateway to the South Island, Port Nelson underpins New
Zealand’s economy, handling a diverse range of exports and imports.
Port Nelson’s warehousing operations rely on employees scanning
every pallet moved to maintain accurate inventory and safe, efficient
logistics. However, the physical layout of the warehouses, including
dense, block stacked storage, moving vehicles and large structures,
meant traditional Wi Fi could not provide consistent coverage across
the site. Employees regularly lost connection while working, forcing
them to stop, move to find a signal, or change how they operated
simply to complete routine tasks. This disrupted workflows, reduced
productivity, and limited the Port’s ability to modernise its operations.
By deploying Spark’s 5G+, a private 5G network in partnership with
Ericsson, Port Nelson can access reliable, secure connectivity that
enables uninterrupted real-time scanning, improves operational
efficiency, and strengthens safety communications. This provides a
foundation for future automation and digital innovation – helping
unlock productivity gains not only for Port Nelson, but the wider
regional economy.
Simplifying our digital services for better customer
outcomes
During FY26, we continued to support business customers to
migrate from legacy IT products onto modern alternatives, such as
ServiceFlex – Spark’s flexible IT service management platform that
simplifies how organisations manage their technology. By combining
digital channels with automation and performance insights,
ServiceFlex helps customers reduce operational complexity, improve
efficiency, and deliver better experiences for their own users.
In cloud, we completed the integration of our cloud businesses into
Spark. Since FY24, we have been simplifying our cloud operations by
bringing CCL
1
and Spark systems and products together into a single
platform, creating a simpler, more consistent experience for
customers, while reducing complexity across our operations.
We continued to support organisations to move from on premise
and private cloud environments to more flexible public and hybrid
solutions. This shift is helping customers scale faster, improve
performance, strengthen resilience and manage costs more
effectively. We also strengthened our public cloud offering through
strong partnerships with hyperscalers, including our global partner,
Microsoft, providing customers with access to leading technologies
and global innovation.
Interest in our data and AI consulting services continued to grow, as
organisations increasingly explore how AI can create value. We
launched new AI-focused advisory and project accelerator services to
help customers unlock more value from their data, accelerate
adoption and realise business outcomes more quickly.
We also expanded our partnerships with HPE and Infosys to support
the delivery of selected technology services. These partnerships
enhance our ability to deliver efficient, high-quality services while
giving customers access to global expertise, additional capability,
and leading-edge technologies.
Spark has deployed 5G+ at Port Nelson to provide a foundation for
future digital innovation.
110,000
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand are supported
through our network of locally owned Spark business hubs.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2625
Keeping our customers safe online
Spark puts cyber security, customer safety, and privacy at the
forefront of everything we do. Creating a resilient, trusted network is
key to supporting our strategic ‘better network’ and ‘better customer
experience’ ambitions.
We invest in the security of our networks, ensure our people undergo
regular training, provide our customers with tools and education, and
regularly update our policies and frameworks, so that we can keep
our customers safe on our network. Spark also has a dedicated
team of over 100 cyber security experts working around the clock to
identify and disrupt online threats, including scams targeting
New Zealanders.
Protecting customers and strengthening trust
Spark plays an important role in protecting our customers from the
growing list of threats they face online – including scams, cyber
security risks, and objectionable material.
In the past 12 months alone, we have blocked more than half a
billion
1
online threats across our network, including more than
1.2 million scam calls, over 11.3 million attempts to access malicious
websites, and over 300,000 scam text messages through our SMS
firewall. This work is critical to maintaining the trust of our customers
and the strength of our brand. However, the work we do to keep our
customers safe is largely invisible. This was the genesis behind our
new brand campaign and scam education programme in FY26 –
which brought to life the significant work we do to intercept scams
targeting our customers.
Alongside a new advertising campaign, we launched an online Safety
and Security Hub to support our customers, providing up to date
scam information, practical tips and support resources. We continue
to work with Netsafe and a range of industry and government
organisations, including the New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance, to
share intelligence, disrupt scam activity, and improve safeguards for
New Zealanders.
More information about Spark’s approach to online safety
and cyber security: spark.co.nz/protecting-our-customers
Cyber security
Spark is a trusted advisor to many New Zealand businesses on cyber
security, and we work alongside cyber security agencies and partners
to monitor and respond to threats.
Our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has responsibility for
Spark’s cyber security. We have a large cyber security team and
established processes that ensure appropriate ownership, oversight,
and ongoing risk management is applied to our customers’ and
Spark’s IT systems and data.
Recognising the critical role our people play in defending against
potential cyber security threats, all our team members are required to
undertake regular cyber security training.
Verified calling
Spark launched a New Zealand-first feature called Verified Call,
designed to help customers quickly see when a call is genuinely
from Spark.
It comes at a time when impersonation scams are on the rise, with
scammers often pretending to be from trusted organisations like
Spark to trick people for the purpose of gaining access to personal
information.
When Verified Call is activated in the MySpark app, our customers
will see Spark’s name, logo, a verified badge and the reason for the
call on their screen before they pick up, giving them confidence the
call is genuinely from Spark.
Spark intends to provide Verified Call as a service to business
customers in FY27.
Privacy
We are committed to keeping customers’ personal information safe
and managing it in ways that align with their expectations. We do this
through a strong governance approach, including data ethics and
privacy frameworks; and by adhering to relevant laws, including the
Privacy Act 2020, the Telecommunications Information Privacy Code
2020 and the Biometrics Processing Privacy Code 2025.
Spark’s Privacy Officer leads our privacy programme, providing
frameworks and training to support our people to follow our Privacy
Policy and Privacy Values. The Privacy and Online Safety section on
our website contains a range of tools and services to help our
customers manage their privacy and security.
As part of our privacy breach process, we assess incidents for severity
and any external notification requirements. When required, breaches
are reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC).
In FY26 our people reported 167 data breaches for investigation,
and we received 10 substantiated privacy complaints from
customers. There were no substantiated complaints received through
the OPC. More details on our approach to ethics, legal compliance
and employee training can be found on page 53.
More information about Spark’s approach
to privacy: spark.co.nz/privacy
1. A subset of this number includes an annual projection of a data measured over a
three-month period. With ever-increasing numbers of online threats, it is likely that
this number is much higher.
Visit the Safety and Security hub: spark.co.nz/safetyandsecurity
Our new brand campaign highlights the role that Spark plays in keeping
our customers safe on our network.

26Our network and technology
Our network and technology
Our network and technology underpin value creation for our shareholders, enabling the products
and services that connect our customers and New Zealand. We make significant investments into
our network every year to improve coverage, capacity, and resilience. Our customers rely on us to
keep them connected in as many places as possible. Creating a better network is a key ambition of
our SPK-30 strategy.
Our network
and technology

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2627
1. Spark’s network connects 99% of the population across New Zealand, in areas
where people work and live. Population coverage is calculated by measuring
the percentage of address points that fall within the predicted coverage area
generated by Spark’s propagation model.
Reliable and trusted network
A reliable and trusted network underpins our ability to support
customers, businesses, and communities across New Zealand.
We invest significantly in our mobile and fixed networks to deliver
consistent performance, while strengthening resilience and
capability to meet future demand. This focus is central to maintaining
customer trust and long-term value creation.
Connectivity that’s there when our customers need it
Our customers rely on us to keep them connected in as many places
as possible.
In FY26, we reaffirmed our network leadership, ranking first for
overall mobile network coverage experience and 5G coverage
experience, while maintaining a top spot in reliability and availability
in the latest New Zealand Mobile Network Experience Report,
released by Opensignal (October 2025).
The independent report measures real-world mobile performance
across Spark, One NZ, and 2degrees, with Spark outperforming
competitors in overall mobile coverage and 5G reach. The results
highlight Spark’s continued investment in building a network that
now connects 99% of the population across New Zealand.
1
Uplifting network resilience
Reliable connectivity is critical during emergencies, when customers,
communities, and emergency services depend on
telecommunications networks for essential communications. Natural
disasters can place significant strain on network infrastructure, most
commonly through loss of power or disruption to backhaul
connections linking cell sites to the core network.
To manage these risks, Spark invests in a layered approach to
resilience. Most cell sites are equipped with battery back up and
generator capability. In FY26, we were awarded a contract by
National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFF), in partnership
with Connexa to strengthen the resilience of our mobile network by
upgrading battery back up at 295 cell towers across Aotearoa. These
upgrades will take place in FY27 and extend back-up power to up to
24 hours, which will enable over a million Spark customers to have
access to mobile data, text and calls during prolonged outages and
support up to a total of 1.7 million addresses in key regions such as
Northland, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and Nelson to call 111, regardless
of their telco provider, when mobile services are disrupted.
295
Cell towers across New Zealand will be upgraded with battery back
up in FY27 to strengthen the resilience of our mobile network.
99%
Spark’s network now connects 99% of the population
across New Zealand.
2
We also maintain satellite-connected emergency small cells that can
be rapidly deployed when fibre backhaul is compromised. We
launched satellite-to-mobile services through Starlink to provide an
additional connectivity option during disruptions. This service is
available to customers on specific plans, however, in the event of a
natural disaster we open the service up to all Spark customers. In
April, as Cyclone Vaianu impacted parts of the North Island,
Marlborough, and the Chatham Islands, Spark made satellite texting
available to all Spark customers across these areas as a precaution,
so they could stay connected if mobile coverage was disrupted.
In parallel, we are rolling out AI-enhanced network monitoring to
detect power loss, manage energy use, and automatically prioritise
essential services, such as, calls and texts, to maintain critical
communications in an emergency. We also work closely with industry
peers, government agencies, and other infrastructure providers
through the Telecommunications Forum (TCF) to support
coordinated preparedness and response during major incidents.
Spectrum
Spark holds a comprehensive portfolio of spectrum rights in
New Zealand, providing flexibility to meet future network demand
and deploy new technologies. In FY24, Spark was allocated long
term rights to 80 MHz of 3.5 GHz (C band) spectrum, which
underpins the delivery of high speed 4G and 5G services nationwide.
In FY25 we signed a long-term partnership agreement
with Māori Spectrum and Telecommunications service,
Tū Ātea, to secure the rights to use 20MHz of Tū Ātea’s
C-band spectrum. This spectrum will be deployed across
all of Spark’s C-band 5G cell sites nationwide for an
agreed period of 18 years, enhancing speeds and
capacity for customers on Spark’s 5G network.

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28Our network and technology
New value from advanced technologies
Real-time fraud protection through network APIs
Spark continues to build its network Application Programming
Interfaces (API) strategy through global partnerships and working
with industry.
APIs enable different apps and services to connect and share
information with each other automatically and securely, making
digital experiences faster and more seamless for businesses and their
customers.
During the year, we signed an agreement with global API platform
Aduna and explored other partnerships to support Spark’s initial
focus on scam and fraud prevention APIs. At the same time, we are
also working with our industry peers to make it easier for
organisations to connect and use these services across networks.
Within this work, we are focused on creating a trusted network layer
that will support real-time identity checks to help prevent fraud.
These capabilities will enable simple but important use cases. For
example, when a customer makes an online payment, a provider can
check in real time that the mobile number is still linked to that
customer and has not been taken over, such as through a SIM swap.
If something looks wrong, the payment can be paused or stopped.
This helps prevent fraud without relying only on SMS one-time
passwords.
Spark is working with organisations in areas such as banking,
payments, and digital platforms to build these capabilities into
everyday services. The goal is to improve security, while making
things simpler for end users. The service is expected to be available
to customers in FY27.
While Spark invests significantly to expand coverage and
capacity, there is a finite amount of capacity available at each
site. To help manage these high demand moments more
effectively, Spark has introduced 5G+.
5G+ is underpinned by network slicing (a capability of 5G
Standalone), which allows a mobile network to be divided into
dedicated segments for specific uses. Like creating priority lanes
on a busy motorway, network slicing enables certain users or
applications to access reserved network capacity during peak
periods, rather than competing with all other nearby devices.
Spark demonstrated this capability at the music festival
Synthony, held at Auckland Domain, broadcasting live
performances to YouTube over a dedicated 5G+ network. This
showed how 5G+ can support high-quality, real-time video
streaming in high congestion environments, reducing reliance
on fixed infrastructure, such as fibre, at event locations.
Looking ahead, 5G+ has applications beyond live events. It can
support smoother video calls, streaming, and online gaming for
households during peak periods, and enable businesses to
prioritise critical systems, such as security or payment processing.
Spark plans to launch 5G+ more broadly in FY27.
Bringing 5G+ to New Zealand
Demand on mobile networks increases sharply when large
crowds gather in one place. In these situations, thousands of
devices attempt to connect to the same nearby mobile site at
the same time, creating congestion as they compete for limited
network capacity.
Spark successfully broadcast a live Synthony performance
from Auckland Domain to YouTube using 5G+.
Leveraging AI to improve our network and technology
During FY26 we further embedded AI across our network and
technology operations.
In our network, we are working with our global partner, Nokia, to
enhance our operations, leveraging their advanced automation and
AI capabilities. This includes a proof-of-concept trial using AI to test
automatically adjusting energy use at a small number of cell sites in
line with demand.
We are also using AI to simplify how we design and deliver
technology. Behind every customer interaction whether online, in
store, or through a call centre, sits a complex set of systems that need
to work together seamlessly. Traditionally, assessing how a new idea
or change might affect them has been a time-consuming and highly
specialised task.
In FY26, we deployed ALICE (AI Logic and Insights for Channels
Evolution), an AI assistant embedded in Microsoft Copilot and Teams
that helps teams navigate this complexity in a simple, accessible way. It
allows teams to describe a new initiative in plain language and quickly
understand how it would impact Spark’s systems, highlighting risks,
identifying issues, and suggesting better ways to approach the design.
By transforming what was previously a time-intensive process into an
on-demand, workflow, ALICE enables faster, more consistent
decision-making. This means faster and better designed technology
solutions, and a more reliable experience for our customers.
During the year, we also introduced ‘Vibe-e’, a collaboration with our
global partner, Infosys, that uses AI for coding, and automates software
testing so that we can launch new products to our customers faster.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2629
Migrating customers off legacy technology
onto future-proof alternatives
As technology evolves, retiring legacy infrastructure is essential to
maintaining network performance, resilience, and efficiency.
Spark is actively migrating customers from older technologies to
modern, future-ready alternatives that better support current and
emerging connectivity needs. This transition enables continued
investment in our 4G, 5G and fibre networks, while reducing
complexity and operating risk.
Completing our 3G network shut down
Spark completed its nationwide shut down of the 3G network at the
end of March, marking the closure of all 3G networks in New Zealand.
The shut down follows years of preparation to ensure customers
could move to faster, more reliable 4G and 5G technologies.
During this time, we upgraded all 3G-only cell towers to 4G or 5G,
and added over 120 new towers. Spark also undertook an extensive,
multi-channel approach to contacting customers who may be
impacted, from emails, texts, letters, pre-call announcements and bill
inserts. A dedicated 3G support team was set up, which handled
more than 17,000 calls, helping customers understand what they
needed to do to stay connected. Spark sent more than four million
notifications to customers to help them get prepared, and more than
150,000 Spark customers used the free SMS or online device checker.
In addition, we invested in an industry-wide mass awareness
campaign and partnered with Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa
(DECA) to provide on the ground community support for at-risk and
digitally excluded communities with targeted outreach.
As an additional precautionary measure to keep customers safe,
prior to the shut down, Spark also proactively blocked around 300
individual mobile phones that were able to make standard calls, texts
and use data over 4G, but could not make emergency 111 calls on
the 4G network due to manufacturer-imposed limitations.
Shutting down 3G has reduced Spark’s network costs, and enabled
spectrum to be freed up for use by our modern 4G and 5G networks.
This improves network capacity, coverage and efficiency for Spark,
and supports faster speeds, improved reliability and expanded
coverage for our customers.
Retiring the Public Switched Telephone Network
The Spark-operated Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is
the legacy copper-based network that has traditionally carried
landline phone services. Built in the 1980s, it is now rapidly reaching
the end of its life.
The majority of New Zealanders have already made the switch to
fibre or wireless proactively. In 2017 we had over a million customer
lines on the PSTN, and by the end of FY26 only 13,000 remain. As
customers move off the PSTN, we are able to decommission legacy
PSTN equipment. To date, we have decommissioned almost 85% of
our PSTN switches, which has resulted in a significant decrease in our
power usage and carbon emissions. Retiring legacy infrastructure
supports a simpler, more resilient network and lowers long-term
operating risk.
Completing the sale of our data centres
In January, we completed the sale of a 75% interest in our data
centre business to Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), creating a new
stand-alone company, TenPeaks Data Centres.
The New Zealand data centre market is expected to grow to
~300MW by 2030, driven by accelerating AI adoption, increasing
data sovereignty requirements necessitating local storage solutions,
and surging enterprise public cloud adoption.
TenPeaks is well positioned to meet this demand through its
Auckland development pipeline, with land and resource consents,
and site preparation and development progressing for its three
large-scale campuses during the year. TenPeaks also continued
investing in regional infrastructure, including upgrades and
expansion projects in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton
completed in FY26.
Sustainability remains central to TenPeaks’ growth strategy, and
its facilities are designed for high energy efficiency and minimal
water use.
All mobile networks providers in New Zealand
are shutting down their 3G networks. Spark
and Skinny’s 3G network ends 31 March 2026.
Let’s check your mobile phone can connect to 4G.
Phones that can’t connect to 4G won’t be able to:
• Send and receive text messages
• Make and receive calls, and contact
111 in an emergency
• Use mobile internet
Let’s check you can
stay connected
Check your phone today.
It’s free - send a text message
to 550 with the message ‘3G’
If you’re a Spark or Skinny
customer and need help,
call us on 0800 3G EXIT
(0800 343 948)
For more information, visit
spark.co.nz/3g-shutdown
Spark invested in a national ad campaign to ensure customers were
prepared for the 3G shut down.

Our environment
Sustainability is a key enabler of our SPK-30 strategy. The natural resources we rely on are not
just essential to our operations, they’re essential to delivering long-term success. By using
natural resources responsibly and efficiently, and supporting our customers to do the same,
we strengthen the sustainability of our business model, drive operational excellence, and
deliver lasting value for all of New Zealand.
30Our environment
Our environment
Spark subsidiary, Adroit, worked with the Far North District Council and Dryad Networks, to deploy an early wildfire
detection system at the Waitangi Endowment Forest and adjoining Waitangi Mountain Bike Park, establishing New
Zealand’s first fully connected ‘smart forest’.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2631
Commitment to responsible environmental
management
Spark’s approach to environmental management is integrated into
our overarching ESG governance. See page 65.
Our Environmental Policy states our commitment and expectations
for our people to consider environmental impacts when making
decisions at work.
Environmental reporting
In addition to the high-level summary of our approach to
environmental management in this section, we also publish more
detailed environmental disclosures across accompanying reports.
Our Climate-related Disclosures Report includes detailed reporting
on the impacts of climate change on Spark’s operations. This includes
our climate-related risks, climate scenario analysis, and reporting our
greenhouse gas emissions against our science-based emissions
reduction target.
Our detailed GRI Index and ESG performance data can be found in
our ESG Data Pack, which includes environmental performance data,
including climate, energy, and waste.
Spark’s Environmental policy, ESG Data Pack and Climate-related
Disclosures Report are here: spark.co.nz/governance
1. This means Spark is committed to pursuing this target and we are working towards it. For clarity, this is not a guarantee that we will meet this target.
Reduction pathway
required to meet
FY30 target
FY26FY25FY24FY23FY22FY21FY20
Mobile combustion
- fleet vehicles
Fugitive emissions   
Fixed network
Mobile network
Corporate/Retail
Natural gas
Stationary combustion
- diesel generators
GHG emissions (tCO
2
e)
Baseline
year
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
Performance against our climate
commitments
We provide detailed reporting on our performance against climate
metrics and targets in our Climate-related Disclosures Report, which
includes our FY26 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory and tracks our
year-on-year emissions performance.
Our key target is our science-based emissions reduction target,
which has received verification by the Science Based Targets initiative
(SBTi). This target includes a commitment
1
to reduce our scope 1 and
2 emissions by 56% by FY30 against a FY20 baseline year, alongside
a scope 3 emissions target that 70% of our suppliers (by spend) have
science-aligned targets in place by the end of 2026.
By the conclusion of FY26, that target was achieved with 71% of our
spend with suppliers that have targets, up from 61% in FY25 (see
page 38 of our Climate-related Disclosures Report for more details).
Performance against our emissions reduction target
(scope 1 and 2)
Emissions reduction does not track in a straight-line trajectory and
often occurs in step changes tied to specific initiatives. FY26 included
a significant boundary change in our reported emissions following
the divestment of our data centre operations to TenPeaks. Our FY20
base year and historical scope 1 and 2 figures have been restated to
reflect this new boundary.
We saw a significant reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions in FY26,
both against our previous year and against our FY20 baseline.
Year-on-year emissions reduced 57%, and are now tracking 59%
below our FY20 base year, ahead of our FY30 target of a 56%
reduction.
Scope 1 emissions dropped 7.8% year-on-year, mainly due to a 20%
(255 tCO
2
e) decrease in fleet emissions. This was partially offset by a
45% (215 tCO
2
e) increase in fugitive emissions, driven by more
reactive refrigerant top-ups.
Scope 2 emissions reduced 66% year-on-year. These emissions,
related to electricity use which powers our networks and
infrastructure, remains our largest overall source of emissions related
to our direct operations, at 69% of our total scope 1 and 2 emissions.
These emissions are influenced by several factors, including the
national grid emissions factor, which decreased 42.4% in the past
year. This follows the winter energy crisis experienced in FY25, when
reduced hydroelectric generation drove increased reliance on
coal-fired generation to meet demand. In FY26, hydro generation
recovered, reducing the need for coal and gas generation and
easing pressure on the grid emissions factor.
We were also able to reduce our reported scope 2 emissions
through our ten-year renewable energy partnership with Genesis
Energy, by linking emissions from electricity consumption to new
renewable generation.
The partnership matches Spark’s energy consumption via Renewable
Energy Certificates with new renewable energy generated by the
Lauriston solar farm. FY26 was the first reporting period Lauriston
was generating for the entire 12 months, enabling Spark to reduce
reported market-based scope 2 electricity emissions by 2,270 tCO
2
e.

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32Our environment
Electricity consumption
FY26FY25FY24FY23FY22FY21FY20
69.62
113.47
66.05
77.95
108.83
124
99.16
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
GWh consumed
tCO
2
e/GWh
Fixed network
Mobile network
Corporate/Retail
Residual Supply Factor  
In the past year we have seen a decrease in electricity consumption
linked to our scope 2 emissions. Our electricity consumption is down
18% from 122GWh to 100 GWh. This decrease is largely due to the
acceleration of our long-standing programme of network
simplification, including the decommissioning of legacy equipment,
such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), which has
driven year-on-year reductions in electricity use across our fixed
network. These savings offset growth in other areas, such as our
mobile network, which is increasing its energy use as we expand
coverage of our 5G network.
Reducing electronic waste
Electronic waste is an important issue for Spark due to the potential
volume generated by our operations and the end-of-life impact of
customer equipment. That’s why we are focused on circularity and
minimising environmental harm from improper disposal.
We recycle end-of-life network equipment, with materials separated
and processed by local recycling partners. Some components are
sent overseas for recycling, reselling, or reusing. In FY26 we
recovered 285 tonnes of electronic waste via our e-waste recycling
partner, up from 207 tonnes in FY25. We also recover scrap metal
and other material from network equipment. In FY26 we recovered
354 tonnes of scrap metal, a slight decrease from 364 tonnes in
FY25. Across both categories this represents a 12% increase in
materials collection and recovery from FY25.
In FY26 Spark received 29,475 mobile devices for recycling and
trade-in, up from 20,828 in FY25. Trade-ins are increasingly popular
with our customers, allowing them to unlock value from their older
devices, while supporting reuse through refurbishment and resale.
Devices that can’t be redeployed are stripped for essential materials,
which are reused in new products.
Engaging our people behind our
sustainability commitment
Sustainability is a core enabler of Spark’s SPK-30 strategy and
underpins how we create long-term value for New Zealand. Our
sustainability framework recognises that meeting our environmental
ambitions depends not only on clear goals and governance, but on
the active participation of our people. By engaging our workforce,
we embed sustainability into everyday decision-making and
operational practice.
In FY26, this focus translated into action through two employee
planting days at our satellite communications site in Warkworth.
Together, we planted and nurtured more than 2,000 native trees and
flax, including mānuka, harakeke and kahikatea. These species play
an important role in reducing silt runoff into the surrounding river,
estuary and harbour, improving water quality and creating safer
habitats for native eels and fish. Initiatives like this demonstrate how
empowering our people to contribute directly to environmental
outcomes supports delivery of our sustainability ambitions and the
long-term objectives of SPK-30.
Over 100 Spark people participated in planting days held at our satellite
communications site in Warkworth.
>
100
More than 100 of our people worked alongside the
Department of Conservation, Ngāti Manuhiri, and
Auckland Council to help restore local biodiversity,
reflecting our commitment to partnership and our Māori
strategy, Te Korowai Tupu.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2633
Remuera Exchange: Smarter
infrastructure, lower impact
At our Remuera Exchange, we are demonstrating how
targeted upgrades, and real-time data can significantly
improve energy efficiency and environmental performance
across our network.
As a pilot site for modernising critical infrastructure, Remuera
brings together solar generation, smarter design, and
advanced IoT monitoring to reduce energy consumption,
while improving operational insight.
New solar panels provided through Spark subsidiary, Entelar
Group, are already delivering tangible benefits, supplying up
to one-third of the site’s daily energy needs during peak
summer periods. This reduces reliance on grid electricity and
lowers the overall emissions associated with our operations.
We have also reconfigured the transmission environment to
improve efficiency. By separating active equipment zones
from surrounding space, we have reduced the footprint
requiring cooling, resulting in a meaningful reduction in
power demand.
To support ongoing optimisation, the site is now equipped with
multiple real-time monitoring systems that provide detailed
visibility of energy use and temperature conditions. These
include Packet Power sensors and Spark’s IoT Bridge platform,
enabling performance data to be captured at frequent intervals
and supporting more responsive decision-making.
Looking ahead, we are expanding IoT capability at the site,
including the integration of a rooftop weather station to track
environmental factors, such as solar irradiance, temperature
and wind conditions. Over time, these datastreams will be
brought together through our Asset IQ platform, creating a
single view of operational and environmental performance.
Remuera serves as a proof of concept for how we can
modernise exchanges using data, smart design and existing
infrastructure. The insights gained are informing how we
scale similar improvements across our network, multiplying
both energy savings and operational efficiency over time.
Harnessing the power of technology to
improve environmental outcomes
Spark subsidiary, Adroit
1
, worked with the Far North District Council
and Germany-based Dryad Networks, to deploy an early wildfire
detection system at the Waitangi Endowment Forest and adjoining
Waitangi Mountain Bike Park, establishing New Zealand’s first fully
connected ‘smart forest’.
Northland’s climate has shifted dramatically in the past decade.
Longer dry spells, elevated temperatures, and more frequent
high-wind events have increased the region’s vulnerability to
fast-moving fire. Recent peat and scrub fires have burned for weeks,
emitted enormous volumes of carbon, and stretched limited
firefighting resources.
Traditional detection methods only identify fires once they are visible
above the canopy, when a fire may already be burning at a size and
intensity that demands a full emergency response.
Adroit’s system uses a network of 250 solar powered sensors
connected via Spark’s IoT network to detect early indicators of fire,
including changes in air quality associated with smouldering,
enabling faster response in the critical early minutes when a small
crew can extinguish a potential wildfire quickly and safely.
By strengthening preparedness and helping protect native biodiversity
and valuable ecosystems, along with safeguarding one of New
Zealand’s cultural landmarks, the project demonstrates how connected
technology can enhance resilience to climate-driven hazards.
A fire-detection, solar-powered IoT sensor at Waitangi Endowment Forest.
Spark’s Autonomous Network Lead, Ulrich Frerk demonstrates a
Packet Power sensor which enables real-time power monitoring
at the Remuera Exchange.
1. Adroit is a Spark-owned technology business that specialises in real-time
environmental IoT monitoring and intelligence.

Our communities
Earning the trust of our communities and stakeholders is critical to maintaining our licence to
operate and the long-term health of our brand and our business, which supports value
creation for our shareholders. We work alongside New Zealand communities to harness the
power of technology to create a positive digital future for all. Our products and services help
our communities to stay connected and enable the provision of community services.
34Our communities
Our communities

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2635
Championing digital equity
At Spark, our commitment to digital equity starts with our purpose
– to help all of New Zealand win big in a digital world.
Digital equity starts with having access to devices and a connection
to the internet, but it doesn’t stop there. To close the digital divide,
our communities need the skills to use technology, trust in the digital
world, and the motivation to participate.
Every year, Spark commits a significant amount of funding, alongside
internal resources, to achieve our digital equity ambitions and
contribute to our communities.
Improving access and affordability through
Skinny Jump
Skinny Jump is Spark’s not-for-profit wireless broadband service for
people who find cost a barrier to having an internet connection at
home. The service is entirely prepaid, so there are no long-term
contracts or credit checks needed. Customers are provided with
35GB of data for just $5, with the first 15GB of data each month free
and the ability to purchase up to six top-ups a month.
Jump is delivered by a team of Spark people, alongside a community
partner network, which is overseen by the Digital Inclusion Alliance
Aotearoa (DIAA) and includes over 300 local organisations
nationwide. There are now over 34,913 households across the
country who are actively using Skinny Jump. For wireless broadband,
an active connection is defined as a customer having used their
modems in the last 30 days. However, Skinny Jump customers are
more likely to have infrequent internet use as they have to reprioritise
their monthly spending when budgets are tight. This is why for Jump,
we also measure customers who have used their modem in the last
90 days, and in FY26 this totalled 38,222 households.
Tōnui Collab is supported by Spark Foundation and offers digital skills
training in marae-based wānanga settings.
Tōnui Collab creates opportunities for kōhine (year 6 – year 9) to come
together to develop confidence with a range of technologies.
In FY26, Skinny Jump continued its key partnerships, including the
Ciena Jump for Students Fund, which gives eligible students free
Skinny Jump connections until the end of the school year. There are
now 1,243 students using the Ciena Jump for Students Fund.
Skinny Jump also continued to support the ‘Awhi Matihiko: Red
Cross Digital Settlement Package’ – a collaboration with New Zealand
Red Cross, Internet NZ, and Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa that
gives new refugees free Skinny Jump connections (for 12 months),
laptops, and digital skills training.
In FY26, the commercial value of the data provided to households in
need through Skinny Jump, totalled over $9.1 million. Skinny Jump
has been designed to operate on a not-for-profit basis – with the
revenue generated covering the costs of the free modems,
community partner network, product development, and customer
care and education.
As we look ahead, FY27 will mark 10 years since Skinny Jump was
first introduced, a milestone that reflects a decade of partnership,
innovation, and commitment to improving digital equity outcomes
for whānau across Aotearoa.

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36Our communities
Ciena Jump for Students Fund gives students free Skinny Jump
connections for the school year.
Spark Foundation
Spark Foundation leads Spark’s work in the community.
The Foundation has a single-minded focus on digital
equity, and its vision is that no New Zealander is left
behind in a digital world.  It has focused its strategy on
the areas it can make the biggest difference – digital
access, digital skills and pathways, and digital wellbeing.
We provide funding, advocacy and other resources
across these three strategic focus areas, with
prioritisation to rangatahi Māori and other youth who
are disproportionally impacted by inequity. In FY26,
more than 50% of funding was allocated towards
initiatives that support Kaupapa Māori-based initiatives.
In FY26, Spark Foundation donated $1.6 million towards
funding digital equity-focused community projects.
Funding is allocated through a strategic partnership
approach, with most partners funded for a minimum of
two years. Spark Foundation also funds one-off grants
and advocacy projects that deliver better digital equity
outcomes.
During the year, the Foundation continued to invest in
eight multi-year partnerships and established two new
partnerships with Netsafe and the South Auckland
Creative & Tech Hub (SACTH). Netsafe is a long-
standing Spark partner, with a shared focus on
advancing online safety and wellbeing, while SACTH is
an initiative supporting rangatahi (youth) through
creative and technology pathways.
More information about Spark Foundation:
spark.co.nz/spark-foundation
Skinny Jump Mobile
Alongside our core broadband service, in FY26 we
piloted a targeted Jump Mobile programme, with
support from our partner Nokia. This programme has
been designed to support communities experiencing
digital exclusion that cannot be solved through home
broadband due to lack of a fixed address.
The pilot provided sponsored devices and subsidised
mobile access through trusted community partners,
including Auckland City Mission, Eastern Refuge Society,
Te Tahi Youth, Te Whare Hīnātore, Women’s Refuge
Palmerston North, and New Zealand Red Cross
(Wellington and Masterton) – targeting groups including
rangatahi at risk, people experiencing housing instability,
and those affected by family violence.
Stay in touch.
Here’s your new phone and
Skinny Jump mobile plan.
Mobile in partnership with
Skinny Jump mobile is designed to support communities
experiencing digital exclusion that cannot be solved through
home broadband.
3 4 ,913
Households across the country actively using Skinny Jump.
1, 243
Students using the Ciena Jump for Students Fund.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2637
Tūrama Pathways
Tūrama is a pathways programme, in collaboration
with Spark, designed to create career opportunities in
technology for young people who are interested in
entering or advancing in this field, with a focus on
groups that have traditionally been under-
represented in the industry such as Māori, Pasifika and
women.
The programme has a holistic approach, developed
to ensure that participants receive a well-rounded and
meaningful learning experience that enables them to
successfully transition into the workforce.
During FY26, Tūrama Pathways held two cohorts of
internships in partnership with Waikato Tainui and
GirlBoss. Since the inaugural cohort, 12 graduates
have secured longer term employment opportunities
at Spark.
Connecting our people to our communities
Spark encourages our people to give back to the community
through our Spark Give programme, which matches employee
charitable donations (up to a total pool of $250,000 per annual year)
and Spark Volunteer programme, which provides all Spark people
with one day leave a year to commit to volunteering.
You can find more information on these programmes and
participation levels in our ESG Data Pack.
Spark’s ESG Data Pack is available here:
spark.co.nz/governance
Partnering with GirlBoss NZ to expand
Tūrama Pathways
In March, Spark partnered with GirlBoss NZ to select 11
exceptional young women as part of a Tūrama Pathways
internship cohort.
With women making up just 27–29% of Aotearoa’s digital
IT workforce, this partnership enables Tūrama Pathways to
reach GirlBoss NZ’s community of more than 17,500
young women across Aotearoa to explore careers in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) and entrepreneurship.
In addition to work experience, the programme also
brought together senior Spark leaders as mentors to
guide and support the interns over the eight-week
internship.
Tūrama Pathways creates career opportunities in technology for
young people, with a focus on groups that have traditionally been
under-represented in the industry.
In FY26, Tūrama Pathways partnered with GirlBoss on an
internship programme at Spark.

Our people
Our people are essential to our business, and our culture is an important enabler of our
SPK-30 strategy. We are focused on creating a high-performance culture that offers our
people leading-edge learning and development and the opportunity to grow their careers
in an inclusive environment.
38Our people
Our people

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2639
People engagement
We measure engagement twice a year to understand how our
people experience Spark, where we are making progress, and where
we need to focus our efforts. We use a globally recognised
engagement measure that covers pride in working at Spark, whether
our people would recommend Spark as a great place to work, and
their level of motivation and likelihood of staying with us in the near
future. Feedback from these surveys is shared openly across the
business and our teams are encouraged to have conversations about
what is working well and what could be improved. These insights
help leaders and teams strengthen performance, inclusion and the
overall employee experience.
At the end of FY26 our people engagement score was 61%, which
is up from 50% a year ago.
Our survey also showed strong responses on key measures, with
89% of our people saying they can clearly see how their work
contributes to better outcomes for our customers, and 81% knowing
how their work contributes to the goals of Spark. Feedback on
wellbeing and inclusion-related topics were also strong, with 88%
agreeing that their leader cares about their wellbeing, 82% saying
they bring their authentic self to work, and 87% feeling like they are
a part of a team. These results reflect our continued investment in
Engaging our people behind our SPK-30 strategy
Our people play a vital role in delivering Spark’s strategy and
driving the performance of the business. In FY26, we focused
on helping our people clearly understand where Spark is
heading and how their work contributes to our success.
We launched our five-year strategy, SPK-30, in a way that brought
people together, rebuilt confidence, and provided a clear sense
of direction at a time of significant change. Our leaders spent
time discussing the strategy openly at an all-company strategy
launch event, with follow-up sessions held in the weeks that
followed to reorient our teams to our new ambitions.
We deliberately invested in ensuring that employees in
frontline, retail, and offshore roles had the same access to
information as office-based teams. This approach strengthened
alignment, lifted engagement, and reinforced the message that
Spark’s long-term success depends on our people being
informed, motivated, and focused on delivering better
outcomes for our customers.
61%
Our people engagement score is up from 50% a year ago.
We brought our people together at Auckland’s Spark Arena to launch our SPK-30 strategy.
leadership capability, inclusion and creating an environment where
people can contribute, grow and perform at their best.
A key focus during FY26 was strengthening the connection between
our strategy, culture and the everyday experience of working at
Spark. 74% of employees reported understanding how SPK-30
applies to their role, while 79% understood Spark’s new ways of
working standards.
While engagement improved significantly during FY26, future
confidence, career development opportunities, and leadership
capability remain areas of focus. These priorities will continue to
shape our work in FY27 as we build a culture that supports high
performance, adaptability and the successful delivery of SPK-30.

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40Our people
Upskilling our people and
communities through Te Awe
In FY26, our skilling centre Te Awe continued to build
workforce capability by upskilling our people.
We continued to offer programmes through our partners,
such as Microsoft AI training for CoPilot and Github, as
well as Microsoft Cloud. In the past year, 574 of our
people have been through one of these programmes.
Alongside upskilling our people, Te Awe is helping equip
New Zealanders of all ages with the critical digital skills
needed to participate in a digital workforce.
Building on the Generative AI Foundations micro-
credential launched last year in partnership with Open
Polytechnic and Te Pūkenga, in FY26 we launched a Level 5
micro-credential, Artificial Intelligence for Business
Leaders, to support leaders to integrate Generative AI into
their business strategies and drive productivity. It can be
completed online in 10 weeks with approximately five
hours per week, with intakes each month, making it ideal
for personal or professional development. Over 1,000
New Zealanders have completed certifications across the
two micro-credentials so far.
During the year, we also ran an AI for Kids Workshop,
where over 190 children of Spark employees completed
their AI Explorer licenses, marking their completion of an
immersive AI learning experience at Spark, and teaching
them how to explore the world of AI safely.
Through Te Awe, we also launched ‘Immerse’, a
programme that provides opportunities for our team
members who work in roles that aren’t customer-facing to
spend time with real customers – helping to drive better
understanding and more innovative solutions that are
focused on customer needs.
Investing in learning and development
Continuous learning is central to how we develop our people at
Spark. We focus on building capability and adaptability, so our
people understand customer needs, bring diverse perspectives,
respond quickly to change, and sustain high performance as our
business evolves.
In FY26, we continued to invest in building future-ready skills across
our business, complementing the learning opportunities available
through Te Awe, our internal skills hub. This included focused
development in areas critical to Spark’s success, including Artificial
Intelligence, customer-centricity, leadership and inclusion, helping
our people strengthen the capabilities needed to respond to
changing customer expectations, emerging technologies and
evolving business needs.
Supporting an AI-capable workforce
As AI becomes more embedded across our operations, we are
equipping our people with the skills to use it effectively.
Our people have access to a range of AI tools, including third-party
office productivity products such as Microsoft CoPilot, Spark-specific
applications to support with information retrieval and summarisation,
and AI assistants that are curated to specific roles, such as our contact
centre call-summarisation platform, Bravety, or coding and testing
tool, Vibe-e.
Our people must complete an AI learning module as part of their
mandatory training which ensures our people know how to use these
tools safely and ethically in line with Spark’s AI principles and policies.
Cultivating adaptive leaders to build
high-performing teams
We continued to invest in targeted development experiences,
coaching and expert-led learning, while embedding Spark’s
Leadership Standards across our Senior Leadership team. This has
created greater clarity around the behaviours and capabilities
required to lead successfully at Spark. Together, these investments
strengthen our ability to build high-performing teams and deliver our
strategic priorities.
During the year we launched Mobilise, an inclusive leadership
programme designed to strengthen leaders’ ability to build
high-performing teams through inclusive leadership practices. The
programme focuses on building leaders’ confidence, capability and
allyship skills, helping them create environments where diverse
perspectives are valued, people can contribute fully, and teams can
achieve stronger performance outcomes.
As we look to FY27, our focus will be on further strengthening
leadership capability and future-ready skills, including the next phase
of our adaptive leadership approach, ensuring our people and
leaders are equipped to navigate complexity, accelerate
performance and deliver on Spark’s SPK-30 ambitions.
Over 190 kids of Spark employees attended our AI for Kids
holiday workshops.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2641
Te Korowai Tupu
Our Māori strategy, Te Korowai Tupu, guides Spark’s
cultural capability in te ao Māori and strengthens how
we engage with our people, our customers and the
communities we serve, particularly iwi.
During FY26 we continued to embed te ao Māori
principles across our business to strengthen cultural
integrity and deepen relationships with mana whenua.
We developed a kaupapa Māori playbook for our
strategic global partners to support culturally grounded
ways of working and introduced all new Spark employees
to Te Korowai Tupu as part of their induction experience.
We also designed tikanga Māori recruitment resources
to support more inclusive attraction and hiring practices
and established a workforce management framework in
partnership with Tū Ātea to support sustainable Māori
talent pathways.
We continued to embed an understanding of Māori data
sovereignty amongst our people, through Te Kāpehu
Whetū – an internal resource that supports our people to
navigate the considerations of Māori for tino
rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and mana motuhake
(self-determination) in an increasingly data-driven world.
Across the year, we celebrated Waitangi Day, Matariki,
and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori at Spark, encouraging
engagement with kaupapa Māori and building our
people’s confidence and capability in te reo Māori.
As part of Te Korowai Tupu, we continue to foster positive
relationships with iwi, and in FY26 we established a new
partnership with Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to plan the future of
our network communications site at Musick Point in
Auckland’s Bucklands Beach. We also partnered with
local iwi Ngāti Manuhiri in Warkworth on a project to
restore biodiversity at Spark’s satellite station in the area.
Mobilise is designed to build leaders’ confidence, capability and
allyship skills so they can create more inclusive teams and
workplaces. As part of our inclusion strategy, the programme equips
leaders to champion inclusion in everyday decisions and behaviours,
helping make belonging a lived experience across Spark. This
programme will continue through FY27.
We continue to report on our diversity performance annually and
have targets to improve across our business which remain important
indicators of progress.
We also take the time to celebrate the things that make our teams
unique through our ‘Blue Heart’ programme. In FY26, we celebrated
many cultural events that are important to our people, such as
Matariki, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Eid, and Pasifika language weeks.
Read our Diversity and Inclusion Policy:
spark.co.nz/diversity-policy
Health, safety, and wellbeing
Spark’s health and safety management system is focused on
continuous improvement and covers all Spark employees and
contractors working at Spark sites.
During FY26 no Spark employee or contractor suffered serious injury
or death whilst at work. Our TRIFR (Total Recordable Incident
Frequency Rate) decreased to 2.35 per million hours worked, with
strong partnering support for early injury management through
Howden Care and Habit Health. No notifiable events were reported
under current New Zealand health and safety legislation.
Our people’s wellbeing is a priority at Spark and is supported
through our Mahi Tahi programme. The four pillars of the Mahi Tahi
framework are closely aligned with Te Whare Tapa Wha (the four
cornerstones of Māori health) – healthy work environment;
connection, collaboration, and community; mind health; and energy.
Our online Wellbeing Hub includes opportunities for our people to
book sessions with Spark-certified Mahi Tahi coaches (who are
trained and supervised by psychologists and act as first-line support
to our people) or one of our psychologists, who we have partnered
with directly to provide specialist care to people in critical need.
We also continued our partnership with Clearhead – a wellbeing app
that provides access to a range of online tools and resources, as well
as specialised care with psychologists and counsellors.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to our business strategy,
empowering us to better serve our broad and varied customer base
throughout New Zealand.
In FY26, we strengthened our approach to inclusion launching the
Belonging Index as our primary measure and launching Mobilise, an
inclusive leadership programme.
The Belonging Index developed out of work Spark pioneered with
Champions for Change and was introduced this year as Spark’s
primary measure of inclusion, providing a clear view of whether our
people feel valued, respected, safe and able to contribute fully at
work. Our initial target was for this to reach 80% which we met in our
May employee survey – this means 80% of people agree with
statements relating to their feeling of belonging at Spark.
Spark team members celebrating Diwali at Spark City in Auckland.

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42Our people
Our diversity and inclusion performance
Over the past year we continued our focus on improving female representation to support our 40:40:20 representation target Spark-wide, which
refers to 40% men, 40% women, and 20% of any gender.
1
In FY26, female representation across Spark increased to 37%, up from 35% in FY25.
As at 30 June 2026, our Leadership Team had a 37.5% female and 62.5% male split and our Board had a 50% female and 50% male split, with
four female directors and four male directors.
In addition to the tables below, we also publish a stand-alone ESG Data Pack containing detailed employee reporting, including employees by
contract type, benefits available to employees by contract type, and parental leave return rates.
Spark’s ESG Data Pack is available here:
spark.co.nz/governance
Gender composition by role as at 30 June 2026 (with headcounts)
There are 30 people who have not provided/prefer not to disclose their gender.
Gender
2

Number of people Female % Male % Female # Male # Gender diverse
DirectorsFY26: 850%50%44
FY25: 1-7%7%43
Leadership Team
3
FY26: 837.5%62.5%35
FY25: -2-13%13%55
Other leadership
roles
4
FY26: 4840%60%1929
FY25: -14-6%6%2834
Permanent startersFY26: 31241%59%129183
FY25: -85-6%6%189208
Permanent leaversFY26: 91467%33%611299
FY25: -57538%-38%4371,050
Total
5
FY26: 3,42337%63%1,2442,135 7
FY25: -6262%-2%1,4052,576 10
Age distribution by role (with headcounts)
Age
Number
of people
Under
30 years old
30 – 50
years old
Over
50 years old
Directors80%12.5%87.5%
1No change-2%2%
Leadership Team
3
80%50%50%
-2No changeNo changeNo change
Other leadership
roles
4
480%58%42%
-14No changeNo changeNo change
Permanent starters31233.5%56.5%10%
-85-5%2%3%
Permanent leavers9149%41%50%
-5755%-26.5%21.5%
Total
5
3,42313%59%28%
-626-2%-1%3%
1. The “20” in the 40:40:20 ratio refers to the
remaining portion of a group or team that can
be filled by any gender including male, female,
non-binary, and other gender identities,
allowing for further diversity and inclusion
beyond the 40/40 split.
2. For the purposes of complying with NZX
Listing Rule 3.8.1(c) no directors or members
of the Leadership Team self-identify as gender
diverse.
3. Includes the CEO who is also included as a
Director in the line above. The Leadership
Team is considered ‘senior managers’ for the
purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act
2013, ’senior executives’ for the purposes of
the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s
Principles and Recommendations and ‘officers’
for the purposes of NZX Listing Rule 3.8.1(c).
4. Substantive roles that report directly to
members of the Leadership Team.
5. Includes non-executive directors and
employees who have not provided/prefer not
to disclose gender. Spark’s employee
headcount, including our CEO, is reported as
3,416.

Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2643
Reducing our gender pay gap
For several years Spark has focused on reducing its overall gender pay gap and made significant progress since 2020. We are pleased to see
further progress has been made with our median pay gap falling from 23% in FY25 to 21% as at 1 July 2026 (down from 28% in FY22). This
progress reflects our focus on partnerships, pathways and practices to improve female representation and progression across the business.
We continue to target ongoing reductions in our pay gap and these targets were incorporated into our long-term incentive schemes in
FY23-FY25 covering the period to 30 June 2027 with a target of 16%.
CategoryNumber of employees
in category
Gender gap:
mean
1
Gender gap:
median
2
Leadership: FY26: 56 (34 Male, 22 Female)FY26: -1%FY26: 8%
CEO, Leadership Team and substantive roles that
report directly to members of the Leadership Team
FY25: 72 (39 Male, 33 Female)FY25: 4%FY25: 18%
Technology: FY26: 1,543 (1,179 Male, 364 Female)FY26: 8%FY26: 11%
employees who work in technology-focused areas
of the business
FY25: 2,001 (1,552 Male, 449 Female)FY25: 10%FY25: 14%
Customer Channels: FY26: 732 (363 Male, 369 Female)FY26: 3%FY26: 0%
people primarily employed within our contact
centres and retail operations
FY25: 791 (394 Male, 397 Female)FY25: 3%FY25: 0%
Rest of Spark: FY26: 1,048 (559 Male, 489 Female)FY26: 17%FY26: 19%
including corporate, product, marketing, and
customer units
FY25: 1,117 (591 Male, 526 Female)FY25: 18%FY25: 18%
Total
3
FY26: 13%FY26: 23%
FY25: 11%FY25: 23%
1. Pay gap = (mean male salary - mean female salary)/mean male salary
2. Pay Ratio = (median male salary - median female salary)/median male salary
Calculated using hourly On Target Earnings or Total Base Remuneration plus Short-Term Incentive Target values as at 30 June 2026.
3. Gender diverse individuals and those who have not provided or prefer not to disclose their gender were excluded from the analysis.
Focusing on improving ethnic representation
In FY26, we continued to focus on attracting, retaining, and progressing employment of a diverse range of people across our organisation.
79% of our people have shared their ethnicities, with 165 unique ethnicities identified. This diversity contributes strongly to our workplace culture.
In FY26, Māori and Pasifika represented ~8% of our workforce. This has remained unchanged from the previous year. Improving Māori and
Pasifika representation continues to be a priority as we seek to better reflect New Zealand’s changing demographics and the diversity of our
customers.

0102030405060708090100
Rest of Spark
Other
leadership
roles
Leadership
Team
Board
Total
NZ European/
European
New Zealander
Asian
Pasifika
Middle East,
Latin America
and Africa
Māori
Other
Percentages based on permanent and fixed-term employees at Spark; employees as of 30 June 2026 who had provided ethnicity data (n=2,715). NZ European/European
includes all European ethnicities (e.g. British, German, and Australian European). Previously we have grouped ‘New Zealander’ into this category – but as this could refer to
anyone who self identifies as a New Zealander. We have chosen to include New Zealander as a separate category this year. Spark collects information on main and other
ethnicity where an individual identifies with more than one ethnicity. Consistent with the Champions for Change methodology, where an individual reports more than one
ethnicity, these are represented equally (e.g. two ethnicities represented as 0.5 each).

For running header don't deleteRemuneration Report
Kia ora,
On behalf of the Board and the Human Resources
and Compensation Committee (HRCC), I am
pleased to present Spark’s Remuneration Report
for the year ended 30 June 2026.
Spark and its subsidiaries directly employ more than 3,400 people
across New Zealand, spanning corporate offices, retail stores,
network operations and technical environments. In addition to this
we have several hundred people who work within our partner
organisations, both in New Zealand and in global teams, as well as
other contractors and people employed by our Spark Business Hubs.
Our approach to remuneration is designed to remain competitive in
a dynamic talent market, while ensuring affordability and long term
sustainability. We offer a comprehensive employment package that
combines a competitive base salary with a highly valued range of
benefits for our people.
For a defined group of senior leaders and employees with enterprise
wide accountability, variable remuneration forms a key component.
The Short Term Incentive (STI) Scheme in FY26 continued to evolve
with a clear focus and weight on financial outcomes that benefit our
shareholders. We introduced a free cash flow target alongside
EBITDAI, and in line with SPK-30, mobile service revenue growth was
included as a key strategic priority, alongside our focus on better
network and customer experiences.
Remuneration Report
Our Long Term Incentive (LTI) Scheme remains focused on rewarding
the delivery of sustained shareholder value, with the use of both
relative and absolute total shareholder return measures as core
performance hurdles. Following a detailed review of these schemes
for FY26 targets and measures, the Committee has kept similar
measures in place for FY27.
The HRCC continues to maintain a deliberate focus on governance,
transparency, and alignment to shareholder outcomes.
Remuneration frameworks are regularly assessed against external
market benchmarks and internal performance outcomes to ensure
they remain fit for purpose and support Spark’s strategic direction.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all our Spark people for their
hard work in executing the first year of our SPK-30 strategy. I look
forward to FY27 as we continue to create a strong culture of
high-performance and delivery.
Ngā mihi nui,
David Havercroft
Chair of the HRCC
A note from
David Havercroft
Chair of the HRCC
Remuneration Report44

FY26 Short-Term Incentive Scheme outcomes
For FY26, substantively all STI participants shared the same Spark
Group targets, comprising of EBITDAI, free cash flow, mobile service
revenue, customer experience, and network leadership measures. The
on-target percentages are provided in the table below. Where the
result of a performance metric falls below a specified threshold, there
is no payment for that proportion of the STI. Performance at threshold
is paid at 50%, on target performance at 100% and achieving stretch
targets can scale the payout up to 200% – performance in between
these levels is calculated on a straightline basis.
The FY26 Group performance outcome, as approved by the Board,
is summarised in the table below with a 90.5% outcome for STI
payments.
Performance
metric%TargetOutcome
%
Outcome
Group
EBITDAI
30% $1,047m $1,035m21.0%
Free cash flow20%$310m$308m19.0%
Strategic
growth in
mobile service
revenue
30%$996m$998m35.5%
Customer
experience
– Consumer
and SME
iNPS
10% +42 (iNPS) +4210.0%
Network
Leadership
(Open Signal
coverage
positioning
– at 30 June
2026)
10%#1 outright
coverage nationally
Achieved

5.0%
#1 outright
reliability
nationally
Not
achieved
– Joint #1
Joint #1 reliability
Auckland
Achieved
Total
payment
100%90.5%
FY27 Short-Term Incentive Scheme target
The mechanics of the FY27 STI will be the same as those for FY26.
Group results will be the main determinate of the STI pool, with
substantively all participants sharing the same Group measures. The
FY27 group measures will be a combination of EBITDAI, free cash
flow, mobile service revenue, customer experience, and network
leadership measures.
MeasureWeighting
Core financial metrics (EBITDAI and free cash flow)50%
Strategic growth in mobile service revenue30%
Customer experience and network leadership20%
Remuneration at Spark
Spark remunerates our people with salaries in line with the market,
alongside consideration of performance, scope, skills, and
experience, to recruit and retain the best talent.
We have an annual salary review process for all eligible permanent
employees. For most employees this is based on our Contribution
Model, which considers employee development in their ‘craft’, as well
as the application of people skills, customer focus, and commercial
acumen. The aim is to ensure progression is transparent, with a
five-step career ladder from beginner to expert and clearly defined
competencies to progress against. Salary ranges for steps are
transparent for our people and benchmarked against the New
Zealand market.
Fixed remuneration
All Spark employee packages include a fixed remuneration
component that is set based on contribution, experience, and market
relativities. Fixed remuneration consists of base salary.
KiwiSaver sits outside fixed remuneration and as such, employees
with KiwiSaver receive employer contributions on top of base salary
and incentives. A number of Spark-funded benefits, including
medical and life insurances, are also available to eligible employees
on top of fixed remuneration.
Short-term incentive schemes
Spark operates a small number of short-term incentive schemes,
from monthly and quarterly commission and sales incentive plans to
annual cash-based short-term incentives. Some employees in specific
sales positions may have a component of their remuneration subject
to individual or divisional sales performance targets, such that their
total remuneration potential is directly linked to the acquisition and
retention of profitable business for Spark.
For senior leaders, including the Leadership Team, a component of
their remuneration packages are at risk in the form of the
discretionary annual cash-based Short-Term Incentive (STI). Spark’s
STI scheme rewards senior leaders for the achievement of annual
performance objectives, with payments awarded from a fixed pool
that is set based on overall Spark performance against financial and/
or non-financial annual performance objectives. The actual payment
to individuals is at the discretion of the Board.
Eligibility to participate in the STI scheme on an annual basis is at the
discretion of the company and is targeted at individuals in senior
roles who play a significant role in driving the overall performance of
Spark. The STI scheme rules contain a clawback provision that allows
Spark to clawback any payments made under the STI scheme. This
provision can be used in the event Spark has relied on incorrect data
or information in calculating the payment, for a period of 12 months
following the payment.
Spark New Zealand Annual Report FY2645

For running header don't delete
Long-term incentive schemes
Spark believes that some senior leaders should have part of their remuneration linked to the long-term performance of the company, so for the
Leadership Team and a select group of senior leaders, a long-term incentive forms part of their remuneration packages. Spark’s Long-Term
Incentive targets focus on total shareholder return, as well as environment and social governance targets (FY23–FY25 only). In FY26, Spark
operated one main scheme: the Spark New Zealand Long-Term Incentive Scheme (LTI).
FY23 Long-Term Incentive Scheme outcome
The Spark Long-Term Incentive Scheme is issued annually with a three-year vesting period. This means the grant vesting in FY26 was issued in
FY23 (September 2022). Only 6.25% of options from the FY23 scheme vested in FY26 as the primary Absolute TSR target, worth 75% of the
performance weighting, alongside greenhouse gas emissions and gender pay gap targets, were not achieved. ESG targets were independently
audited.
Grant
yearSecurities
Performance
periodWeightingPerformance measuresHurdleOutcome
% of options
vested
FY23Options
September 2022
– September 2025
75%Absolute Total Shareholder Return (TSR) hurdle –
Spark's cost of equity +2% compounding
35.4%-41%0%
12.50%Median gender pay gap18%22.70%0%
6.25%Reduction in absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG
emissions against baseline GHG performance
28%2.1%
increase
0%
6.25%Percentage of Suppliers by Spend have
established Supplier SBTs
60%61%6.25%
Total6.25%
FY26 and FY27 long-term incentive schemes
FY26
For FY26, members of the Leadership Team (including the CEO) and
selected senior leaders were granted options under the Spark LTI.
Under the scheme, participants were granted options at the start of
the three-year vesting period. The number of options granted
equalled the gross LTI value divided by the volume weighted
average price of Spark New Zealand shares for the 20 days prior to
the grant date. Subject to satisfaction of each performance hurdle
and continued employment, at vesting in three years’ time the
portion of options associated with each achieved target convert to
Spark shares based on a zero exercise price. Where a target is not
met the associated portion of options simply lapse.
Vesting of the FY26 LTI grant (issued in September 2025) is
contingent on participants’ continued employment with Spark
through to September 2028 and meeting or exceeding set
performance measures. 50% of the allocated shares will vest based
on absolute Total Shareholder Return (aTSR) exceeding cost of equity
+ 1% (compounding annually) over the vesting period. 50% will vest
based on performance relative TSR (rTSR) against NZX20
comparators. TSR is a measure of share price appreciation and
dividends paid over the three-year period of the grant.
MeasureTargetWeighting
Absolute Total
Shareholder
Return (aTSR)
Cost of equity + 1%
compounding
50%
Relative Total
Shareholder
Return (rTSR)
Upper quartile performance
against the NZX20 (excluding
Spark). Threshold for this measure
is median performance against
this group which would vest 25%
50%

FY27
For FY27, members of the Leadership Team, including the CEO, and
selected senior leaders will be granted options under a similar
scheme as FY26, with performance measures relating to TSR
performance hurdles.
Vesting of the FY27 LTI grant (issued in September 2026) is
contingent on participants’ continued employment with Spark
through to September 2029, with vesting depending on meeting or
exceeding set performance measures which are the same as the
FY26 scheme. Fifty percent of the allocated shares will vest based on
absolute Total Shareholder Return (aTSR) exceeding cost of equity +
1% (compounding annually) over the vesting period and 50% will
vest based on performance relative TSR (rTSR) against NZX20
comparators. TSR is a measure of share price appreciation and
dividends paid over the three-year period of the grant.
MeasureTargetWeighting
Absolute Total
Shareholder
Return (aTSR)
Cost of equity + 1%
compounding
50%
Relative Total
Shareholder
Return (rTSR)
Upper quartile performance
against the NZX20 (excluding
Spark)
50%
FY27 transformation delivery incentive
A one-off transformation delivery incentive was established last year
as an equity-based incentive for a select group of individuals within
the business, including our Leadership Team. This one-off medium-
term incentive will vest in September 2027 subject to achieving
partnering and operating model targets related to our transformation
programme in FY27 as well as share price and exit run rate cost
gateways.
1. Our science-based emissions reduction target, which has received verification by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) includes a commitment to reduce our scope 1
and 2 emissions by 56% by FY30 against a FY20 baseline year.
46Remuneration Report