TM’s first-half 2013 revenues up 4.8%, driven by UniFi
By Digital News Asia September 2, 2013
- UniFi grew 50.3% with about 577,000 customers activated as at 1H2013; Net services revenue up 12%
- PATAMI at RM427.1mil, hit by unrealised forex loss from strengthening US$ and lower tax incentives
TELEKOM Malaysia Berhad (TM) said revenue for the first half ended June 30, 2013 rose 4.8% to RM5 billion from the RM4.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period last year, driven mainly by data, Internet and multimedia services, particularly its UniFi high-speed broadband offering.
Reported operating profit (Earnings Before Interest and Tax or EBIT) grew by 9.9% in the year to date (YTD) to RM627.8 million in 1H2013, which the company attributed to higher revenue and lower operating cost.
Reported group Profit After Tax And Minority Interest (PATAMI) is at RM427.1 million, impacted by unrealised forex loss on borrowings arising from the strengthening US dollar and lower tax incentives, the company said in a statement.
Normalised group PATAMI, excluding the above grew by 17.7% YTD to RM478.5 million, primarily due to higher revenue, TM said.
[RM1 = US$0.30]
“We recorded healthy growth particularly in Internet and data services, with UniFi being the key driver – growing 50.3% from a year ago to close to 577,000 customers,” said TM group chief executive officer Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa.
“UniFi now covers 1.43 million premises passed on the back of 103 exchanges. This translates to about a 40% take-up rate,” he said.
“I’m pleased to share that as at June 2013, 36% of our total broadband customers are on high speed broadband packages,” he added.
In the first half, TM’s Internet services turned in a revenue of RM1.28 billion, a growth of 12% from RM1.15 billion recorded in 2012, on the back of a 7.1% growth in broadband customer base to 2.15 million in 1H2013 from 2.01 million in the same period last year.
Data revenue increased by 17.2% to RM1.19 billion in the current period from RM1.02 billion in the corresponding period in 2012, driven by new circuit installations and upgrades to higher bandwidth.
TM also reported continued improvement in its capex efficiency, with total capex spend/ revenue ratio improving from 16.3% in 1H2012 to 12.5% this year as a result of higher revenue and lower capex incurred.
Total capex spent for 1H2013 was RM631 million, lower against the corresponding period last year, which stood at RM785 million. Cost as percentage of revenue also improved from 88.3% to 87.7%.
TM said it remains strong in its commitment to grow its enterprise value through improving return on capital, maintaining a stable profitability margin and a positive dividend yield. To demonstrate this and in line with its dividend policy, TM is proposing an interim dividend of 9.8 sen per share or approximately RM350.6 million.
“Moving into the second half of the year, we [will] continue to focus our efforts on delivering innovative product offerings with integrated value propositions that will make our customers’ lives easier at home and beyond,” Zamzamzairani said.
“We aim to deliver a superior customer experience as well as drive operational efficiency and network utilisation in order to maintain the momentum of growth that has already been established. Customer retention and loyalty programmes remain part of our overall strategy,” he added.
TM said it has introduced a number of new offerings to the market including the UniFi Super Upgrade Deal, in addition to ‘value for money packages’ for HyppTV – the HyppTV Mega Pack, HyppTV Sports Pack and the new and enhanced HyppTV Platinum Pack.
The company also expanded the HyppTV’s reach to more homes and viewers nationwide by making it available on Streamyx 4Mbps and 8Mbps, and also made it accessible on multiscreen devices through HyppTV Everywhere.
“Our tagline ‘Primetime, Anytime, Everytime’ now includes ‘Everywhere’,” said Zamzamzairani. “As the fastest growing IPTV service in the market, HyppTV now offers even more premium local and international sports content.”
HyppTV now carries two additional sports channels which televise Barclays Premier League (BPL) matches and other sports content. These channels are now available in HyppTV’s Sports Pack comprising 13 dedicated sports channels.
TM is also the presenting sponsor for the Malaysia Super League, Malaysia Premier League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.
“For our business customers, we launched our latest solution service, Hospitality Entertainment Solution, offering In-Building Broadband Solution (IBS), TM’s IPTV service – HyppTV and a Call Centre Service,” said Zamzamzairani.
“The solution caters specifically for the hospitality industry and buildings with high tenancies that require wired/ wireless Internet access and uninterrupted TV viewing via HyppTV,” he added.
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