Maxis posts higher normalised profit after tax at RM510m in Q1FY17, div 5c

Maxis chief executive office Morten Lundal said it was a good and steady quarter for Maxis with positive underlying momentum.

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd posted higher  normalised profit after tax of RM510mil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 while service revenue was stable, underpinned by strong  average revenue per user (ARPU).

It reported on Thursday normalised profit after tax rose 5.4% to RM510mil from RM484mil a year ago. Its service revenue was stable at RM2.129bil compared with RM2.122bil a year ago.

In terms of earnings, Maxis reported a decline to RM505mil from RM518mil a year ago. Total revenue rose 0.8% to RM2.157bil from RM2.140bil.

Earnings per share were 6.7 sen compared with 6.9 sen. It declared an interim dividend of five sen a share, similar to a year ago.

Elaborating on the financial results, Maxis said there was sustained postpaid and prepaid momentum in a very price-focused market 

“Postpaid revenue at RM989mil against RM997 million a year ago, with a solid base of nearly 1.8 million MaxisONE customers with high monthly ARPU of RM121. It added 826,000 new MaxisONE subscriptions 

“Prepaid revenue at RM1.005bil against RM1.008bil in Q1 last year with continued good traction on mobile Internet ARPU,” it added.

Maxis said investments for future efficiencies and one-time adjustments impacted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). normalised EBITDA was RM1.118bil as compared to RM1.156bil last year.  Strong Ebitda margin (on service revenue) at 52.5%,” it said.

Maxis said it recorded solid momentum in 4G LTE adoption across its customer base. It now has 5.2 million LTE devices on its network, up from 3.2 million a year ago.

The average 4G LTE usage was now at 6.5GB per month, significantly higher than an average of 2.6GB per month a year ago

The telco said it invested RM162mil in Q1 FY17 and was “guiding for RM1.2bil for 2017”.

Maxis chief executive office Morten Lundal said it was a good and steady quarter for Maxis with positive underlying momentum.  

“Data volume keeps growing and we are matching the demand with a high performing network experience. This is a very important year for us, where we will be going all out digital to create unmatched customer experiences,” Lundal said.

To view Maxis’ Q1 2017 financial results video release, click here: