Maxis Q2 net profit at RM478mil, dividend 5 sen a share

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd posted net profit of RM478mil while revenue was at RM2.246bil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.

The telco had on Wednesday declared an interim dividend of five sen a share.

Maxis said for the first half, its earnings were RM1bil compared with RM1.074bil in the previous corresponding period. Revenue was RM4.483bil compared with RM4.71bil.

However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, service revenue was up 1.7% due to strong postpaid growth momentum. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was stable with margin at 50.0%.

Maxis said service revenue grew by 1.7% to RM2.013bil from RM1.980bil in Q1, underpinned by strong growth momentum in postpaid as it focused on family-centric plans.

“Normalised Ebitda is at RM1bil, slightly lower from RM1.02bil last quarter due to realised forex losses and higher marketing expenses. Ebitda margin (on service revenue) at a stable 50.0%.

Commenting on the postpaid revenue, it said there was on-quarter 2.4% growth to RM1bil from RM985mil in the last quarter, “maintaining our strong leadership in this segment with a stable ARPU of RM94”. 

“The steady growth of our subscription base stemmed from growth in shared lines as we continue to innovate to create value within family mobile plans. Our flagship MaxisONE Plan continued to attract customers with innovative device offerings, adding 67,000 new subscribers in Q2.

“Continued strong growth in home fibre, with 5.4% revenue increase in Q2. Despite overall softening of the market, intense price competition, SIM consolidation and migration to postpaid, Prepaid revenue stabilised with a 0.6% growth to RM854mil on-quarter, with a slowing decline in subscriber base. 

“These were attributed to well-executed marketing initiatives and effective use of data analytics, leading to solid mobile Internet (MI) revenue growth. Prepaid ARPU meanwhile remains stable at RM42 per month,” it said.

Maxis said it maintained its network leadership, with the fastest 4G LTE network in the country covering 92% of the population. 

It continued to invest significantly in its network and in the just-ended quarter, it invested RM212mil in capital expenditure, an increase of RM105mil in Q1.

“Our customers’ blended data consumption saw an 18.7% jump to 9GB per month from just a quarter ago. This was also supported by the increase in smartphone penetration which stood at 83%,” it said. 

Maxis chief executive officer Robert Nason said: “Our strong commitment and ambition to provide innovative, quality products and experiences have delivered steady results for Q2, 2018. We are happy that we are seeing strong growth in postpaid and good progress in the recovery of our prepaid business. 

“We will continue to focus on operational efficiencies and invest in sustaining a superior network. 

“All in all, we feel upbeat about what’s in store for our customers as we create more quality digital experiences for them.”