Digi Q1 earnings drop 11.5% to RM341.5mil, 4.3 sen dividend declared

Digi is back in the Securities Commission

KUALA LUMPUR: Digi.com Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 came in at RM341.5mil, 11.5% lower than in the previous corresponding quarter on the back of lower revenue.

The board of directors declared a first interim divdend of 4.3 sen a share, which was lower than 4.9 sen declared in the first quarter of last year.

In a statement today, the telco said there was an increase of 50,000 postpaid subscribers to 2.9 million while prepaid subscribers dropped by about 450,000 to 8.4 million. 

This was reflected in the segments' respective revenues whereby postpaid grew 13.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM671mil while the prepaid segment registered a fall of 13.7% over the previous corresponding quarter.

"Despite market competition, we are positioning Digi for long-term growth by improving prepaid sustainability, driving further postpaid growth, investing in our network, and creating digital platforms to add value for customers while executing a disciplined strategy focused on growth, efficiency and digital transformation," said Digi CEO Albern Murty.

In 1QFY19, average revenue per user (ARPU) remained steady in the postpaid segment at RM71 while prepaid ARPU slid RM1 to RM29.

Overall, mobile service usage lost ground in 1QFY18 with revenue slipping 2.8% y-o-y to RM1.44bil while internet revenue climbed 13.3% y-o-y to RM862mil, representing 61.9% of service revenue.

Internet subscribers grew to 80% of Digi's 11.3 million subscriber base. ARPU slipped RM1 to RM39 due to seasonal effect and changes in subscriber mix.

Meanwhile, cost of goods sold dropped 19.1% y-o-y due to seasonally lower device volume in transition to the enhance PF365 programme and reduction in regulated interconnect rate, said Digi.

Opex declined 0.4% y-o-t to RM490mil due to improved efficiencies in sales and marketing and operations and maintenance.

Ebitda moderated 6.7% y-o-y to RM723mil due to shift in prepaid mix and the seasonally lower device volume, while Ebitda margin increased to 48%.

Moving forward, the telco said it is working closely with MCMC and industry partners to explore modes of 5G implementation.

"In the recent #5G Malaysia showcase, we have presented use cases on how 5G technology can enable faster, better responses especially in emergencies that require precision data in real-time, Augmented Reality (AR) applications for future learning purposes and Virtual Reality (VR) gaming or eSports.

"In the coming months, Digi will set up base stations in the test bed at Putrajaya, and is open to partner interested organisations to carry out field trials," it said.