FILE PHOTO: Axiata Group's deputy group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Izzaddin Idris and its president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim at the media briefing in February.
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd
, which operates telecommunications businesses in several Asian countries, said most of its operating companies (OpCos) have seen revenue recovering to pre-pandemic levels in June after a weak start in the second quarter (Q2).
But despite the rebound, the group in a statement said it expects to record "a low" single-digit percentage decline in revenue, as well as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in 2020.
The company said net profit in the three months ended June 30 declined to RM80mil compared with RM220mil a year ago.
Revenue fell to RM5.8bil from RM6.15bil previously.
However, Ebitda rose 3.2% to RM2.6bil in Q2 due to lower advertisement and promotion expenses and one-off staff restructuring cost in Q1, among others.
The group has declared an interim dividend of two sen a share, compared with a payout of five sen a share made a year ago.
“The full impact of Covid-19 was felt heavily in Q2, especially in April when movement restrictions were in full throttle across our markets," president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said in the statement on Thursday.
However, the gradual easing of movement controls in most markets contributed to the recovery. "By June, most OpCos had largely recovered to pre-lockdown revenue levels," Jamaludin said.
The group said that the pandemic had resulted in an estimated RM400mil revenue loss during the first half of the year.
This was mainly from distribution shutdowns and outlet closures during the stringent movement control order period that prevented subscribers from accessing prepaid reloads, as well as the provision of free data and bonus recharge.
"Efforts were focused on ensuring connectivity for frontliners as well as other protection and prevention initiatives, including contributions to national disaster recovery efforts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal," Axiata said.
Concessions were also made by OpCos to provide flexibilities in payment to cater to subscribers impacted by the pandemic.
“Against this backdrop, we are encouraged that our cash position remains strong, and we continue to be ahead of our RM5bil cost-optimisation target by one year, as evidenced from the Ebitda margin improvement,” Jamaludin said.
As of June, Axiata's cash in hand stood at RM5.9bil. Free cash flow grew 4.3% year-to-date to RM2.5bil mainly due to a 3.8% cut in capex, while operating free cash flow jumped 17.2% to RM1.2bil arising from lower capex and tax.
The group's liquidity position was reinforced this month with the issuance of a dual-tranche offering comprising a 10-year US$500mil sukuk and 30-year US$1bil euro medium-term notes.
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