Maxis records net profit of RM289mil in 4Q, declares 5c div

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd recorded a net profit of RM289mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, a 9.4% decline from RM319mil in the previous corresponding quarter due mainly to heavy investments in its network, enterprise solutions and fibre coverage.

In a statement, the telco said the bottomline was also impacted by the prudent adoption of spectrum life, which resulted in high depreciation and amortisation costs.

The board of directors declared a fourth interim dividend of four sen per share plus a special interim dividend of one sen per share to bring the increased annual dividend to 17 sen per share.

The dividend has an entitlement date of March 15, 2022, and will be paid on March 31, 2022.

For the quarter under review, the group reported 8.27% higher revenue of RM2.45bil compared to RM2.26bil in 2020.

It said service revenue rose 1.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM289mil on the back of the core mobile business, which saw steady growth in postpaid while registering accelerated growth in fibre and wireless broadband.

In the postpaid segment, revenue rose 4.5% y-o-y to RM1.02bil due to the Maxis and Hotlink postpaid subscriber base while average revenue per user (Arpu) dropped slightly to RM79 a month.

Prepaid revenue meanwhile decreased 5.9% y-o-y to RM5.96mil while Arpu eased to RM37 a month.

"Our convergence strategy and great agility in this fast-changing environment enabled us to be resilient, while out people have shown great commitment in supporting the needs of our customers and the community.

"Through our continued investments in Rangkaian Kita and support for Rangkaian Malaysia, we are committed to bringing together best-in-class technologies and our All-Ways Connected network to ensure all individuals, families and businesses in Malaysia are connected more than ever before," said Maxis CEO Gokhan Ogut in a statement.

Over the entire financial year, Maxis posted a net profit of RM1.31bil, 5.35% lower compared to RM1.38bil in the previous year.

Revenue was RM9.2bil, 2.64% higher compared to RM8.97bil in 2020.