PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s telecommunications (telecoms) sector is expected to see stronger mobile revenue growth over the next two years as operators adopt more disciplined pricing strategies, helping to cushion the earnings impact from Digital Nasional Bhd’s (DNB) losses, according to CIMB Securities Research.
The research house said it now projects industry mobile revenue growth of 2% to 3% in 2026 and 2027, up from its previous forecast of 1%, following what it described as a market repair in the first half of 2026 (1H26).
“We now project slightly rosier mobile revenue growth of 2% to 3% in 2026 to 2027 (up from 1% previously) following the 1H26 market repair,” it noted in a report.
“While not spectacular, this would represent the healthiest mobile revenue growth rate since 2013 (with momentum likely to extend into 2027).”
CIMB Research estimates that every one percentage point uplift in mobile revenue growth from price optimisation would boost CelcomDigi Bhd
’s and Maxis Bhd’s core net profit by approximately 3% to 5%.
It said the stronger revenue outlook would help offset the impact of equity accounting for DNB’s net losses, supporting resilient earnings for Maxis and continued earnings growth for CelcomDigi.
