Telekom Malaysia 2Q pre-tax profit surges to RM241.2 mln
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd saw its pre-tax profit rise to RM241.20 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 against RM195.80 million chalked up in the same quarter last year.
Revenue, however, was down at RM2.98 billion versus RM3.045 billion previously, mainly due to a decrease in revenue from data, voice, other telecommunication and non-telecommunication related services, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
For the cumulative six months, the group's revenue stood at RM5.94 billion, year-to-date (YTD), up 0.7 per cent, from RM5.90 billion registered in the corresponding period last year on the back of higher Internet and ICT revenue contribution.
The group's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for 1H 2017 was RM560.9 million YTD against RM561.0 million recorded in 1H 2016.
Stripping off some non- operational items, in particular unrealised foreign exchange loss on international trade settlement, the normalised EBIT grew 7.2 per cent to RM616.4 million, it added.
Meanwhile, TM's profitafter-tax and non-controlling Interest (PATAMI) stood at RM440.9 million while the group Normalised PATAMI was higher by 18.2 per cent YTD at RM437.8 million, after setting aside non-operational items such as unrealised foreign exchange impact on borrowings and international trade settlements.
“This is a challenging period for the industry where we see flattish growth trends and cost headwinds. Our Internet revenue has seen commendable growth at 8.5 per cent YTD,” said Group chief executive officer Datuk Sri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly in a separate statement.
He added the group continued to expand its broadband footprint, nationwide.
To date, TM has over 2.7 million high-speed broadband ports, nationwide, and its long-term evolution (LTE) coverage has expanded with coverage now at more than 80 per cent in major cities.
“TM currently has 2.36 million broadband customers and today, 88 per cent of our UniFi customers are on packages with speeds of 10Mbps and above, compared with only 68 per cent last year. Our mobility service, webe, continued to have encouraging traction at 5.6 per cent of TM's household penetration as at 1H 2017,” said Mohammed Shazalli.
TM's total capital expenditure for 1H 2017 amounted to RM899.0 million or 15.1 per cent of revenue, as it progressef with investments in high-speed broadband, suburban broadband and mobility.
“As a show of commitment to its shareholders, TM is declaring an interim dividend of 9.4 sen per share or approximately RM353.2 million,” he added. —