MAXIS ALLOTS HIGHER CAPEX OF RM1B
Telco set to tap opportunities in enterprise solutions and converged services
MAXIS Bhd has announced an incremental capital expenditure (capex) of RM1 billion over the next three years to support its new strategy.
The telco yesterday also unveiled a five-year internal service revenue target of more than RM10 billion by 2023, following slower financial results it posted for last year.
In its bid to become a strong converged player in Malaysia, Maxis said it had made significant changes to its strategy and commenced scaling its business to tap opportunities in enterprise solutions and converged services across all segments.
Maxis’ revenue eased to RM9.19 billion in the year ended December 31, 2018 from RM9.41 billion previously, while net profit fell 18 per cent RM1.78 billion.
Services revenue dipped 2.5 per cent to RM8.07 billion from RM8.27 billion, while prepaid revenue declined 11.4 per cent to RM3.4 billion from RM3.84 billion previously, mainly due to SIM consolidation and customers’ migration to postpaid.
The group said the net profit was impacted by one-off costs in the fourth quarter, associated with the launch of a new strategy to become a converged communications and digital services company in both fixed and mobile markets.
Maxis chief executive officer Robert Nason said the telco closed 2018 by maintaining a strong core operating performance and strengthened its competitive position in the market.
“We led the market with new affordable home and business fibre plans and grabbed firstmover advantage through our ‘FibreNation’ campaign. We are the only operator in Malaysia capable of offering a full combination of both fixed and mobile technologies for consumers and enterprises.”
Nason said the one-off costs were necessary investments in the interest of its customers and for long-term growth strategy.
“Overall, we are happy with our results and the substantial progress we have made during the year,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Maxis chief operating officer Gokhan Ogut expected competition to remain intense.
“We are responding well to rapid changes in the market and customer behaviours. We want to continue leading the market, competing effectively in our core mobile business and expanding into converged offerings and the enterprise segment.”
Ogut said the foundation of its growth continued to be its differentiated 4G LTE network.
Maxis had amplified its leadership among all networks in Malaysia in terms of speed, performance and experience, he added.
For the fourth quarter, Maxis’ net profit dropped 51 per cent to RM266 million from RM541 million a year ago.
Revenue edged up slightly by three per cent to RM2.45 billion from RM2.38 billion previously.