Malaysia-based operators Maxis and Axiata have each reported declines in first quarter profit.
Maxis's Q1 net profit dipped 2% year-on-year to 540 million ringgit from higher finance costs.
The carrier said revenue for the quarter had dipped slightly due to a reduction in takings from voice, interconnect and international gateway services.
The company recorded ebitda of 1.09 billion ringgit, up 0.7% from a year ago. Maxis ended the quarter with 12.7 million subscribers.
Non-voice revenue comprised 42.1% of mobile revenue and grew 22% to 857 million ringgit. Maxis’ wireless broadband subscriptions almost doubled to 602,000 from 313,000 a year ago, with revenue from this segment growing to 115 million ringgit from 59 million ringgit a year ago.
Competitor Axiata reported a 40.5% decline in year-on-year net profit for 548.4 million ringgit for Q1, due to a drop in other operating income to 7.5 million ringgit.
The group said in its quarterly report that the apparently large dip in year-on-year profit was due mainly to a one-off gain from share sales at its Indonesian unit in Q1 last year.
Group revenue grew 3% to 3.94 billion ringgit on the back of improved results from its subsidiaries in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, operating costs at its subsidiaries increased 3.5% to 2.2 billion ringgit.
CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin said the appreciating ringgit had resulted in a poorer showing for the company.
Source: Telecomasia.net
