KUALA LUMPUR: HLIB Research has given Maxis Bhd a “hold” call with a target price of RM5.91 based on the announcement of the telco's 1H2017 financial results yesterday.
The research house said today that Maxis' earnings are in line with expectations and that new spectrum amortization is expected to kick in in 2H2017.
In its earnings evaluation briefing today, HLIB Research said that Maxis is the largest telco in terms of revenue market share, "with quality of service as differentiation to drive leadership in data adoption."
The unit of Hong Leong Investment Bank added that Maxis will now focus on service impact as a result of fewer spectrum allocations and the spectrum fee's impact on dividend.
HLIB Research explained that although risks exist on the regulatory, competitive and execution fronts, Maxis' growth catalysts are higher smartphone penetration and LTE coverage which boost data ARPU (average revenue per user) and network infrastructure outsourcing.