KUALA LUMPUR: The slight decline in voice, data and other telecommunication-related services has dragged Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) earnings for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2018.
Net profit decreased 31.8 per cent to RM157.16 million from RM230.43 million recorded in the same quarter last year while revenue eased 3.9 per cent to RM2.85 billion as compared to RM2.96 billion recorded a year ago.
This is despite a higher foreign exchange gain on the Group’s borrowings recorded in the current quarter compared to corresponding quarter of 2017, TM filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.
TM Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said the Group saw challenges across all of its customer clusters in Q1, which affected its performance.
While the Group saw declining numbers on the total fixed broadband customer base due to the drop in the number of pre-unifi (formerly known as Streamyx) customers, it is seeing steady quarterly growth for unifi at 4.5 per cent, Shazalli said.
As at March 31, 2018, unifi achieved 1.18 million customers, while unifi Mobile achieved 10 per cent penetration of TM’s households.
On the corporate side, TM has spent RM327.4 million in capital expenditure (capex) in Q1, representing 11.5 per cent of its revenue, centered mostly on major projects such as High Speed Broadband (HSBB), Sub-Urban Broadband (SUBB) and expansion of LTE footprint.
Of the total spent, 65 per cent was for access, 17 per cent was for core network, and 18 per cent for support systems.
Shazalli said for the rest of 2018, the Group will remain guided by two key strategic thrusts, namely to Accelerate Convergence and Empower Digital via its PERFEXE 10 approach.
“This will enable us to further accelerate broadband connectivity, convergence and digital economy. We will continue with our investment for long-term growth in line with our expansion plans but will also ensure that we fully sweat our existing assets.
“A multitude of exciting initiatives have been planned for this year. So our customers can look forward to more experiences in perfect oneness, only with unifi.
“As we move forward in 2018, our strategy to Accelerate Convergence and Empower Digital remains relevant.
“Guided by our PERFEXE 10 execution plan, we have prioritised Group-wide initiatives to be more focused in delivering results faster in light of the current challenging market landscape,” he said.