KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom Axiata Bhd's net profit rose by 65.3 per cent to RM856 million in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, despite being offset by higher taxes from Cukai Makmur.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 12.4 per cent to RM2.29 billion, underpinned by ongoing cost management that resulted in lower operating expenditure (opex) and higher debt recovery.
The telco company continued its upward momentum as revenue ex-device rose by 3.9 per cent year-to-date (YTD) to RM4.58 billion, driven by prepaid revenue and contributions from new enterprise subsidiaries.
YTD data traffic increased by 73 per cent to 1.778 terabytes (TB) compared to 1.025 TB three years ago, while the average monthly usage per user (ARPU) increased by 75 per cent to 26.2 gigabytes (GB) in Q3 of 2022 compared to 14.9 GB in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.
The data utilisation trend stabilises with a slight increase of 5.1 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
Being in a very competitive market, Celcom's prepaid and postpaid average revenue per user (ARPU) remained stable at RM30 and RM80, respectively.
Chief executive officer Datuk Idham Nawawi said the company's strong performance over the quarters results from its strategic transformation programme that has touched every part of the organisation, from the go-to-market (GTM) to how it plans and runs its network, including how the company manage its cost base.
"We delivered a great financial performance in all key metrics while gaining market share in a very competitive market and a challenging macro environment," he said in a statement.
Over the past three years, Celcom has invested over RM1.8 billion to cater for a significant growth in traffic demand.
Idham added that Celcom's transformation journey has made the organisation much stronger, leaner, and more resilient, and the company entered the merger with Digi with positive momentum.
"We look forward to the merged company to continue delivering quality and affordable services, connecting more Malaysians nationwide," he added.
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