Maxis net profit up 10.1% to RM554 million in Q3, declares 5 sen dividend

PETALING JAYA: Maxis Bhd's net profit increased 10.1% to RM554 million for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2017 versus RM503 million in the previous corresponding period, driven by strong postpaid growth.
It also registered the highest quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) in five years at RM1.2 billion, 5% higher than RM1.14 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue was up 2.8% from RM2.16 billion to RM2.22 billion.

The telco has proposed to declare an interim dividend of 5 sen per share for the quarter under review.
Maxis told Bursa Malaysia that service revenue for Q3 grew 1.6% quarter-on-quarter to RM2.16 billion, mainly underpinned by postpaid growth.
Postpaid service revenue rose 5.7% to RM1.06 billion on the back of the Power of ONE campaigns including innovative roaming, accessories and content propositions which continued to attract high average revenue per user (ARPU) customers.
"The postpaid subscription base now stands at 2.8 million and monthly ARPU remained steady at RM102."
Its prepaid service revenue, however, declined 2.9% to RM955 million, dragged down by the lower subscription base in the current quarter which was impacted by the continued SIM consolidation and intense price-focused competition in the market.
"ARPU remained stable at RM42 per month driven by the high mobile internet usage, whilst ARPU for the Hotlink FAST was at RM43 per month."
Maxis said it has invested RM647 million up to Q3 this year to ensure its customers continue to enjoy the best mobile streaming experience.

Looking ahead, Maxis expects the market competition to remain intense with data quality and pricing becoming the focus for customers and competition.
In the postpaid segment, it will continue to build upon the strong positions of MaxisONE plan and the newly launched convergence solutions MaxisONE Prime.
"In the prepaid segment, we remain focus to offer differentiated propositions that engage high mobile Internet users and enable a high-speed digital lifestyle."
Maxis expects service revenue, absolute ebitda and base capital expenditure for the financial year ending December 31, 2017 to remain at a similar level to financial year 2016.
For the first nine months of the year, Maxis' net profit expanded 8.2% from RM1.51 billion to RM1.63 billion. Revenue came in at RM6.55 billion, 2.3% higher than the RM6.4 billion it made in the same period a year ago.
At 12.30pm, Maxis shares fell 2 sen or 0.35% to RM5.74, with some 149,500 shares changing hands.