KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research Sdn Bhd (OSK Research) is positive on the radio access network (RAN) sharing pact between Maxis Bhd (Maxis) and U Mobile, while maintaining a ‘neutral’ call on Maxis with a fair value of RM5.20 per share.
It said Maxis remained neutral, given the anticipated margin dilution from the recent launch of its fibre-to-home service, concerned over slowing revenue growth and negative news in India surrounding its parent company.
“While we are positive on the RAN sharing pact, we maintain our forecast for now pending further clarifications from the management on the earnings impact,” OSK Research said in its research note yesterday.
OSK Research said the agreements by both telcos to share their active networks were a pleasant surprise although not totally unexpected, given the significant cost savings and synergies that could be extracted in the longer term from the pooling network resources in the data era.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research) said the agreement by both companies is expected to result in a ‘win-win’ situation.
HLIB Research said Maxis could enjoy a long-term revenue stream and increase asset utilisation and productivity while U Mobile could avoid capital expenditure at locations with low business viability while able to offer nationwide coverage.
The research house is maintaining a ‘hold’ call on Maxis with a target price of RM5.39 per share.
In the afternoon break, Maxis share rose 10 sen to RM5.35. — Bernama