Lau Bik Soon
KUCHING: REDtone International Bhd (REDtone) is poised to benefit from multiple tenancy agreements as a third party operator of telco engineering services.
REDtone said engineering services undertaken by the company in East Malaysia include the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) initiated radio access network (RAN) infrastructure Time 3 Phase 3 programme in rural areas of Sarawak.
This is aimed at further providing voice and data connectivity and universal service provision (USP) project such as the wireless villages as well as mobile network engineering services.
REDtone group’s chief executive officer (CEO) Lau Bik Soon said, “For the Time 3 project, it is a win-win working relationship as it provides long-term recurring revenue stream for REDtone.
“Whilst for our telco customers using the infrastructure, this helps to lower their overall capital expenditure (capex) and operating expenditure.
“Majority of the telco engineering services is located in suburban and the more rural areas in both Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak,” he told The Borneo Post in a e-mail interview recently.
Lau explained that the company is implementing the Time 3 and USP project to help narrow the digital divide between the urban and rural areas in Sarawak.
Additionally, he observed that REDtone has a healthy order book and other mid to long-term projects where the revenue will be recognised in the upcoming quarters.
On another note, Lau noted that REDtone is preparing to roll out the Internet of Things (IoT) services this year.
“We are very excited with the upcoming launch of IoT services.
“In a nutshell, we will provide ‘Sensing-as-a-Service’ that will help potential customers to derive meaningful insights on important assets such as buildings, machineries, parking lots and others.
“The launch is slated for the third quarter of this year,” he revealed.
Lau shared that REDtone will also continue to bid for USP projects as and when the opportunities arises.
Meanwhile, he observed that REDtone’s telco engineering services encompasses designing, building, operating and maintaining telco engineering infrastructure.
The company added that the services also include large project management, network design, implementation and roll out, system integration, radio network planning and optimisation, civil material engineering work and so on.
Financially, Lau noted the company had recorded three consecutive years of profit since financial year 2012 (FY12).
For the nine months ended February 2015, he said REDtone generated RM118.49 million in revenue and recorded a pre-tax profit of RM14.28 million. Going forward, Lau believed that the company will be able to maintain its good earnings momentum.
“We are looking at another profitable year for FY15. Our aim is to strengthen profit and ensure there’s sustainable growth moving forward.
“We expect data and broadband services to continue as the group’s main revenue driver.”