Maxis posts strong second quarter, records revenue and profit growth

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KUCHING: Maxis Bhd (Maxis) recorded a solid second quarter of 2017 (2Q17) by posing a 14.2 per cent growth in normalised profit after tax (PAT) to RM484 million from RM424 million in 2Q16, driven by higher earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and lower property, plant and equipment related charges.

“2Q was a quarter of so many positives. We delivered strong financials with an all-time high customer satisfaction score to top them off.

“Our priority is to continue to deliver a great network experience and create an unmatched customer experience across all channels.

“This will only get better with our ambitions for a full digitalisation and we are on track towards this,” said Maxis chief executive officer Morten Lundal, in a press statement.

Maxis noted that its service revenue was up 3.3 per cent to RM2,122 million against RM2,055 million a year ago, supported by sustained postpaid and prepaid performance amidst intense competition

Its postpaid revenue grew two per cent to RM998 million from RM978 million a year ago, with a solid base of nearly 1.9 million MaxisONE customers with monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) of RM120.

As for its prepaid segment, it reported a revenue growth of 2.9 per cent to RM984 million from RM956 million in 2Q last year.

It added that its prepaid 4G Hotlink FAST saw a high ARPU of RM44, and has more than 1.8 million subscriptions which has almost tripled from last year

It reported that its normalised EBITDA grew 9.3 per cent to RM1,104 million from RM1,010 million a year ago reflecting the steady revenue growth and excellent cost control. Its EBITDA margin (on service revenue) was also strong at 52 per cent.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, Maxis’ service revenue grew 1.8 per cent to RM4,251 million against RM4,177 million a year ago while its normalised EBITDA grew 2.6 per cent to RM2,227 million from RM2,171 million, and its normalised PAT up 9.5 per cent to RM998 million from RM911 million.

Looking ahead, Maxis said, it is looking at intensifying its efforts in giving unmatched customer experience.

“More and more Malaysians are enjoying a superfast data experience on our industry leading 4G LTE network which has now reached 89 per cent of the population.

Malaysians love the Internet, proven now more than ever as LTE data consumption nearly doubled to 7.0GB from 3.7GB per month in 2Q last year.

“We ended the quarter with 5.6 million 4G LTE users, up from 3.5 million a year ago,” it said.

It also highlighted that high quality Internet is Maxis’ biggest priority.

“We invested RM373 million capex for the first half of 2017 and will continue investing more to ensure our customers enjoy the best mobile streaming experience,” it said.

Meanwhile, it noted that there is a strong MaxisONE plan uptake, driven by its easier and simpler smartphone ownership plans – Zerolution and Power of ONE campaign.

It also pointed out that the latest data upgrade, Hotlink Happy Hour continues to attract high ARPU 4G prepaid subscription.

Aside from that, Maxis provides greater control and flexibility with its self-serve apps – MyMaxis and Hotlink RED.