Celcom ends 2017 with solid performance; sees uplift after three consecutive years of decline

By Digital News Asia March 8, 2018

Data revenue made 43% of total revenue, with y-o-y growth of 25% to RM767million
Data Consumption grew by 17.5% to 8.5GB per month, q-o-q

Celcom ends 2017 with solid performance; sees uplift after three consecutive years of decline

CELCOM Axiata Bhd recorded a solid performance and ended 2017 with an uplift in its performance, after a consecutive decline for three years.

The company recorded improvements in its Transactional Net Promoter Scores (tNPS) which improved in retail to 68 points, compared to 66 in the past quarter, and up from 58 in Q316.

Further improvements into Q1 2018 are visible partly contributed by the new look and feel of Celcom Bluecube shops, introduced within the quarter to provide an exciting walk-in experience on top of the excellent retail service it offers.

Celcom aims to have 60%-80% of its bluecube stores refreshed by end of 2018.

Beyond this, tNPS of Celcom's Contact Centres have seen substantial in Q4 2017 by further improving processes and implementing new capabilities for better customer experience.

Celcom’s quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) service revenue grew to RM1.562 billion, and total revenue to RM1.777 billion, recording an increase of 2.5% and 7.4% each.

The company recorded stronger data performance for the observed quarter with growth of 25% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM767 million, which contributed 43% of the company’s total revenue.

Data consumption also showed steady increase of 17.5% to 8.5GB per month per active data user, compared to 7.2GB in the previous quarter. The increase was driven by a higher smartphone penetration from 72% in Q3 2017, to 74%.

Postpaid business delivered a robust performance with an improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU) of RM3 to RM87, led by higher value plan subscriptions and monetisation efforts. Meanwhile, prepaid delivered improvement in its revenue base by growing 0.4% in Q4 2017.

Normalised Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) q-o-q improved with an increase of 6.6%, from RM688 million to RM734 million. The company also delivered growth in q-o-q normalised Patami of 8.6% to RM336 million.

Celcom Axiata chief executive officer Michael Kuehner, attributed the growth to the strong focus on customer experience and improvements in major revenue generating turnaround elements and key functional areas such as sales and distribution, network and products.

“The improved result for this quarter signifies the steadfast progress for Celcom’s turnaround and we are gradually regaining our position in the market.”

“Customer experience is key and therefore Celcom strengthened further its focus in delivering the best customer experience during the quarter. I am glad to announce that Celcom has taken the lead in the Malaysian Relationship Net Promoter Score (rNPS), following a third-party market survey carried out recently. The research was done by AC Nielsen with more than 7, 000 respondents from the four key Malaysian network operators across all regions,” Kuehner said.

Celcom’s digitisation efforts are also delivering results by continuously innovating how the company interacts with customers driving growth in digital transaction volume – up by 68% in 2017. A new website has been launched with fresh and simplified design.

The company has also launched new partnerships that provide customers with convenience and privileges to reward their loyalty.

Kuehner also established that Celcom’s network enhancement was a major contributing factor to the results. Celcom achieved an expansion of its 4G and LTE-A population coverage to 87% and 74% in Q4 2017.

“In 2017, we invested a substantial amount in our networks, fulfilling our commitment to deliver the best video experience to the customers. It was worth it, and we are pleased to announce that Celcom is now rated No. 1 for HD-rated YouTube video streaming in over 21 major cities in Malaysia,” he added.

Among the many Celcom initiatives that contributed further in driving its growth within the quarter are:

Super Video Walla - Celcom enabled consumers with an enriched video experience to satisfy their streaming needs.
The New Xpax internet plan – offers value for prepaid customers with its new additional features; FREE 10GB data for Instagram, Instagram Walla and data rollover.
The New Xpax roaming plan – enables prepaid customer to stay digitally connected via social chats when traveling overseas, from as low as RM1.
RM300, 000 cash prizes up for grabs on Celcom Game Hero – Kill Shot Legacy – the third series of the Biggest Mobile Tournament in Malaysia.
Celcom partners Uber to enhance digital lifestyle for riders and drivers – partnership with Uber to provide special benefits for customers.

Moving forward

In 2017 Celcom focused its efforts on stabilising revenue and return to growth. Continuing the momentum in 2018, Celcom will remain focused on the core strategy of delivering a good customer experience.

This will include increased speed of delivery in digitisation efforts, transforming and enhancing how Celcom interacts with customers and partners through their channel of choice. Celcom will deliver a humanised experience whilst focusing on automating and speeding up service delivery for the end customer.

“Celcom will also maintain a strong focus on managing our cost base to deliver improved profitability.

“Driving change through digitisation starts with changing mind-sets and the culture of our organisation. Culture and people transformation is a special focus area in 2018 where we will be challenging everything in our ‘business-as-usual’ way of working.” Kuehner concluded.