Maxis says strong Q1 fuelled by transformation initiatives

• After four consecutive quarters of growth, prepaid revenue grew 4.5%
• Now has 9mil mobile Internet users, blended smartphone penetration at 57%

FOR the first time since 2010, Maxis Bhd bucked the trend of a traditionally slow first quarter to deliver service revenue of RM2.127 billion (US$591 million) in Q1 2015, up 1.6% from Q4 2014.
 
The quarter also saw Maxis adding 328,000 new revenue generating subscriptions (RGS), bringing its total RGS base to 12 million.
 
READ ALSO: Digi maintains data momentum in Q1 2015
 
In a statement, the company said the positive momentum from its transformation initiatives is now driving operational indicators upwards.
 
With its network modernisation and LTE (Long-Term Evolution) expansion delivering tangible improvements in customer experience and driving data usage, Maxis now has nine million mobile Internet users and its blended smartphone penetration stood at 57% this quarter, it added.
 
“It’s a solid turnaround story for our prepaid segment. We now have four consecutive quarters of growth in revenues and subscribers,” said chief executive officer Morten Lundal (pic). “We are also seeing a positive transition in our postpaid segment.”
 
“We had a revenue impact after we took steps to avoid any chance of bill shocks with Maxis, and we furthermore had seasonal roaming revenue in Q4 2014, so we’re comfortable with marginal net decline.
 
“One thing that’s certain, Malaysians love data. We are seeing an average of 1.4GB monthly consumption by postpaid customers and 1GB by prepaid customers respectively. Our data traffic is projected to grow over five times in the next three years,” he added.
 
On the back of a higher revenue base, its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of RM1.047 billion (US$291 million) and EBITDA margin of 48.7% for the period were higher than the previous quarter.
 
Profit for the period stood at RM455 million (US$126.4 million), higher than the RM419 million (US$116.4 million) recorded in the preceding quarter, and this was primarily driven by higher EBITDA quarter-on-quarter, Maxis said.
 
Maxis will continue with high capex (capital expenditure) for 2015 at above RM1.1 billion (US$306 million) to complete its network modernisation, drive 4G LTE expansion, as well as to further improve capacity and quality.
 
The company claimed it already leads the 4G LTE population coverage in the country, approaching 39% of the population and covering key market centres and state capitals.
 
Maxis announced a first interim dividend of five sen per share. [RM1 = US$0.28]
 
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