TM to launch P1-backed mobile services in 2016

By Digital News Asia November 26, 2015

TM gets its ‘voice’ back, higher revenue in Q3 2015
53% of broadband customers on packages above 4Mbps

TM to launch P1-backed mobile services in 2016

TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) is gearing up for its entry into the mobile market on the back of its October 2014 acquisition of Packet One Networks (P1), even as the telco giant reported an increase in third quarter revenue.

“We continue preparing for our entry into the mobile market, working very closely with P1 which is being developed as the mobile arm and mobility centre of excellence of the TM Group,” said group chief executive officer Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa (pic above).

“The development of TM’s overall LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network rollout is on track, with the core LTE network being managed and planned for future growth by P1. We are now building on that‎ core to roll out nationwide, starting with urban areas and adjacent to existing base stations.

“TM and P1 are working together to start user trials and network readiness tests in December 2015, to ensure effective delivery of mobile services towards the launch in 2016,” he added.

The company had initially targeted to launch its mobile services by the end of this year.

TM already made a foray into the wireless space with the launch of its TMgo service in select areas in August, 2014.

Higher voice and data revenue

Meanwhile, TM announced a 2.9% growth in group revenue quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to RM2.92 billion for the third quarter ended Sept 30 2015, against RM2.84 billion in the preceding quarter, on the back of higher voice and data revenue contribution.

This was also an increase from the RM2.64 billion revenue in the corresponding period last year. [RM1 = US$0.24 at current rates]

While it did not break down its voice revenue, it said that revenue in its global and wholesale business grew 34.4% from the RM446 million in the third quarter (Q3) of last financial year to RM599.5 million in the current quarter, mainly contributed by higher voice revenue from international bilateral traffic minutes coupled with higher data revenue from international capacity.

Ebit (earnings before interest and tax) for Q3 2015 was RM449 million, 47% higher than last quarter’s RM305.5 million, primarily due to higher revenue and lower operating expenses.

Stripping off some non-operational items, in particular foreign exchange gain on international trade settlements, group normalised Ebit was up 10.3% QoQ to RM328.6 million.

PBT (profit before tax) increased 1.1% QoQ at RM259 million in Q3 2015 from RM256.1 million in Q2 due to the higher revenue growth despite higher foreign exchange losses on borrowings in the recent quarter, TM said in a statement.

Patami (Profit after Tax and Minority Interests) stood at RM166.8 million due to the net impact of the depreciating ringgit as well as higher tax charges. Group normalised Patami was RM200.2 million, the company said.

The total capital expenditure for YTD (year to date) Sept 2015 was RM1.15 billion or 13.5% of revenue, with spending during Q3 at RM467 million.

Mixed quarter

“The third quarter was a mixed one for us. We closed the quarter with some improvements in our performance despite an overall challenging environment,” said Zamzamzairani.

“Operationally, we recorded a 3.7% increase in total broadband customers compared with Q3 last year, from 2.21 million to 2.29 million.

“This was driven by UniFi (its high-speed broadband offering) which recorded a 1.4% growth from the preceding quarter to 793,000 customers activated.

“In line with increasing demand for higher bandwidth, 53% of our broadband customers are now on packages above 4Mbps.

“Just last month, we introduced our new refreshed UniFi brand and proposition called UniFi Advance Plan offering speeds of 30Mbps up to 50Mbps together with HyppTV Value Packs for customers to choose, based on their preference,” he added.

TM’s Internet and multimedia services registered 18.3% higher revenue to RM844.5 million in Q3 from RM713.9 million in the same quarter last year.

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