Indonesia’s PT Telkom has reported a 14% decline in first quarter profit to 5.73 trillion rupiah ($410.8 million), partly as a result of stricter competition.
Revenue for the quarter grew 4.3% to 32.3 trillion rupiah, but tighter competition and the ongoing decline in revenue from legacy voice and SMS revenue impeded further growth.
Data, internet and IT services revenue by comparison grew a strong 23.3% to 15.9 trillion rupiah due to increasing demand as a result of the growing use of smartphones.
Mobile broadband subscribers grew 21.3% to 108.73 million subscribers, with mobile subsidiary Telkomsel reporting a net profit of 6.4 trillion rupiah and revenue of 21.9 trillion rupiah.
On the fixed line front, consumer broadband revenue grew to 3.1 billion rupees with enterprise revenue increasing to 8.63 trillion rupees. Subscribers to Telkom’s IndiHome fiber broadband service nearly doubled to 5.74 million.
Telkom’s capex for the quarter reached 6.13 trillion rupees, up from 6.06 trillion the year earlier, the report adds.
The funds were primarily used to finance the construction of new base stations, expand access network and backbone infrastructure and develop the operator’s Sea Cable Communication System that supports its fixed and mobile broadband businesses.