Telekom Malaysia has reported a 51% year-on-year increase in net profit for the second quarter, as forex gains more than compensated for declining revenue.
Net profit for the period reached 210.48 million ringgit ($49.3 million), with the operator reporting a foreign exchange gain of 50 million ringgit.
But revenue declined 2.3% year-on-year to 2.98 billion ringgit, as a result of lower data, voice and other telecommunications service revenue.
For the first half of the year, revenue increased a slim 0.7% to 5.94 billion ringgit. The company increased its broadband customer base to 2.36 million, while its LTE coverage grew to reach more than 80% in major cities.
Capex for the six month period amounted to 899 million ringgit or 15.1% of total revenue.
“This is a challenging period for the industry where we see flattish growth trends and cost headwinds. Our internet revenue, has seen commendable growth at 8.5% YTD,” Telekom Malaysia group CEO Dato’ Sri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said.
“We are focused on empowering digitization in our daily operations to optimise processes and productivity. We are expediting our fiber rollout and expanding our reach with our ongoing investments, for example to high-rise buildings; and made some key execution leadership appointments to facilitate this, amongst others.”