Singapore
The first quarter’s net profit drop was partly driven by higher depreciation and interest expenses, the telco says.
SINGAPORE: Telco M1 on Monday (Apr 17) reported a 14.6 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit after tax for its first-quarter financial results.
Net profit reached S$36.3 million, partly driven by higher depreciation and interest expenses, the company said, but added that it increased 14.3 per cent over the preceding month, according to its press release.
Operating revenue increased 1.2 per cent year-on-year while service revenue remained stable at S$201.5 million, as growth in fixed services revenue offset lower IDD and roaming revenues, it added.
Growth in residential and corporate signups contributed to strong growth in the company’s fixed services revenue, which increased 22.8 per cent to S$30 million, the telco said, adding that it added 8,000 more fibre broadband customers in the quarter to 168,000.
It also added 24,000 postpaid customers and 3,000 prepaid customers, to bring the total mobile customer base to 2.05 million as at Mar 31, 2017.
The telco also noted an increase in the average postpaid smartphone data usage. The figure grew to 3.7GB per month in the first quarter of its financial year, compared to 3.3GB a year ago, it said.
To address the growing data usage, M1 said it secured additional radio spectrum at the recent spectrum auction conducted by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), which will be used to “enhance network coverage and innovative technologies will be deployed to augment network capacity”.
“We are introducing improved cloud-based service offerings to drive growth in fixed services, and developing new Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Nation capabilities and solutions. These efforts will further strengthen M1’s position as the telecommunications provider of choice,” said CEO Karen Kooi.
