PETALING JAYA: Maxis Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, fell 12% to RM358 million from RM409 million a year ago mainly due to loss of wholesale business and higher impairment made to receivables as the group revised the expected loss rates in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on economies worldwide which has caused a significant increase in credit risk.
It said normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) remained healthy at RM920 million, 3.5% lower than RM953 million registered in Q1 2019.
Its revenue jumped 5% to RM2.34 billion compared with RM2.23 billion in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
Service revenue excluding wholesale stood at at RM1.93 billion, 2.8% growth versus RM1.88 billion recorded in Q1 2019 due to the strong growth in postpaid and fibre business.
Continued postpaid leadership with revenue excluding wholesale grew 4.7% to RM972 million from RM928 million in Q1 2019. Prepaid revenue was 10.4% lower at RM714 million against RM797 million recorded in Q1 2019.
It declared a first interim dividend of 4 sen net per share for the quarter, representing a dividend payout ratio of 87%. The company is taking a prudent approach to ensure it continues to have the capacity to grow the business in line with its convergence strategy and invest in its network given the dramatic increase in demand.
Maxis CEO Gökhan Ogut said it continued to lead the mobile market and turned in solid growth in its fibre business. For its enterprise business, strong partnerships during the quarter enabled it to offer new solutions and deliver even more value to businesses in Malaysia.
“Moving forward, we foresee the Covid-19 situation evolving and we will continue to assess its impact on our operations. Fundamentally, we are strong and are prepared to overcome these challenging times with a well-developed BCP plan that has been in place for several years,“ Ogut said in a statement.
For now, its first priority is the health and safety of its employees, as the Maxis’ frontliners work 24/7 to ensure that consumers and businesses have uninterrupted connectivity and availability of services during this period.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Maxis remained focused on supporting the government and its customers while continuing to ensure the health of its networks to meet the demands during this trying time.
source https://www.thesundaily.my/business/maxis-net-profit-slips-12-in-q1-LY2331049
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