PETALING JAYA: Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) net profit went up 4.4% to RM339.84mil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1Q22) from RM325.46mil driven by lower finance cost from early redemption of RM2bil sukuk completed a year ago.
In a statement, the telco said lower foreign exchange translation loss on borrowings also drove its earnings higher.
Its revenue for the quarter was also marginally up 2.9% to RM2.89bil compared with RM2.80bil in the corresponding period a year ago bolstered by strong demand for voice, Internet and multimedia.
“Despite rising competition to offer converged solutions among telcos and other technology players, TM continued to deliver strong customer growth across its operation,” said the group.
Given that this is the second year of TM’s transformation, the telco said it is on track to achieve this year’s market guidance, focus on strengthening its core businesses as well as investing in new growth areas.
In the long run, TM group chief executive officer Imri Mokhtar said the group would continue to grow its profitability to invest and seize opportunities arising from digital acceleration.
“One of these opportunities is in the exciting space of digital solutions and services for enterprises. Building on TM One’s existing capability and relationships with enterprises and the public sector, we will deliver speed and agility through our new digital arm Credence: a corporate startup led by technology leaders,” he added.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that unifi continues to better its fixed broadband and fixed-mobile convergence value proposition to improve customer experience as well as expand its offerings to provide entertainment to customers at home or on-the-go.
For 1Q22, unifi’s revenue rose 10.6% to RM1.38bil supported by increasing demand from Internet, voice and sales of devices, with higher cumulative fixed Internet subscribers compared to a year ago.
Besides that, Imri explained that TM wholesale continues to establish Malaysia as a regional digital hub via “new submarine cables, edge computing, data centres and supporting international connectivity.”
“On the domestic front, TM wholesale continues performing its role as the enabler for industry broadband, 4G and 5G network via fibre infrastructure that will transform the nation’s connectivity capabilities,” he said.
This year, Imri disclosed that TM is looking at a total capital expenditure hovering between 14% to 18% of revenue, which would focus on network expansion, modernisation coupled with enhancing customer experience.