KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Axiata Group Bhd has allocated RM4.8 billion for capital expenditure (capex) in the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 – one of the highest amounts the group has set aside.

Speaking to reporters at a briefing this afternoon, president and group CEO Datuk Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said Axiata was being aggressive with its capex this year by allocating the full amount to data or data-related investments.

"This will predominantly be for the setting up of more base stations, fibre optics and upgrading our core network in most countries," he said.

For FY14, Axiata's capex was RM4.1 billion.

On the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission asking  service providers to lower service charges, Jamaludin said he was supportive of the measure as it would help the industry in the long run.

Meanwhile, Jamaludin expects Celcom Axiata to make a full recovery from the impact of the East Coast floods within a quarter or two.

Celcom saw 313 of its sites across the East Coast affected by the floods.

Axiata has reported a 3% rise in fourth quarter net profit to RM594.93 million from a year earlier, as the mobile telecommunication network provider posted higher revenue from most of its global operating units.

Significantly higher foreign exchange (forex) gains and lower finance cost also supported profit growth, Axiata (fundamental: 0.85; valuation: 0.9) told Bursa Malaysia in a statement this afternoon.

Fourth quarter revenue was higher at RM4.81 billion versus RM4.51 billion previously.

During 4QFY14, Axiata registered forex gains of RM99.56 million, compared to RM8.13 million; while finance cost fell to RM256.95 million from RM310.23 million, according to the group.

Group full-year net profit declined to RM2.35 billion from RM2.55 billion a year earlier; while revenue was higher at RM18.71 billion versus RM18.37 billion.

For 4QFY14, Axiata plans to pay a dividend of 14 sen a share, bringing full-year dividends to 22 sen.

At 3:31pm, Axiata rose 3 sen or 0.42% to RM7.15, for a market capitalisation of RM61.13 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)