KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): DiGi.Com Bhd slipped as much as seven sen or 1.43% after the mobile telecommunication network provider announced a 12% decline in third quarter net profit from a year earlier. DiGi's share price fell despite the company declaring a dividend of 4.9 sen a share.

DiGi shares fell to their lowest so far today at RM4.82. At 10:08am, the counter was traded at RM4.83 with 606,700 shares traded.

On Tuesday, DiGi said net profit fell to RM384.62 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) from RM438.38 million as prepaid service revenue fell. DiGi said its prepaid subscriber base shrank.

During 9MFY17, DiGi said net profit fell to RM1.12 billion from RM1.26 billion a year earlier. For 3QFY17, DiGi declared a tax-free dividend of 4.9 sen a share. The ex and payment dates fall on Nov 21 and Dec 22, 2017 respectively.

Today, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Foong Choong Chen wrote in a note that DiGi's 3QFY17 results were "in line" with forecast.

"9MFY17 core EPS came in at 74% of our and 72% of Bloomberg consensus' FY17 forecasts," Foong said. He said CIMB maintained its DiGi share target price at RM5 with an unchanged "hold" call.