KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): Maxis Bhd reported that its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 stood at RM513 million, on the back of surging data growth and positive results from cost optimisation.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, Maxis said it saw a net profit of RM564 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The group's revenue for the quarter was RM2.26 billion versus RM2.3 billion a year earlier.

Earnings per share slipped to 6.6 sen from 7.2 sen previously.

Maxis declared a third interim dividend of 5 sen per share to be paid on Dec 27.

The group's net profit for the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30 dipped to RM1.51 billion from RM1.64 billion a year ago, while revenue fell to RM6.75 billion from RM7.04 billion in the previous year.

Maxis chief executive officer Robert Nason said the company had a good quarterly operating performance, which was driven by data growth and demand for its innovative offerings from both consumers and businesses.

"We are pleased with our solid core performance and while it is tracking ahead of our expectations, we anticipate strong headwinds emerging with the tapering of our wholesale revenue, the impact of sales and services tax, investment in our new fibre offerings and continued intense price-focused competition," said Nason.

Meanwhile, Maxis chief operating officer Gökhan Ogut said customers can see the company's commitment with the recent launch of its most affordable broadband plans during the quarter.

"Moving forward, we will continue to focus on enhancing our digital capabilities through our digital transformation programme, further expand our fibre and convergence offerings, and expand both the market coverage and service offerings in Enterprise solutions," he said.

At the midday break, Maxis dipped 1.09% or 6 sen to RM5.44 with 314,800 shares traded.