KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): TIME dotCom Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY15) jumped seven times to RM315.43 million or 54.97 sen per share, largely on a fair value gain of RM274 million from the disposal of a portion of its quoted equity investments.

The telecommunications provider’s net profit in the previous corresponding quarter came in at RM44 million or 7.68 sen per share.

Revenue for the quarter climbed 5.16% to RM163.77 million, from RM155.74 million last year, underpinned by higher revenue contributions across all product segments — except for global bandwidth sales and non-recurring contracts.

No dividend was declared for the current quarter under review.

For the cumulative six months (1HFY15), TIME posted a 406.69% increase in net profit to RM372.01 million or 64.83 sen per share, compared with RM73.42 million or 12.81 sen per share a year earlier, also due to the fair value gain.

Revenue rose 16.7% to RM335.5 million, as compared to RM287.6 million a year earlier.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the telco said on an adjusted basis (excluding realisation of fair value gain and dividend income), its consolidated profit before tax (PBT) for 2QFY15 grew 5.4%, compared to the same period last year; while year-to-date (y-t-d) adjusted consolidated PBT jumped 46.4%.

Meanwhile, the group attributed its improved 1HFY15 results to higher data revenue, underpinned by stronger income contributions from global bandwidth sales and non-recurring contracts of RM42.6 million (1HFY14: RM21 million), and net gain on foreign exchange of RM12.8 million (1HFY14: net loss of RM1.3 million).

A gain on disposal of land pursuant to a compulsory land acquisition by the government of approximately RM2.4 million, also lifted earnings.

In a statement today, TIME’s chief executive officer Afzal Abdul Rahim said the group is satisfied with its 2QFY15 performance and is confident that its domestic and regional growth plans are on track.

On outlook, he said the group will continue to see growth opportunities within the ASEAN region.

"Our aim is to further leverage on our technology and know-how, and I am pleased to note that our regional expansion initiatives in the last couple of years are showing positive outcomes," said Afzal.

Within Malaysia, he said TIME is focused on its core operations by ensuring top-notch network and service quality to further boost market share.

"The group is also currently expanding its international submarine cable investments with the Asia-Pacific Gateway (APG), Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) and FASTER cable systems currently under construction and scheduled to be completed progressively over the next two years," he added.

Shares in Time Dotcom (fundamental: 2.4; valuation: 1.4) closed down two sen or 0.35% to RM5.66 today, for a market capitalisation of RM 3.26 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.)