KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): Axiata Group Bhd's net profit tumbled 60% to RM75.56 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (1QFY21), from RM188.11 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher depreciation and amortisation costs and lower one-off gain.

Earnings per share fell to 0.8 sen from 2.1 sen, the telecommunications group's stock exchange filing showed.

The sharp decline in earnings was recorded despite a 0.45% rise in revenue to RM6.07 billion from RM6.04 billion, supported by higher revenue in its Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia operations.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the group swung to profit from a net loss of RM255.96 million registered in the preceding quarter, while revenue declined 3.17% from RM6.26 billion due to lower contribution from its Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka operations.

The group did not declare any dividend to its shareholders for the current quarter.

Commenting on the financial performance, Axiata chairman Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid said the group remains cognisant of the increasing risks and unpredictable scenarios that lie ahead for the industry and its businesses.

"The region continues to grapple with multi-faceted challenges as each country battles to mitigate blows from the protracted Covid-19 crisis. Despite this, we press on towards the realisation of our ambition to become The Next Generation Digital Champion by 2024.

"The board will place strict emphasis in ensuring the relentless execution of the Axiata 5.0 vision which will keep us steady in these uncertain times," he said in a statement.

On the Celcom-Digi merger, Ghazzali said the corporate exercise is making a good headway.

"We are resolute in our intention to secure positive outcomes for our customers and stakeholders as Malaysia takes bold leaps in realising our digital aspirations," he said.

Meanwhile, Axiata president and group chief executive officer Datuk Izzaddin Idris said the group continues to monitor challenges from the 3G shutdown in Malaysia and heightened competition subsequent to the new spectrum allocation in Indonesia.

"Whilst the results for the first quarter are encouraging, we remain circumspect in our outlook for the second quarter and beyond, especially given the resurgence of movement restrictions and its strain on economic recovery.

"Despite the current limited impact to edotco, we are keeping a very close watch on the socio-political developments in Myanmar and will continue to assess any business, operational, and financial risks that may arise.

"Among upsides, we look forward to the improved Ncell network from the 900MHz spectrum award and market share gain for XL despite the continuing intense competition," he said.

Izzaddin also said that the recent RM250 million capital boost from SoftBank Corp into the group's digital marketing subsidiary ADA provides strong growth impetus for the data analytics and AI businesses, now valued at RM1.1 billion.

Shares of Axiata ended one sen or 0.29% higher at RM3.50, giving the group a market capitalidation of RM32.1 billion.