KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Foreign exchange (forex) gains on Telekom Malaysia Bhd's borrowings in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 (4QFY17) versus forex losses previously propped up its quarterly net profit by 79.52% to RM277.01 million from RM154.31 million a year ago.
Earnings per share grew to 7.37 sen in 4QFY17 from 4.11 sen a year ago, Telekom said in a bourse filing today, which showed quarterly revenue fell 1.15% to RM3.19 billion against RM3.24 billion in the previous year due to a decline in voice and other telecommunication-related services.
This was despite its internet and multimedia services registering a 7.1% revenue rise to RM1.02 billion in the quarter from RM950.8 million in the prior year, driven by a wider Unifi customer base at more than 1.13 million in 4QFY17 compared to 949,482 a year ago.
The board declared a second interim single-tier dividend of 12.1 sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY17), bringing its total full year payout to 21.5 sen. The dividend will be paid on April 13. The ex-date is March 14, and the entitlement date is March 16.
For FY17, net profit increased 19.81% to RM929.75 million or 24.74 sen per share from RM776.13 million or 20.65 sen per share, while revenue marginally grew to RM12.09 billion from RM12.06 billion in FY16 on the back of higher internet revenue contribution.
In a separate statement, Telekom chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said 2017 was a challenging yet transformational year for the group but it stayed focused on its key performance indicators (KPI) and key happiness index (KHI), driven by its Perfexe 10 aspirations.
He said Perfexe 10 simplifies and serves as a guide to its business operations while tracking the progress of each plan and evaluating specific initiatives to ensure timely executions.
Mohammed Shazalli said overall, Telekom saw strong customer traction in the home and mobile space.
As at end 2017, he said Telekom recorded a total broadband customer base of more than 2.3 million customers.
"Our main broadband service offering Unifi for home and SMEs achieved more than 1.1 million customers, and Unifi mobile achieved 9.8% penetration of Telekom's households," he added.
The total capital expenditure for FY17 as a percentage of revenue was 22.8%, amounting to RM2.76 billion, lower than guided in 3Q17 due to internal re-prioritisation of projects.
By asset type, access comprised 42% of total spending, followed by core network at 34% and the remaining 24% was for support systems.
Moving forward, Telekom foresees sustainable performance in 2018 despite competition and challenges.
"This is driven by our new execution model which prioritises our plans towards delivering relevant converged digital lifestyle services and end-to-end business solutions to all our customers," it said.
It aims for FY18 revenue growth to be 3.5% to 4% in 2018, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to remain as FY17 and customer satisfaction measure at 74 whereas for the mid-term, headline KPI for revenue and EBIT growth to be 3.5% to 4%, respectively, and customer satisfaction measure of 75.
At 12.30pm, Telekom shares climbed three sen or 0.5% to RM6.03 with 550,300 shares done for a market capitalisation of RM22.66 billion.