· Declared second interim dividend of 3.2 sen per share
· Overall performance on track as per financial guidance
· Progressing well on integration efforts
PETALING JAYA, 18 August 2023 –
CelcomDigi Berhad (CelcomDigi) today announced an encouraging set of first half results for the Financial Year 2023 (H1 FY2023) which is in line with the company’s 2023 guidance. This highlights the company’s overall steady performance driven by focused execution in the first six months of 2023 since merger completion.
CelcomDigi recorded service revenue growth of 0.3% to RM5,410 million in H1 FY2023 coupled with strong subscriber additions of over 391K to 20.48 million, fueled by the company’s unique value propositions in the market. Both EBITDA and Normalised Profit After Tax (PAT) excluding the effects of accelerated depreciation (non-cash items) strengthened 1.8% and 6.5% to RM2,992 million and RM1,044 million, respectively, cementing the company’s commitment to deliver industry-leading EBITDA margin of 47.5% and normalised PAT margin of 16.6%.
For the second quarter of FY2023 (Q2 FY2023), service revenue rose marginally by 0.1% Q-Q to RM2,707 million driven by steady growth across core segments; while EBITDA amounted to RM1,480 million with a solid EBITDA margin of 47.4%. Normalised PAT rose +1.7% Q-Q to RM527 million, underscoring resilient underlying profitability growth.
In the quarter under review, CelcomDigi ramped up integration activities, and continued investments in network capacity upgrades and IT initiatives to improve customer experience. The company invested RM252 million in CAPEX or 8.1% of total revenue in Q2 FY2023, catering for network capacity upgrades and integration initiatives. As key projects have commenced in June 2023 onwards, the company expects CAPEX to ramp up for the remaining two quarters of FY2023.
The company declared a second interim dividend of 3.2 sen per share, amounting to RM375 million in line with its progressive dividend commitment to shareholders.
Network integration and modernisation efforts in full speed
Full-speed network integration commenced in Q2 FY2023. The company has completed 60% of its network integration and modernisation plans for 2023, with more than 2,000 sites in 24 clusters consolidated to-date. These efforts have uplifted overall network experience for its customers; post-consolidation, customers now enjoy wider coverage as well as increased download and upload speeds.
The ambition of the network integration plan is to deliver the widest 4G network with an increase in population coverage from 96% to 98% nationwide, with the latest 4G LTE and 5G-ready technology to provide improved quality and experience to all subscribers.
Attractive and affordable offers leveraging 5G for CelcomDigi’s 20.48 million customers
CelcomDigi introduced an array of value-for-money 5G offerings across Postpaid and Prepaid plans as well as device bundles with the widest range of 5G phones, lowest instalment plans, upgrades, and benefits for both Celcom and Digi customers.
The company also enhanced its CelcomDigi Home Fibre plans, providing ultra-fast home internet of up to 1Gbps, with more savings when paired with selected Celcom or Digi Postpaid plans. This contributed to continued growth trajectory in its Home Fibre segment, yielding revenue, subscribers, and ARPU growth.
Under its refreshed CelcomDigi enterprise offers, the company continued to see healthy demand for digital solutions across the SME segment, as well as higher M2M and connectivity solutions demand. The company also recently launched the CelcomDigi MY5G Series to drive industry development and adoption of 5G among Corporates and Public Sectors in the country.
CelcomDigi’s Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Idham Nawawi said, “We are pleased to continue to deliver both topline and bottomline growth while pushing ahead with integration of our networks, IT and organisation at the same time. Our customers remain the centre of focus – by efficiently harmonising backend operations and processes, we are able to better serve customers, deliver more value and converged products to customers, improve customer service, and modernise retail touchpoints and channels. Network integration and modernisation initiatives are progressing in full speed as we continue to provide elevated network experience to our customers on the nation’s fastest, widest and most modern 4G network.”
“We remain committed to leading 5G adoption in the country and have put in place initiatives such as the CelcomDigi MY5G CEO roundtable series to help businesses realise the true potential of 5G together. We look forward to unlocking more value and benefits of 5G for consumers and businesses in the coming months,” he shared.
Financial Highlights
Operational Highlights