Maxis Berhad (Maxis) has delivered a strong performance for the first quarter ended March 31. The performance driven by a steady core mobile business and solid convergence growth.
Postpaid subscriptions grew 13.7 percent year-on-year (yoy), bringing the total to 3.4 million, providing a larger base for resilient ARPU. On the fibre front, Maxis saw consistent growth in subscriptions by both families and small businesses.
Postpaid APRU decreased to RM 86 from RM 92, reflecting the MTR reduction , initial Covid-19 impact and the dilution effect from Hotlink Postpaid Flex. Prepaid revenue was 10.4 percent lower at RM 714 million against RM 797 million recorded in Q1 2019.
Fibre connections grew 40 percent yoy to be at 392,000 connections in total, consolidating Maxis’ convergence ambition.
The positive moment in fibre was primarily driven by strong adoption of MaxisONE Prime, resulting in steady ARPU from superfast fibre packages of 300, 500 and 800 Mbps.
“Fibre connections were slightly lower this quarter at 23,000 against 31,000 in Q1 2019 due tot installation deferment as result of the MCO,” Maxis stated in its annual report.
The telco’s operating free cash flow increased 26.2 percent to RM 713 million compared to Rm 565 million in the preceding year, mainly due to improved productivity and working capital management. Maxis has also declared a first interim dividend of 4 sen net per share for the quarter, representing a dividend payout ratio of 87 percent.
The company is taking a prudent approach to ensure it continues to have the capacity to grow the business in line with its convergence strategy and invest in its network given the dramatic increase in demand.
Gökhan Ogut, chief executive officer, Maxis says, “We had a good set of results for Q1 overall amidst early impact of Covid-19. We continued to lead the mobile market and turned in solid growth in our fibre business, confirming strong traction in our convergence ambition. For our Enterprise business, the quarter saw us bringing strong partnerships which enabled us to offer new solutions and deliver even more value to businesses in Malaysia.”
Moving forward, Maxis foresees the Covid-19 situation evolving and they will continue to assess its impact on the company’s operations.
