One of the sectors showing resilience and sustenance is the telco sector, just like electricity and water, telecommunication is the unofficial third utility in the country and has become an essential tool regardless of the situation. This reflects in Teleom Malaysia’s latest financial report, the group recorded a 3.8% growth to RM2.69 billion from RM2.59 billion in 2Q2020 attributing to higher revenue from voice, internet and data services.
Group EBIT for 3Q2020 increased by 7.0% QoQ to RM456.2 million, from RM426.3 million in 2Q2020, on the back of lower operating cost, from the Group’s continued cost optimisation programmes. This subsequently led to a 19.9% increase in Group PATAMI from RM274.7 million in the preceding quarter to RM329.5 million.
In 3Q2020, the company invested 14.9% of revenue in capex amounting to RM400.0 million – in line with guidance – as it continued to optimise its network and sweat its assets. Of the amount invested, 50% was for network access, 17% for core network, and the balance 33% for support system.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Imri Mokhtar who took over TM early this year acknowledges the momentum in cost optimising has yielded positive results for the group. On its its star product, Unifi the broadband service is making headway in the highly competitive sector, despite the challenges Unifi posted a 6.3% growth to 1.65 million subscribers, with its total broadband customer base now reaching 2.26 million.
The groups enterprise arm, TM ONE, is riding on the tailcoat of digital transformation being initiated nationwide by the government and private sectors. Customers are rushing to adopt technology into their operations at an accelerated speed, TM One and its end to end enterprise grade connectivity and cloud offerings are mature products ready for deployment.
Outlook for TM looks bright, as the main connectivity infrastructure contractor, the group will be well positioned to assist the government’s digital aspirations. Budget 2021 places importance in ensuring every Malaysian has access to minimum 4G speeds on their devices, an allocation of RM7.4 billion was set aside for improved internet coverage in blackout zones. Apart from that, Ministry of Communication has initiated project JENDELA with a kitty pool of RM21 billion to accelerate Malaysia’s digital connectivity through wider deployment of mobile, fibre and fixed wireless access.
