29 Aug 2018
TM turns in revenue of RM5.78 billion YTD for 1H2018 amidst challenging environment
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Key Highlights of 1H2018:
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Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today announced its financial results for the first half of the year ended 30 June 2018. The Group posted revenue of RM5.78 billion year-to-date, 2.7% lower from RM5.94 billion in the corresponding period last year. This was primarily due to a decline in voice, data and other telecommunication related services as well as provisions recognised against wholesale revenue impacted by regulatory mandated access pricing.
Group Reported Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for 1H2018 was RM1.61 billion as compared to RM1.80 billion in 1H2017 mainly due to the lower revenue. Stripping off non-operational items, such as unrealised forex loss on trade settlement, Group Normalised EBITDA was 13.9% lower, at RM1.60 billion.
Group Reported Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) for 1H2018 was RM444.5 million as compared to RM560.9 million in 1H2017. Stripping off some non-operational items, in particular unrealised foreign exchange loss on international trade settlement, normalised EBIT stood at RM433.0 million.
Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interests (PATAMI) was at RM259.1 million, whilst Group Normalised PATAMI was RM261.1 million, after setting aside non-operational items such as unrealised forex impact on borrowings and international trade settlements.
Datuk Bazlan Osman, Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, TM said: "The first six months of 2018 has been very challenging for us, from rapid developments in the market to increasing regulatory pressures. Given the current landscape, these events further add challenges to our financial performance. Being cognizant of the potential impact to TM, we had revised our 2018 Headline KPIs as well as Capex guidance in early July 2018. Alongside this revision, we also launched our Performance Improvement Programme (PIP 2018) as a broad initiative to overcome the headwinds. The PIP 2018 is guided by four (4) main pillars - Revenue Uplift, Sustained Profitability, Improved Cash Flow and Increased Productivity. We expect the regulatory and sector challenges to persist in the near-to-midterm and undertaking these PIP 2018 initiatives are necessary measures to ensure the sustainability of our business for the long term."
The total capital expenditure (CAPEX) for 1H2018 amounted to RM710 million or equivalent to 12.3% of revenue. Of the total capex investment, 18% was allocated for Core Network, 59% was for Access, and the balance 23% for Support Systems.
“Delivering convergence and going digital remains our priority. We will continue to focus on growth, yet be more prudent in our spending and sweat our existing assets. As such, we are also revising our capex guidance for the full year to 19 – 20% of revenue.”
“We currently have 2.30 million broadband customers and in terms of convergence, we saw more customers moving up the value chain with having triple-play services and above, evidenced by our convergence penetration now at 47% compared to just 37% in 2Q 2017,” he added.
At the media briefing, TM also announced that its unifi Basic plan, which is a 60GB broadband-only unifi plan will now be extended to everyone beginning September 2018 (no longer exclusive for households with income of less than RM4,500 per month).
“Affordability and accessibility of quality highspeed broadband services is important to TM, and we are committed to lead the charge to unlock the potential of a digitally-savvy Malaysia. As such, we are happy to announce that we are extending the unifi basic plan to all,” he concluded.
Comparison: Quarter-on-Quarter (2Q2018 vs 1Q2018 Results)
For the current quarter under review, Group Revenue stood at RM2.94 billion, higher by 3.1% QoQ mainly attributed to an increase in data, internet and other telecommunication related services.
Group EBITDA rose 10.3% QoQ to RM845.9 million from RM766.7 million the previous quarter. Stripping off non-operational items, such as unrealised forex loss on trade settlement, Group Normalised EBITDA was 5.9% higher, at RM823.4 million.
Group EBIT grew by 27.2% QoQ to RM248.9 million from RM195.6 million in 1Q2018. On a normalised basis, EBIT improved by 9.6% QoQ to RM226.4 million from RM206.6 million in 1Q2018.
Group PATAMI was at RM102.0 million, lower by 35.1% QoQ from RM157.1 million in the preceding quarter, whilst Group Normalised PATAMI was RM155.8 million QoQ, higher by 48.0% QoQ, after setting aside non-operational items such as unrealised foreign exchange impact on borrowings and international trade settlements.
Comparison: Year-on-Year (2Q2018 vs 2Q2017 Results)
For the current quarter under review, Group Revenue stood at RM2.94 billion, lower by 1.5% YoY mainly due to voice and data services.
Group EBIT stood at RM248.9 million, lower by 3.2% YoY from RM257.1 million in 2Q2017. On a normalised basis, EBIT was lower by 25.6% YoY to RM226.4 million from RM304.5 million in 2Q2017.
Group PATAMI stood at RM102.0 million, less 51.5% as compared to 2Q2017; whilst Normalised PATAMI also decreased 25.1% YoY to RM155.8 million from RM208.0 million in 2Q2017.
Prospects for the Current Financial Year Ending 31 December 2018
The recent regulatory challenges and market environment have had major impact to the overall revenue estimates and earnings of TM Group in the current quarter. TM anticipates that the challenging environment will persist for both of our retail and wholesale segments. In the midst of these challenges, TM will continue our focus towards strengthening performance of our core business and operations.
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The recently launched unifi mobile #BEBAS, broke away from convention - where our customers are now liberated to use our mobility service relevant to their needs - and fully on digital, showed very encouraging performance.” “TM Group remains at the leading edge of enabling the country’s digital economy via our broadband deployment for the nation and in bridging the digital divide. In our unique role as protector of national interest, the Group’s achievements thus far have been numerous. Through our products and services, we have delivered countless benefits to not only our customers, but all Malaysians. We now have a converged nationwide coverage of unifi which includes broadband, mobility and wifi. As at end 2017, we 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 TM’s households. We have also been fully supportive of the Government’s objective towards improving the affordability, reach and quality of broadband services. In 2017, under the implementation of the Broadband Improvement Plan (BIP), we have successfully enhanced Malaysian’s digital experience by doubling the broadband speed at the same price to approximately 1.0 million Malaysian homes and SMEs. We also launched unifi edu pack for the youth, specifically students at institutions of higher learning and unifi e-biz pack for e-entrepreneurs. Earlier this year, we launched wifi@unifi app that enables all Malaysians to access the Internet via wifi. The app locates wifi hotspots and connects users to over 9,400 hotspots across Malaysia. To further expand our reach to customers, TM ONE collaborated with a renowned restaurant chain to provide high-speed broadband services and solutions including WiFi access points to more than 1,000 of their outlets nationwide. 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Group Reported Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose 14.1% to RM1.05 billion, against RM918.5 million last year. TM Group reported a healthy 19.8% growth in Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interest (PATAMI) against FY 2016 at RM929.7 million as compared to RM776.0 million recorded in FY 2016 primarily due to foreign exchange gain on the Group’s borrowings in FY 2017. Excluding this, Group Normalised PATAMI was 1.8% higher at RM863.2 million. The total capital expenditure (CAPEX) for FY 2017 as a percentage of revenue was 22.8%, amounting to RM2.76 billion, which was lower than guided in 3Q2017, 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. “At the same time, it is gratifying to see that our focus on customer experience continues to place us amongst the trusted brands in Malaysia. In 2017, sustained customer satisfaction resulted in our achieving Customer Satisfaction Measure (TRI*M index) score of more than 73, exceeding the global industry’s average of 66 for the seventh consecutive year,” added Dato’ Sri Shazalli. In line with its dividend policy, the Group is declaring a second interim single-tier cash dividend of 12.1 sen per share or RM454.7 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2017. Together with the 1st interim dividend of 9.4 sen per share amounting to RM353.2 million which was paid on 13 October 2017, the total dividend payout is 21.5 sen per share, or RM808.0 million. The second interim dividend will be paid on 13 April 2018. Accelerating Convergence To Accelerate Convergence, the Group has consolidated its service brands into a single identity. With this strategic repositioning, unifi is now the one and only brand in Malaysia that offers truly comprehensive suite of converged services – home, mobile, wifi and TV, across all segments - fixed, mobile and nomadic - anytime, anywhere on any device; reflecting what true convergence means to the Group. On the business front, the Group has also converged its service offerings for enterprise and public sector customers, presenting a comprehensive set of solutions to meet all their business needs. With the consolidation, TM ONE is now the one and only trusted digital partner and enabler for enterprises and the public sector to fully realise their digital opportunities. The new business cluster enables private enterprises and government agencies to enhance the way they work, with ‘Consider IT Done’ as its driving force and attitude. In 2017, TM ONE placed more emphasis on an approached termed as “verticalisation”, converging customised vertical or industry relevant solutions, to unleash their full digital potential. Top-priority verticals have been identified for immediate revenue generation. The Group foresees higher traction in its Data Centre business once its Klang Valley Core Data Centre (KVDC) is fully completed later in 2018. Together with the already running Tier III Iskandar Puteri Core Data Centre (IPDC), the inter-connected data centres form a Twin Core Data Centre solutions for high redundancy which are connected via high speed fibre optic connectivity, designed for higher fault tolerance and enhanced security. The Group also foresees potential for new growth opportunities in TM GLOBAL. TM GLOBAL’s focus moving forward is to continue accelerating its business growth by generating revenue from other than connectivity services. It also plays a vital role in expanding content localisation initiatives by bringing international content locally to minimise outbound bandwidth and improving customer experience. It enables easier access for businesses, at more competitive pricing. On the international front, we also connect the world via domestic, regional and global submarine cable development and investments with a total of twenty (20) submarine cables with fibre-route of more than 190,000 km around the globe to date. Empowering Digital Empowering Digital entails digitisation (driving productivity via digital) and digitalisation (monetisation of digital businesses), which combined, will enable TM Group to reap the full benefits of improved productivity, enhanced customer experience and monetisation of opportunities presented. In September 2017, TM Group launched unifi.com.my web portal, a single all-in-one customer service absolute portal for interaction on unifi related services, enabling customers to order or upgrade their services, check their usage, pay bills, troubleshoot online as well as chat in real-time with our agents for assistance. Under its digital empowerment pillar, the Group also launched hub@TM, a one-stop centre for all apps developed for Warga Keluarga TM. A number of new digital applications that serve both its customers as well as employees were developed such as FLOW - an employee engagement application that facilitates better collaboration and responsiveness; GROW - an enhanced tool for employee performance evaluation and assessment; HERO – a complaint support escalation app for Warga Keluarga TM; HELO - a digital onboarding app to kick start new hires’ employment journey; TMmedic - TM Group’s healthcare benefits app; EYES – a tool for employees to alert network team on occurrences that may potentially result in service disruption. For customers, several apps have been developed to enhance their overall unifi experience such as wifi@unifi - a unifi Wifi locator app; TM Wifi Optimiser – a tool to boost customers’ WiFi performance; mobile@unifi - a gateway to anything unifi Mobile service – from add-ons #pilihapasaja, to reloading #bayarbilabila, purchasing data, calls and SMS #kredittakmati as well as customer support; and unifi PlayTV - an app version of unifi TV for viewers to enjoy world class entertainment and award winning shows, anytime and anywhere. The introduction of these apps is in tandem with TM’s aspiration of ‘Going Digital’ as the Company moves beyond connectivity into new value added digital and smart services. It is part of the Group’s holistic approach covering customer experience, process optimisation and new business opportunities which entails building a digitally aware and smarter workforce. This is in line with its goal to accelerate the achievement of its strategic goals of Accelerating Convergence and Empowering Digital via “Perfexe 10”. 2018 and mid-term Headline Key Performance Index (KPIs) Guidance TM also announces its Headline KPIs for 2018 and the mid-term target respectively. They are revenue growth of 3.5% to 4.0% in 2018, EBIT to maintain 2017 EBIT RM and Customer Satisfaction Measure of 74. For the mid-term, the Headline KPI is revenue growth of 3.5% to 4.0%, EBIT growth of 3.5% to 4.0% and Customer Satisfaction Measure of 75. Comparison: Quarter-on-Quarter (4Q2017 vs 3Q2017 Results) The 4Q2017 saw Group Revenue at RM3.20 billion, growth of 8.8% QoQ. Group EBITDA was higher by 1.7% at RM893.5 million QoQ on the back of the higher operating revenue. Group EBIT rose 3.4% at RM270.3 million QoQ whilst Group Reported PBT grew 30.6% at RM307.6 million. Group PATAMI increase 30.8% to RM277.0 million compared to RM211.8 million in the preceding quarter. Prospects for the Next Financial Year Ending 31 December 2018 The Group foresees sustainable performance in 2018, despite competition and challenges. This is driven by the new execution model which prioritises its plans towards delivering relevant converged digital lifestyle services and end-to-end business solutions to all its customers.
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