KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) second quarter net profit was down 71 per cent to RM45.26 million against RM156.48 million posted in the same quarter last year, following challenges which included rapid developments in the market and regulatory pressures.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, it said the decrease was due to foreign exchange loss on the group’s borrowings compared to a net gain in the corresponding quarter of 2017.
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, revenue decreased by 1.5 per cent to RM2.93 billion from RM2.98 billion a year earlier.
“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,” it said.
In a separate statement, TM’s Acting Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Bazlan Osman said the first six months of 2018 were challenging for the group including to its financial performance.
“Being cognisant of the potential impact on TM, we had revised our 2018 headline key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as capital expenditure (capex) guidance in early July 2018.
“We expect the regulatory and sector challenges to persist in the near to medium term and undertaking the Performance Improvement Programme (PIP) 2018 initiatives is necessary to ensure the sustainability of our business for the long term,” he said.
The PIP 2018 was launched alongside the KPIs and capex revision, as a broad initiative to overcome the headwinds.
Bazlan also said that TM’s unifi Basic plan will be extended to all beginning September 2018, and will no longer be for households earning less than RM4,500 a month.
On prospects for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2018, he said TM anticipates the challenging environment to persist for its retail and wholesale segment.
“In the midst of these challenges, TM will continue our focus towards strengthening the performance of our core business and operations,” he added. — Bernama
