Wednesday June 16, 2010
By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd is working “very hard” to maintain is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin above the 50% level, according to chief executive officer Sandip Das.
“I can’t forecast (on EBITDA margin). I am, trying very hard,” he said at a briefing yesterday.
For the first quarter ended March 31, Maxis posted a net profit of RM552mil on revenue of RM2.15bil. Its EBITDA margin stood at 50.3% for the period, rising 0.3 percentage points against the preceding quarter.
Das said Maxis was working towards maintaining that by focusing on revenue growth and operating cost, among others.
He said the EBITDA margin was somehow squeezed as the rate for voice call had dropped tremendously but it was also pushing other non-voice revenue such as broadband.
For its first quarter, Maxis’ mobile Internet users grew by some 23% quarter-on-quarter to 6.4 million. Non-voice revenue also contributed higher to the telco’s revenue.
Over the past six months, Maxis’ broadband base had increased over 65%. However, its average revenue per user (ARPU) for broadband was lower due to promotions.
Das said Maxis would invest RM1.4bil this year in capital expenditure (capex) to widen its broadband footprint in Malaysia while improving reliability and operational efficiencies. Last year, Maxis invested RM1.24bil in capex to upgrade and modernise its network.
Das said Maxis would also be increasing its high-speed wireless broadband coverage to 80% from 57% of the population and deploying new capabilities through its information technology transformation.
To a question, Das said Maxis had no problem funding its capex internally. “Our EBITDA was 50.3% in the first quarter and if we continue that, we will have no problem supporting the capex from within.”
On the recent tie-up of its rivals DiGi.Com Bhd and Celcom Axiata Bhd, Das said it was a good move for the industry as it would enable telcos to share some resources and yet develop a new territory together.
“It will help reduce the infrastructure cost,” he said.
Das said Maxis currently shared some 40% of its network towers and welcomes any players to ride on its infrastructure.
On analysts concerns of Maxis’ declining ARPU, Das said: “I don’t think analysts give us enough credit. We are working very hard towards our 50% EBITDA margin. Our benchmark has changed. We’re no longer just a celullar operator. We are an integrated telecommunications company.”
Asked on its second quarter performance, Das said while he cannot provide any forecast, he felt “a happy man”.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/16/business/6478792&sec=business
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