DiGi.Com Berhad (DiGi) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012 today.
For the year under review, mobile internet customers increased from 5.2 million to 5.7 million, with mobile data revenues now accounting for 32.7% of the Group’s overall service revenues. DiGi’s customer base increased to 10.5 million as of the end of 2012.
By the numbers as of Quarter 4:
- Total Subscribers: 10.494 (million)
- Prepaid Subscribers: 8.832 (million)
- Postpaid Subscribers: 1.671 (million)
- Mobile Internet Subscribers: 5.734 million
- Broadband Subscribers: 273k
- Postpaid ARPU: RM83
- Prepaid ARPU: RM41
- Average Minutes of Usage (Postpaid): 392
- Average Minutes of Usage (Prepaid): 245
- Total Revenue: 1.629 billion
- EBITDA: RM725 million
- Profit after Tax: RM246 (million)
Henrik Clausen, Chief Executive Officer of DiGi explained that the strong growth in data revenues was driven by higher internet usage and increased smartphone penetration from a bigger mobile internet customer base. “Our focus on delivering quality experience on our network, enhancing relevance of our product bundles, and offering a consistent retail experience with the launch of over 70 new DiGi Store and DiGi Store Express, saw overall customer experience improving. This consequently resulted in higher usage and new customers in the data segment.
“In the fourth quarter, we further capitalised on the quality of our network, following the completion of our modernisation effort in the Klang Valley, to push even harder on data with more products and services from our collaboration with social media partners in parallel with increasing our accessibility and convenience through our enhanced online store.”
DiGi said in a statement that during the year, DiGi increased its capital expenditure to RM700 million in line with the progress made on the company’s business transformation programme, which includes modernisation of its network, information system and information technology (IS/IT) infrastructure, and distribution channels.
The 3G mobile operator claims that more than 3,200 sites have been swapped to date. DiGi’s current 2G coverage stood at 95%(80% EDGE coverage) while 3G coverage increased to 67% from 59% in Q312.
Clausen said that he was pleased that the company emerged stronger from the challenging and highly competitive year. “We continued to grow our business on the back of an increasingly competitive market, in a year where we further operationalised an ambitious business transformation programme. Data will continue to be a significant growth area for DiGi and I am pleased with the progress we have made in putting the fundamental building blocks in place to ensure we are well positioned to deliver a robust mobile internet usage experience moving forward to more Malaysians through better quality and larger coverage as part of our Internet For All mission,” Clausen added.
For the year under review, the Group sustained the growth trajectory with overall revenue for the year improving by 6.7% to RM6.4 billion while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was RM2.9 billion, at a margin of 46.0%.
However for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012, DiGi’s earnings fell 37% to RM245.52mil from RM394.22mil a year ago due to a higher tax rate.
DiGi announced that it will pay a fourth interim tax exempt dividend of 2.5 sen per ordinary share for the financial year ended 31 December 2012.
