Digi.com Berhad (Digi) reported its second quarter 2021 (2Q21) financial results mid last month.
As of June 2021, the Malaysia 4G wireless carrier has 10.22 million mobile subscribers, a small drop from the 10.25 million subscriber base it had in 1Q21 (March 2021). Digi lost 33k mobile subscribers between the period of April, May and June 2021.
Key details of Digi in 2Q21 as below:
- Prepaid Subscriber Base: 7.03 million (vs 7.16 million in 1Q21, -128k).
- Postpaid Subscriber Base: 3.19 million (vs 3.09 million in 1Q21, +95k)
- Postpaid ARPU at RM64 (vs RM65 in 1Q21), Prepaid ARPU at RM34 (vs RM33 in 1Q21)
- 8.83 million mobile Internet subscribers
- Approximately 1.39 million subscribers don’t use Digi mobile Internet including 1.07 million prepaid and 315,000 postpaid lines
- 90.1% of Digi mobile subscribers are smartphone users
- Average data quota consumed by Digi customers was 21.4GB in 2Q21, vs 19.7GB in 1Q21
- Sold over 330k devices in 2Q20
| Operational Statistics | 2Q2020 | 1Q2021 | 2Q2021 | Q-Q | Y-Y |
| Postpaid (‘000) | 3,032 | 3,090 | 3,185 | 3.1% | 5.1% |
| Prepaid (‘000) | 7,591 | 7,160 | 7,032 | -1.8% | -7.4% |
| Total subscribers (‘000) | 10,623 | 10,250 | 10,217 | -0.3% | -3.8% |
| Postpaid ARPU (RM) | 68 | 65 | 64 | -1.0% | -5.5% |
| Prepaid ARPU (RM) | 29 | 33 | 34 | 1.7% | 15.0% |
| Blended ARPU (RM) | 40 | 43 | 43 | -0.1% | 7.0% |
| Monthly active users for MyDigi (‘mil) | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 8.5% | 13.8% |
| Monthly average data per user (GB) | 18.0 | 19.7 | 21.4 | 8.6% | 18.9% |
| Internet subscribers | 82.0% | 85.9% | 86.4% | 0.6% | 5.4% |
| Smartphone penetration rate | 85.9% | 89.2% | 90.1% | 1.0% | 4.9% |
| Device sold (‘000 units) | 92.6 | 137.7 | 330.2 | 139.8% | 261.3% |
| Population Coverage (%) 4G (LTE) | 90.9% | 91.7% | 91.8% | ||
| 4G Plus (LTE-A) | 73.6% | 75.0% | 75.1% | ||
| Fibre Network (km) | 9,740 | 10,052 | 10,084 |
Digi’s 4G LTE human population coverage is now at 91.8% with 75.1% of the network supports LTE-Advanced, alongside extensive fiber network of 10,084 KM.
Digi did not reveal the number of its home fibre broadband customers.
The Telco recently completed the shutdown of its 3G network in Port Dickson. Malaysia is expected to gradually shut down its 3G networks nationwide by 31 December 2021.
Digi added it “sustained #1 position on consistency by Ookla and download speed, video experience & group video calling by OpenSignal.”
For 2Q21, Digi observed higher take-up rate of its mid-level postpaid plans. It said there were positive response to service add-on contracts and “strong demand for entry level plans via PRIHATIN.” As for Prepaid, Digi said there were “Robust demand for smartphones via PRIHATIN bundles”. Some 8 million Malaysians in the B40 segment are eligible to the Jaringan Prihatin special offers.
Key Financial Highlights, according to Digi:
| in RM’million | 2Q2020 | 1Q2021 | 2Q2021 | Q-Q | Y-Y |
| Service revenue | 1,317 | 1,337 | 1,340 | 0.2% | 1.7% |
| Total revenue | 1,452 | 1,550 | 1,618 | 4.4% | 11.4% |
| EBITDA | 770 | 737 | 743 | 0.8% | -3.5% |
| Profit after tax (PAT) | 288 | 265 | 280 | 5.7% | -2.8% |
| CAPEX to total revenue (%) | 15.5% | 10.1% | 12.1% | 2.0% | -3.4% |
- Total revenue improved by 4.4% Q-Q and 11.4% Y-Y to RM1,618 million, underpinned by better performance of mobile segment and device sales
- Service revenue recovered by 0.2% Q-Q and 1.7% Y-Y to RM1,340 million attributed to better data monetisation alongside favourable response from Jaringan PRIHATIN offers
- Improved prepaid revenue of 0.5% Q-Q and 2.6% Y-Y to RM643 million on higher prepaid data revenue to offset lower non-internet usages
- Postpaid revenue of RM623 million supported by an enlarged subscriber base
- Device and other revenues grew 30.5% Q-Q and 105.9% Y-Y to RM278 million on positive take-ups for mobile bundles and newly launched smartphones
- Profit after tax (PAT) stood at RM280 million, +5.7% Q-Q and -2.8% Y-Y, due to higher depreciation and amortisation costs for increased right-of-use (ROU) assets, cushioned by lower net finance costs
- Second interim dividend of 3.6 sen per share was declared, representing 100% dividend payout ratio
Digi’s Chief Executive Officer Albern Murty said, “Digi remains committed to supporting the connectivity needs of society in these times, as we intensify efforts to provide consistent network experience, deliver on JENDELA ambitions, bring to market more innovative and affordable plans to support consumers. At the same time, we continue to step up our vigilance on the safety and health of our employees, partners, and in particular our retail and network frontliners, to continue serving our customers safely in our stores and digital channels.”
