Digi.com Berhad (Digi) reported its first quarter 2022 (1Q22) financial results late last month. The Telco had 10.24 million subscribers at the end of March 2022, down from 10.32 million in 4Q21.
It lost 77k mobile subscriptions during the 3-month period from January to March this year, mainly prepaid customers.
There were 6.9 million prepaid subscribers in 1Q22, down from 7.02 million in 4Q21. The Telco lost a total of 119k prepaid subscriptions, “in a highly competitive market where Digi prioritised on acquiring higher value subscribers, attracted by our leading network position,”
Digi attracted more postpaid subscribers in 1Q22, increasing its subscribers base to 3.34 million postpaid (+42k) at the end of March 2022, up from 3.3 million it had as of December 2021. Digi said the Postpaid subscriber base expanded “via quality acquisitions, low churn rate and a growing base opting for attractive smart bundles and entry-level plans,”
APRU is at RM32 (-RM1) for prepaid, RM61 (-RM1) for postpaid, “on overall weaker usages,”
The number of Digi mobile Internet users was at 8.9 million (86.9% of the subscriber base) as of March 2022 versus the 9 million users it had in December 2022. These mobile Internet users consumed an average 21GB a month (99.8% via 4G) in 1Q22, up from 20.7GB in the previous quarter.
About 9.4 million or 92.1% of the Digi mobile subscriber base are smartphone users. About 65% of voice calls are made via 4G VoLTE.
Digi said it sold 112,000 devices between January-March 2022.
4G LTE coverage has been improved by 0.9% to 94% of the human population in the country, while LTE-A coverage is now at 76.5% (+0.6%). 83% of this network is “touch-free”, requiring almost no human interaction from its network team.
Digi continued to demonstrate strength in network quality and reliability in 1Q2022, confirming its #1 position in terms of consistency, video experiences and download speeds as measured by independent mobile analytics firms, it said. “Download speeds rose remarkably from 38.9 Mbps in 4Q2021 to 42.2 Mbps in the quarter under review, echoing our ability to provide the best connectivity and internet experiences to our customers,”
About 22% of its 4G network sites have been modernised with four transmit and four receive (4T4R) antennas, improving coverage and bandwidth for customers.
As of March 2022, there are 16,500 (+3.9k) Digi fibre broadband customers with an ARPU of RM124 (+RM8) a month.
Financial highlights for Q1 FY2022, according to Digi:
- Total revenue reached RM1,522 million, a reduction of -1.8% Y-Y due to normal seasonal patterns from higher year-end device sale
- Postpaid revenue strengthened by 2.6% Y-Y to RM633 million driven by continued subscription growth and effective churn management
- Prepaid revenue declined by -3.9% Y-Y and -1.6% Q-Q to RM615 million as a result of weaker acquisition and demand for internet passes, and lower non-internet usages
- EBITDA (boi) delivered at RM741 million or margin of 48.7%, representing a marginal growth both Y-Y and Q-Q, attributed to continuous modernisation efforts
- Profit after tax (PAT) was down -10.9% Y-Y due to temporary tax rate increase from the implementation of Cukai Makmur in FY2022
- Capex-to-sales ratio of 5.7%, mainly due to timing of investments and project deferments to later quarters
- First interim dividend of 2.9 sen per share, equivalent to RM225 million of dividend payout
Digi’s Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, Praveen Rajan said, “We’ve seen good growth momentum to start the year. With more Covid-19 related restrictions lifted and borders reopening, we expect to see an increase in commercial and tourism activities that would drive demand for roaming services. We continue to prioritise efforts to deliver to the expectations of our business and consumer customers from all segments – from providing quality connectivity and better digital experiences, offering products with greater value and flexibility, to deepening our responsible business commitments as we continue building a brand that customers have come to trust.”
