KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): CelcomDigi Bhd posted a higher net profit of 34.63% at RM317.92 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1QFY2023) from RM236.15 million in the preceding year corresponding quarter, owing to improved revenue contributions and foreign exchange gains, offset by the effects of accelerated depreciation of non-cash items.

This first quarter marked CelcomDigi's first full quarter of combined financial reporting post-merger of two telcos: Celcom Axiata Bhd and Digi.Com Bhd.

CelcomDigi recorded positive topline and bottom-line growth, generating a healthy free cash flow of RM696 million, it said.

It declared a first interim dividend of 3.2 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023, payable on June 28. The ex-date is June 13 and entitlement date is June 14.

For the quarter under review, basic earnings per share slipped to 2.71 sen from 3.04 sen in 1QFY2022. Revenue increased 109.21% to RM3.18 billion versus RM1.52 billion, primarily from higher device sales on newly launched smartphone models, enlarged subscriber base and stable average revenue per user at RM42.

Segment wise, its telecommunication revenue was higher year-on-year at RM2.67 billion in 1QFY2023 from RM1.31 billion.

Sales of devices also improved to RM456.87 million from RM190.28 million.

Quarter-on-quarter, net profit fell to RM321 million in 1QFY2023 from RM422 million, while revenue decreased to RM3.18 million from RM3.31 million, owing to declining total service revenue from seasonal and interconnect rate reduction impact on prepaid revenue and postpaid revenue, as well as lower revenue from wholesale partners.

“We are accelerating integration efforts across the board, focusing on bringing the benefits of the merger to our customers in the shortest time possible,” CelcomDigi chief executive officer Datuk Idham Nawawi said in a statement on Wednesday (May 24).

He added that organisational integration efforts are on track with a single management team and focused on bringing the best of both brands with improved offerings, network and retail experiences to its 20.2 million customers.

“We are excited on the prospect of 5G and look forward to playing a more active and direct role in implementing the country’s 5G network, on the back of delivering the widest, most modern 4G network in Malaysia.”

At the time of writing, CelcomDigi's share price was up two sen or 0.46% at RM4.41, valuing the group at RM51.62 billion.