KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (KL:TM) net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2024 (3QFY2024) fell 13.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM465.04 million from RM538.19 million, following last year's recognition of tax credit from prior years’ losses.
The group incurred a tax and zakat expense of RM204 million in 3QFY2024, as opposed to a tax credit of RM37.2 million a year earlier.
Profit before tax (PBT) was higher at RM668.23 million in 3QFY2024, marking a 32.3% y-o-y growth from RM505.02 million. Lower finance costs also helped TM's PBT, with RM70.3 million recorded in 3QFY2024, down 19.7% from RM87.5 million.
Earnings per share stood at 12.12 sen, versus 14.08 sen for 3QFY2023.
Quarterly revenue slid 1.2% y-o-y to RM2.92 billion from RM2.95 billion, hurt by a challenging competitive landscape.
No dividends were declared for the quarter under review.
For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2024 (9MFY2024), net profit dropped 10.5% y-o-y to RM1.29 billion, from RM1.4 billion, also due to the one-off tax credit received last year. Tax expenses stood at RM509.8 million in 9MFY2024, against a tax credit of RM30.2 million previously.
Cumulative PBT, however, increased 27.6% to RM1.81 billion in 9MFY2024, from RM1.41 billion a year ago.
Cumulative revenue was flat at RM8.66 billion, compared with RM8.7 billion a year earlier.
Commenting on the performance, group chief executive officer Amar Huzaimi Md Deris said TM continued to demonstrate resilience, with an encouraging year-to-date increase in earnings before interest and tax, driven by continuous business improvements, cost optimisation, and operational efficiencies.
“Our broadband subscriber base continued to grow steadily, driven by the Unifi UniVerse campaign — our best convergence offerings to date, further solidifying our position as the leading convergence provider with the only quad-play services in Malaysia,” Amar said in a statement.
TM also maintained its positive outlook for the year.
“As we enter the final quarter of 2024, we are adopting a more proactive approach to boost revenue through fixed-mobile convergence and leveraging new technologies like 5G, cloud and artificial intelligence solutions to enhance customer experiences," said Amar.
The group’s strategic investments in new submarine cables and an expanded data centre portfolio will drive long-term growth, TM said in the financial results report. The group remains committed to providing seamless and reliable 5G services to customers, it said.
“As a leading fibre infrastructure provider, TM is well positioned to meet growing needs for fibre backhaul, to enhance the benefits of 5G technology,” said TM.
Shares in TM closed two sen or 0.31% higher at RM6.38 on Tuesday, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM24.5 billion. The counter has gained 15% this year.