KUALA LUMPUR (June 13): TIME dotCom Bhd (KL:TIMECOM) is aiming to outpace industry growth with aggressive broadband roll-out targets in the retail segment to sustain subscriber growth, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB).
The telecommunication provider is planning to add between 200,000 and 300,000 new premises annually, with increasing emphasis on single-dwelling units, which already make up around half of new builds, HLIB said in a company update following TIME’s inaugural analyst day.
“While the era of strong double-digit growth is over, there remain opportunities for TIME to outpace the industry growth (especially in retail) and enhance efficiency to deliver shareholder value,” HLIB said on Friday.
TIME’s retail segment has now overtaken other divisions to become the group’s largest revenue contributor, accounting for 38% of total income, with net additions on a par with peers despite limited infrastructure reach of only around 20% nationwide.
“As of end-2024, TIME's fibre network had passed 1.77 million premises and supported 479,000 active subscribers at a monthly Arpu (average revenue per user) of RM115,” it said.
TIME, in which Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns a 32.34% stake, is currently third in the broadband market share with 10%, behind Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (KL:TM) Unifi at 68% and Maxis Bhd (KL:MAXIS) at 17%, according to HLIB.
Beyond retail, TIME is exploring a structural split into an InfraCo (efficiency and maximising asset yields) and a ServiceCo (service innovation and customer experience) to enhance operational focus.
HLIB noted that the group is also investing in new revenue streams such as residential solar systems, although the segment currently contributes less than 1% of its revenue.
HLIB has a 'hold' call on TIME along with three other research houses, while six has a 'buy' rating, with no 'sell' call on the stock. The consensus 12-month target price is RM5.67, according to Bloomberg.
The counter last traded two sen lower or 0.38% at RM5.23 at Friday's noon break, valuing the group at RM9.67 billion.