KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB) posted a 9.3% year-over-year decline in attributable net profit for the second quarter (2QFY2026) mainly due to higher expenses and share of joint-venture losses as well as absence of gain on asset disposal.

For the three months ended June 30, profit fell to RM398 million from RM439 million a year earlier, while earnings per share fell to 3.39 sen from 3.74 sen, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Friday.

Revenue was marginally up by 0.3% to RM3.186 billion from RM3.178 billion for the three months ended June 30, driven by subscriber gains in the postpaid and home and fibre segments.

The company declared a second interim dividend of 3.4 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026, payable on Sept 29, 2026.

For the first half, attributable profit slipped 2.8% to RM816 million from RM823 million, while revenue rose 0.1% to RM6.394 billion from RM6.388 billion.

Earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) for 1H improved 0.6% year-on-year to RM1.441 billion on the back of service revenue growth, lower operating expenses, and effective cost management. 

The group kepts its FY2026 guidance intact, targeting a low single digit growth for service revenue, Ebit growth of low-single digit and capex-to-total revenue ratio of between 12% and 13%.

CelcomDigi remains committed to distributing dividends at minimum of 80% of its net earnings.

In a statement, CelcomDigi said it is progressing with the final phase of IT consolidation, which will fully integrate its core billing and CRM systems by the second half of 2027 to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. 

The company remains on track to deliver annualised cost savings of approximately RM700 million-RM800 million post-2027 as a flow-through of cost efficiencies from all integration initiatives.

During the quarter under review, CelcomDigi's postpaid revenue rose 2.7% year-on-year to RM1.102 million, driven by a 191,000 subscriber increase to 6.1 million with stable average revenue per user (Arpu) of RM60. 

Home and fibre sustained double-digit growth with revenue up 47.2% year-on-year to RM95 million, as subscribers rose 79,000 to 315,000 and Arpu climbed 8.4% to RM103, fuelled by convergence plan demand. 

Prepaid revenue declined 3.2% year-on-year to RM1,016 million on lower subscriber volumes, though Arpu stabilised at RM28 from improved monetisation and higher-quality acquisitions. 

Enterprise solutions revenue jumped 19.7% year-on-year from cybersecurity and digital contract wins, while enterprise mobile revenue edged up 0.3% quarter-on-quarter but moderated 9.9% year-on-year from lower bulk SMS traffic.