DiGi Reports Lower Q4 Earnings

DiGi reports its earnings for Q4 has taken a toll due to higher traffic cost coupled with lower average revenue per user (ARPU).

Net profit slipped to RM282.2mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 against RM293mil a year ago.

In filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, DiGi said its ARPU came in marginally lower at RM58 per month due to lower average price per minute.

For the full financial year, its revenue expanded 10% to RM4.8bil, driven by steady demand for mobile services and an increase in subscriber base, reaching 7.1 million as at end-2008.

Net profit rose 7.4% to RM1.14bil. However, the group’s (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin was lower at 45.1% compared with 48.4% in FY07 because of competitive price pressure, higher traffic, network operating costs and higher sales and marketing expenses.

Going forward, DiGi opines that the telecommunications industry will continue to offer good growth prospect in the long term and be resilient to a slowdown in the local economy.

For FY09, the group aims to achieve an operating cashflow similar to or better than FY08.

[SOURCE]