DiGi to pay out 43 sen a share

New Straits Times
04-30-2011
DiGi to pay out 43 sen a share
Edition: Main/Lifestyle
Section: Business Times
Type: Company

KUALA LUMPUR: DiGi.Com Bhd, the smallest of the country's three cellular line operators, said it plans to pay 43 sen a share tax- exempt dividend to its shareholders.

In a statement to the stock exchange, DiGi said that the ex date for the dividend is May 19, while the entitlement is on May 23.
The company sought a one-hour trading halt yesterday to make the announcement.

It also said that net profit for the first quarter ended March 2011 increased 19 per cent to RM331.3 million from RM278.2 million in the comparable period a year ago.

The increase in net profits was contributed by increased usage from its larger subscriber base of 8.8 million customers.

Similarly, the telecommunications provider also saw its revenue increase 11 per cent to RM1.4 billion from RM1.2 billion previously.

The growth in revenue was helped by an increased data revenue, which grew by 38 per cent year-on-year to RM361.7 million, as well as revenue contribution from handset-bundled offerings.

Nevertheless, the average revenue per user declined slightly to RM50 (2010: RM53) as a result of new customers coming in at lower spend levels, competitive price pressures as well as reduced domestic interconnect revenue, following the lower regulated mobile termination rate, which took effect beginning July 2010.

Data continues to be a key revenue driver precipitated by the group's strong focus on stimulating higher data usage as well as strong take-up of smart bundles and increased adoption of smart- phones in the market.

As a result of this focus, at the end of this quarter the group had over 4.5 million Internet users and foresees demand for data services to continue trending up going forward.

On the outlook for the remaining quarters of 2011, the group maintains its target to achieve high single-digit revenue growth.

(Copyright 2011)
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