Telekom Malaysia™ has announced its financial results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2008. The fixed line and broadband operator posted revenues of MYR2.062 billion (USD576 million), registering a decline of 3.1% compared to MYR2.129 billion recorded in 3Q 2007. This was mainly attributed to lower voice service revenue resulting from lower usage, which was partly mitigated by higher revenue from broadband and data services. In July-September 2008, TM incurred exceptional costs including foreign exchange losses on the sale of Societe des Telecommunications de Guinee (Sotelgui) as well as prior years’ volume commitment charges to foreign carriers. These and other one-off items contributed to a net loss for the three-month period of MYR165.8 million, compared to net profit of MYR340.9 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Excluding significant non-recurring costs, TM said it would have posted positive net income of MYR176.4 million for the most recent quarter, down from MYR195.5 million in 3Q 2007. Exceptional costs also resulted in a lower three-month EBITDA of MYR696.5 million, down from MYR816.4 million previously.
In 3Q 2008, broadband internet access continued to be TM’s key driver, registering year-on-year revenue growth of 24.6% to MYR390.6 million, with 32% y-o-y broadband customer growth to 1.55 million, up from 1.18 million at end-September 2007.