Axiata posts strong 2010 results despite impairment charge

Malaysia’s Axiata Group has posted revenues of MYR15.6 billion (USD5.1 billion) for 2010, up 17% year-on-year on the back of robust performance from Celcom in its home market, as well as from its operating subsidiaries in Indonesia and Bangladesh. An impairment loss of MYR1.1 billion on its investment in Indian unit Idea Cellular meant that Axiata’s net income for the fourth quarter was a loss of MYR367 million. However, performance throughout the rest of the year was strong enough to offset the fourth quarter loss, with net income for the twelve-month period standing at MYR1.77 billion, up from MYR1.65 billion the year before. CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim said that the impairment charge was an anomaly. ‘Because of our strong numbers, we decided this was the year to do whatever clean-up we had to do from an accounting perspective,’ he told a media briefing on Wednesday. The company’s EBITDA margin in 2011 is expected to remain at the current level of 45%, while CAPEX is expected to reach MYR3.3 billion due to upgrades to transmission services and data networks in Malaysia in Indonesia. The two countries account for approximately 84% of the group’s total sales.