Alternative Malaysian fixed line operator TIME dotCom Berhad (TdC) has reported that operating profit nearly doubled to MYR64.4 million (USD20.9 million) in the first six months of 2013, up from MYR33.6 million in the same period of 2012. Such an increase, the telco said, was the result of ‘contributions from the acquisitions, market expansion across all business segments and rising margins underlined strong data demand’.
Turnover in the six months ended 30 June 2013, meanwhile, stood at MYR267.1 million, up 43% year-on-year, with growth ‘mainly attributable to strong data contributions’. As a result, revenues in TdC’s Wholesale and Enterprise segments expanded by 55% and 35% respectively, while its Consumer and SME segment grew by 5% in the first half of the year. Notably, TdC said that the acquisition of data centre and international bandwidth businesses in May 2012 contributed 22% of first-half revenues in the current financial year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the six-month period under review totalled MYR99.7 million, up by 59% from the MYR62.8 million recorded for H1 2012, while core profit before tax rose by 80% y-o-y to MYR63.6 million. Commenting on the results, Afzal Abdul Rahim, TdC’s chief executive officer, said: ‘These numbers show that well-supported data services have done well for TdC. Data is a business requirement that cannot be cut, and our business expansion runs on that global need for data.’