Malaysian fixed line incumbent Telekom Malaysia has published its financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2014, reporting 5.6% year-on-year growth in total turnover. For the period under review TM reported group revenues of MYR8.078 billion (USD2.49 billion), up from MYR7.649 billion in 9M13, while in the third quarter of 2014 turnover was MYR2.636 billion, representing growth of 1% from the corresponding period of 2013. Internet revenue was cited as a key driver for growth, with this increasing by 10.1% y-o-y to MYR2.167 billion, attributed in part to a higher customer base for its fibre-based services, as well as HyppTV content. By comparison, turnover from fixed voice services fell by 4.6% to MYR2.581 billion in 9M14. Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) in the first nine months of 2014 totalled MYR2.675 billion, up from MYR2.574 billion a year earlier, though operating profit was down 2.8% y-o-y at MYR964.9 million. Profit after tax and minority interest (PATAMI) stood at MYR613.5 million, down 8.2% when compared to the MYR668.0 million recorded in 9M14.
In operational terms, at the end of September 2014 TM’s broadband subscriber base totalled 2.213 million, up from 2.184 million a year earlier, but down from a peak of 2.251 million at end-June 2014; this drop was attributed to a ‘cleanup’ of DSL-based subscribers. Fibre broadband connections continued to decline, however, standing at 700,000 at the end of the reporting period, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 15.3%. Fixed voice accesses, however, continued to decline, falling to 4.267 million at the end of September 2014, down from 4.377 million a year earlier.