The group said it maintained a stable underlying performance in the first nine months of 2023.
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd
has maintained a strong performance in its operations, and is on track to meet 2023 headline key performance indicators (KPI), says group chief executive officer Vivek Sood.
In the third quarter of 2023, the telco’s net loss widened to RM797.41mil, compared with RM52.4mil in the same 2022 quarter, as it was affected by asset impairment due to the reclassification of Ncell as an asset held for sale following its decision to exit Nepal.
Axiata also recorded a lower share of results from CelcomDigi Bhd compared with Celcom’s contribution as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Revenue during the quarter was RM5.7bil, up from RM5.37bil in the corresponding quarter last year.
Meanwhile, the group’s nine-month net loss was RM1.3bil compared to a net loss of RM201.76mil for the similar period last year, while revenue was RM16.43bil compared with RM14.84bil in the same 2022 period.
However, the group said it maintained a stable underlying performance in the first nine months of 2023.
Year-to-date, the group registered 13% growth in revenue, mainly driven by consolidation at Indonesian cable service providerLink Net, better operational performance at mobile network operators Robi in Bangladesh and XL in Indonesia, and cell-tower operator Edotco’s consolidation of acquisitions in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) growth of 8.9% was moderated by higher depreciation and amortisation from XL, Link Net and Edotco.
Underlying profit after tax and minority interests declined 76.6% due to higher net finance costs and lower contribution from CelcomDigi.
“A challenging macro environment persists across the group’s markets, while Indonesia’s fixed-broadband market offers exciting growth opportunities coupled with leverage to offer fixed-mobile convergence.
“On balance, the group is cautiously optimistic for revenue and Ebit growth to be broadly in line with headline KPIs,” said Vivek in a statement..
He added that risks are expected to subside as interest rates start to drop in 2024.
“Our assets will continue to grow as the market improves, price stability prevails and demand for mobile, digital and enterprise solutions remains,” he said.
