KUALA LUMPUR: On the back of a resilient first quarter, CelcomDigi Bhd will continue to focus on building strong fundamentals to achieve profitable growth, leveraging technology and competencies, says chief executive officer Datuk Idham Nawawi.
“We continue to step up transformation and integration activities on all fronts and remain steadfast in delivering best-in-class customer experiences, powered by a progressive and efficient organisation,” he said in a statement.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1Q24), CelcomDigi posted a net profit of RM376.46mil, up from RM317.92mil in the previous corresponding quarter, raising its earnings per share to 3.21 sen from 2.71 sen previously.
The telco reported revenue of RM3.15bil, which was slightly lower than RM3.18bil in the year-ago quarter.
The company declared a first interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share, equivalent to the 4Q23 payout of RM411mil and in line with its sustainable dividend commitment to shareholders.
According to the group, its focus on providing better value for customers through refreshed 4G and 5G plans and converged offerings led to healthy subscriber growth in the postpaid and home and fibre segments, bringing its total subscribers to 20.5 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 174,000 subscribers.
According to Idham, CelcomDigi has made solid progress on its integration and transformation programmes, especially on network and information technology, as well as retail and distribution.
“The company is ahead of schedule on its network integration and modernisation programme to build Malaysia’s leading digital network, with over 7,200 sites modernised as at end April 2024.
“These efforts have improved overall network experience – more than 80% of customers in post-consolidation areas have experienced improvements in signal quality and network throughput, delivering average nationwide download speeds at above 67 megabits per second.”
He said the company expects to cross the 50% completion mark in seven states and would have completed the exercise in Penang by June 2024.
To provide seamless 4G and 5G connectivity services for customers, CelcomDigi said it has modernised all components of its network, namely radio access network, core and transport with 5G-ready equipment.
Currently, almost 90% of the company’s sites are 5G-ready, with the aim of completing 5G upgrades in line with the broader nationwide integration efforts.
The company’s 4G LTE and 4G LTE-A network coverage now stand at 97% and 92% of populated areas nationwide respectively, in line with its commitment to deliver the nation’s widest and fastest 4G network, and to support Malaysians’ increasing demand for more data.