M1's net profit down 14.6% in Q1
Higher operating expenses dented earnings at telco M1 in the first quarter, it announced yesterday.
Net profit fell 14.6 per cent to $36.3 million in the three months to March 31, compared with the same period last year.
Operating revenue rose 1.2 per cent from a year earlier to $260.7 million while operating expenses, by contrast, rose 4.3 per cent to $214.1 million.
Service revenue came in at $201.5 million, down just slightly from $203.4 million a year earlier. Mobile revenues dipped 3.6 per cent, owing to lower roaming turnover.
Fixed-services takings surged 23 per cent, offsetting a 10.7 per cent fall in international call sales, which were dragged down by lower premium IDD usage.
Mobile data's contribution to service turnover rose to 55.1 per cent in the last quarter, up from 53.1 per cent in the same period last year.
M1's average revenue per post-paid user was $55.80, down from $58.60 a year ago.Average post-paid smartphone data usage increased to 3.7GB a month in the first quarter, up from 3.3GB per month a year earlier. M1 added 24,000 post-paid customers and 3,000 pre-paid customers.
The company said mobile virtual network operator Circles.Life, which leases capacity from M1, contributed to the increase in post-paid customers.First-quarter earnings per share was 3.9 cents, down 14.2 per cent from 4.5 cents a year earlier.
Net asset value per share was 47.2 cents as at March 31, up from 43.4 cents on Dec 31. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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