KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 fell 40.5% to RM548.36 million from RM921.47 million a year earlier, as the company recorded a one-off gain in 1Q 2010 from the disposal of shares in XL.
Revenue for the period grew 3.3% to RM3.94 billion from RM3.81 billion on the back of continuous improvement in key operating companies.
Earnings per share was 6 sen while net assets per share was RM2.27.
In a statement May 31, Axiata president and group CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said the strengthening of the ringgit against most other currencies has resulted in a negative translation loss.
This, coupled with a maturing market in Malaysia and increased competition across the Group, had led to a challenging Q1, he said.
'This was somewhat mitigated by strong data growth of 20% year-on-year. Despite the challenges, Axiata is well positioned to compete, delivering stable earnings across the Group.
'This is a reflection of our balanced portfolio of emerging and matured assets alongside our diligence on cost management initiatives and capex efficiency,' he said.
Jamaludin said Axiata's South Asian operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh continued to do well, showing further signs of a positive turnaround and strong growth.
In Malaysia and Indonesia, both Celcom and XL had shown resilience in the face of slowing market conditions, he said.
'Our focus on data has already shown results and we expect this to be more tangible in the second half of the year,' he said.
Jamaludin said 2011 promises to be a year for data, especially for its more mature markets.
Both Celcom and XL had seen data's contribution to revenue grow significantly from a year ago and this was expected to continue, he said.
He said the group had already begun investing in network modernisation and looking at network sharing to facilitate the explosive growth in data, adding that it would be pushing advanced data services across smartphones and other connected devices.
'Alongside this, we are also making major organisational and process changes to drive the exponential growth in data.
'This has had an impact on our results in the quarter but will benefit us in the longer term. Concurrently, our cost reduction programme is ahead of plan and we continue to explore further ways to reduce cost. We maintain our tight focus on capital discipline and returns to shareholders,' he said.
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Revenue for the period grew 3.3% to RM3.94 billion from RM3.81 billion on the back of continuous improvement in key operating companies.
Earnings per share was 6 sen while net assets per share was RM2.27.
In a statement May 31, Axiata president and group CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said the strengthening of the ringgit against most other currencies has resulted in a negative translation loss.
This, coupled with a maturing market in Malaysia and increased competition across the Group, had led to a challenging Q1, he said.
'This was somewhat mitigated by strong data growth of 20% year-on-year. Despite the challenges, Axiata is well positioned to compete, delivering stable earnings across the Group.
'This is a reflection of our balanced portfolio of emerging and matured assets alongside our diligence on cost management initiatives and capex efficiency,' he said.
Jamaludin said Axiata's South Asian operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh continued to do well, showing further signs of a positive turnaround and strong growth.
In Malaysia and Indonesia, both Celcom and XL had shown resilience in the face of slowing market conditions, he said.
'Our focus on data has already shown results and we expect this to be more tangible in the second half of the year,' he said.
Jamaludin said 2011 promises to be a year for data, especially for its more mature markets.
Both Celcom and XL had seen data's contribution to revenue grow significantly from a year ago and this was expected to continue, he said.
He said the group had already begun investing in network modernisation and looking at network sharing to facilitate the explosive growth in data, adding that it would be pushing advanced data services across smartphones and other connected devices.
'Alongside this, we are also making major organisational and process changes to drive the exponential growth in data.
'This has had an impact on our results in the quarter but will benefit us in the longer term. Concurrently, our cost reduction programme is ahead of plan and we continue to explore further ways to reduce cost. We maintain our tight focus on capital discipline and returns to shareholders,' he said.
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