DiGi records RM1.2 billion revenue in Q109

Maintains steady results in tough times

SHAH ALAM, 30 April 2009: DiGi.Com Berhad (DiGi) posted a 4% growth inrevenue amounting to RM1.2 billion for the first quarter ended 31 March 2009compared to the same period last year despite tough operating environment.The increased revenue was due to steady demand for mobile services and anincreased subscriber base.

Chief Executive Officer Johan Dennelind said that DiGi is pleased to haverecorded positive momentum although at a lower level in light of challengingmacro economy and weaker consumer confidence. He explained, "Overall, we sawreduced spend by the low income segments, which has, and will continue toimpact our business as we have slightly higher exposure here. Nevertheless,we continue to attract customers who are looking for savings in toughereconomic times by staying true to our best value promise."

The average revenue per minute (ARPM) was relatively stable for the quarterbut the average revenue per user (ARPU) contracted to RM56. Subscriber basestood at 7.2 million at the end of the quarter compared to 6.6 million inthe same period last year.

The Group recorded earnings before interest tax, depreciation andamortisation (EBITDA) and EBITDA margin of RM543.5 million and 44.6%respectively. Compared to the same period last year, the slightly lowerEBITDA and EBITDA margin for the quarter resulted from higher traffic andnetwork operating cost.

For the quarter under review, profit before tax (PBT) was down 6% to RM372.5million due to reduced EBITDA, commencement of 3G spectrum amortisation andincreased finance costs from additional borrowings. As a result, profitafter tax (PAT) declined by 5% to RM275.4 million. Earnings per share alsolowered to 35.4 sen for the quarter against 38.7 sen recorded in the sameperiod last year.

On the prospects of the Group for the remaining year, DiGi expects themacroeconomic environment in Malaysia to continue to be challenging althoughit believes that telecommunications will be relatively resilient compared toother industries.

Notwithstanding the slower quarter and economic uncertainty, the Boardremains cautiously optimistic that the Group will be able to captureadditional revenue growth opportunities going forward.

Dennelind added, "Tougher times have driven us to rethink, revitalize andrebuild our business focus and find new ways of doing things better to stayeven more relevant to our customers and stakeholders. We are pushing forgreater innovation as a catalyst for growth during the slowdown in order tobetter compete when recovery surfaces."

DiGi is steadfast in its strategy to seed long-term growth throughcontinuous innovation in the mobile business and beyond. Notably, DiGilaunched Malaysia's first 14.4 3G/HSPA wireless broadband network to realizeits ambition to bring internet to the people in the first quarter this year.With household penetration for broadband at only 21.2% as of end 2008, DiGiis confident that it will be a strong contributor towards increasingbroadband penetration in the country through its promise of value andquality broadband.

Charting more milestones in the quarter, DiGi made its foray online with thelaunch of mySimplifieds classifieds portal and introduced DiGi PriorityService, a first-of-a-kind customer loyalty programme.

"I believe we have taken steps in the right direction to deliver on ourpromise for excellent customer experience and in tandem with that, bring innew revenue streams in the medium-to-long-term. This coupled with ourcontinued cost optimisation focus should strengthen our financial standingand overall competitiveness," said Dennelind.