Solid growth in Q4 powers DiGi to a strong finish in FY2013

Solid growth in Q4 powers DiGi to a strong finish in FY2013

• Full-scale modernised network fuels strong increase in uptake of mobile internet services
• Building blocks in place to realise Internet For All mission and to seize future growth opportunities

SHAH ALAM, 6 February 2014 - DiGi.Com Berhad (DiGi) reported solid growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 driven by strong uptake of mobile internet services, powering the Company to a strong finish in the year. Mobile internet customers increased to 6.7 million from a larger base of 11.0 million customers, a growth of 16.0% over the previous year.

Henrik Clausen, Chief Executive Officer of DiGi attributed the completion of the Company’s modernised network as a key factor in driving growth in the quarter. "We see the strong uptake on mobile internet as a direct result of our focus on delivering a stronger network experience to our customers. During the year, we expanded our HSPA+ enabled 3G network to 80% population coverage from 67% a year ago, and increased our own and jointly built fibre network to more than 3,200 kilometres nationwide, building the vital backhaul connectivity needed to support always-on, high-speed data experience. We also continued to drive focus on delivering higher quality experience of our network, and this has directly resulted in stronger internet usage and positive overall customer satisfaction.

"In Q4 we also launched a special year-end "Thank You" campaign with attractive deals for smartphones and tablets, with voice and internet offerings. We continue to see affordable smartphone and tablets driving internet usage, especially among prepaid subscribers. Internet revenues in the quarter grew 43.8% over the previous year from improved usage, higher mobile internet subscriptions, and an overall larger smartphone user base of 38.1%. This marked a significant contribution to the quarter’s revenue of RM1.7 billion, a 6.4% growth over the previous year (2012: RM1.6 billion)," Clausen said.

For the full year under review, DiGi maintained resilient growth across revenue, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), and profit after tax (PAT). Revenue grew by 5.8% to RM6.7 billion in 2013 (2012: RM6.4 billion), while EBITDA and EBITDA margins were RM3.0 billion and 45% respectively (2012: RM2.9 billion and 46% respectively). PAT was RM1.7 billion, 41.5% higher than the previous year (2012: RM1.2 billion).

"With a stronger-than-ever network over a larger coverage footprint we are solidly positioned to deliver an even better internet experience to our growing base of customers across Malaysia," Clausen added. "In 2014, we will continue to invest significantly in growing our 3G HSPA+ network, expanding our LTE footprint, and increasing our own and jointly built fibre network to ensure we continue to bring high-speed internet connectivity to customers nationwide. In addition, we will continue to deliver relevant and affordable device and service offerings to drive internet usage to more customers across Malaysia."

DiGi announced that it will pay a fourth and final net dividend of 7.0 sen per ordinary share equivalent to RM544 million or 99% payout ratio to shareholders on 7 March 2014.