M1 1H profit lifted by handset, fiber revenue

Singapore’s M1 grew its net profit for the six months ending in June by 3.8% year-on-year to S$90 million ($65.9 million), as strong handset sales compensated for a slight decline in service revenue.

Operating revenue improved 19.1% to S$571.7 million, with service revenue dipping to S$409 million from S$413 million during the same quarter last year.

But handset sales climbed 143.2% to S$163 million. Enthusiastic smartphone users also pushed mobile data’s contribution to total service revenue up by 9.5 percentage points year-on-year to 43.1%.

M1 added 13,000 mobile customers during the second quarter, taking its total mobile subscriber base to 1.88 million.

The company also augmented its total fiber subscriber base by 6,000 to 114,000. Fixed service revenue jumped 18% to S$39.5 million, or 9.7% of total service revenue, with growth driven by the corporate segment.

“With our appointment as key sub-contractor for NetLink Trust and an expanded range of cloud-based solutions, we are better placed to service our corporate customers,” M1 CEO Karen Kooi commented.

“We will continue to build on this momentum and grow our share in this segment.”

She said that based on the current economic outlook M1 is projecting a moderate growth in net profit for the full year.