Axiata’s profit rises in Q1 (Malaysia)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Net profit of Malaysia-based telecoms group Axiata increased from MYR63.89 million (USD17.5 million) in 1Q09 to MYR921.48 million (USD281.7 million) in the three months ended March, 31 2010. Operational improvements and cost management at three of its subsidiaries Malaysia’s Celcom, XL of Indonesia and Sri Lanka’s Dialog has been attributed as the reason behind increased profitability.

Disposal of shares in XL has also been hailed as the reason behind the gain. 31% year-on-year rise in the revenue has also been reported which reached MYR3.81 billion while the EBITDA rose 52% against the same period a year earlier to MYR1.68 billion. Axiata’s total customer base rose by 37% y-o-y to reach 129.7 million at end-March 2010.

According to the company, it expects to face continued challenges in the coming year, and reiterated its plans to take a long term view by adopting prudent measures to optimize financial performance.