BANGKOK, THAILAND, FEBRUARY 9, 2010—Thai mobile operator DTAC has announced that its fourth quarter service revenues increased by 3.8 per cent from the previous quarter and three per cent from the fourth quarter of 2008 to US$500 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also went up by 9.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and up 24.5 per cent from a year earlier to US$170 million. Net profit came in at 63 million, up 32.1 per cent, quarter on quarter, and 73.6 per cent, from the fourth quarter of 2008.
DTAC also posted a record high operating cash flow of US$430 million, exceeding the revised cash flow target by 39 million. The company’s total customer base now stands at 19.7 million.
However, the full year service revenue decreased 2.9 per cent from the previous year to US$2 billion, while net profit also decreased by 11.5 per cent to US$198 million. This was due mainly to economic and political uncertainties. The near 100 per cent penetration rate of mobile phone users had also resulted in a slower growth for the whole market.
“The better-than-expected results indicated a continued improvement in the economy and we hope to see the industry service revenue growth to be in line with the GDP growth of around 3-5 per cent this year,” said the CEO Tore Johnsen.
2009 “a challenging year”
He also noted that 2009 was the year of challenge for all operators. Because of this, DTAC had put more emphasis on the implementation of cost efficiency and customer quality focus.
Despite a lot of challenges including the reduction of GDP, lower tourists coming in and declining consumer confidence, the operator generated a healthy cash flow and revised the full year target of US$360 million set at the beginning of the year to US$390 million after the publication of the third quarter 2009 results. At the end of the fourth quarter, the company had surpassed the revised cash flow target by US$39 million, bringing the total amount to US$430 million.
2010 focus on customer service and cost efficiency
DTAC’s direction for 2010 is to maintain its continued focus on quality customer service, micro segmentation, and cost efficiency programs. The company will put more emphasis on smart phones and corresponding VAS revenues. When it comes to 3G development, the DTAC intends to explore the potential to utilise the 850MHz spectrum until the 3G licence on 2.1GHz spectrum is issued.
In 2010, DTAC targets revenue growth, including handsets and smart phone sales, at a high single digit. The whole market is projected to grow by three to four million net additions and the company intends to maintain its market share while giving the priority to quality subscribers. The company also sets to achieve a cash flow target of US$500 million by the end of 2010 through continued margin improvement and cost efficiency efforts.
