Bangkok--9 Feb--dtac
dtac today announced that its Q4’s service revenues increased by 3.8% from the previous quarter and 3.0% from Q4 2008 to THB16.6 billion. EBITDA also went up by 9.8%, QoQ, and 24.5% from a year earlier to THB5.6 billion. Net profit came in at THB2.1 billion, up 32.1%, QoQ, and 73.6%, from Q408. dtac also posted a record high operating cash flow of THB14.3 billion, exceeding the revised cash flow target by THB1.3 billion. dtac’s total customer base now stands at 19.7 million.
Full year service revenue including IC was THB64.7 billion, decreased by 2.9%, from a year earlier while net profit exclusive of DPC one-time settlement decreased by 11.5% to THB6.6 billion, due mainly to economic and political uncertainties. The near 100% penetration rate of mobile phone users had also resulted in a slower growth for the whole market.
Chief Executive Officer Tore Johnsen said 2009 was the year of challenge for all operators. dtac had therefore 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 the declining consumer confidence, dtac generated a healthy cash flow and revised the full year target of THB12.0 billion set at the beginning of the year to THB13 billion after the publication of Q309 results. At end of Q4, the company had surpassed the revised cash flow target by THB1.3 billion, bringing the total amount to THB14.3 billion.
“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% this year,” said the CEO.
dtac’s direction for 2010 is to maintain its continued focus on quality customers, 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 company intends to explore the potential to utilize the 850MHz spectrum until the 3G license on 2.1GHz spectrum is issued.
In 2010, dtac targets revenue growth, including handsets and smartphone sales, at a high single digit. The whole market is projected to grow by 3-4 million net additions and dtac intends to maintain its market share while giving the priority to quality of subscribers. The company also sets to achieve a cash flow target of 16 billion by end of 2010 through continued margin improvement and cost efficiency efforts.