Dialog Axiata revenue grows 19% in 9M16

Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata has reported a 19% increase in revenue for the first nine months of the year to 64 billion rupees ($430.9 million) as a result of a temporary suspension of value-added tax (VAT) and strong growth momentum across the operator’s business.

Net profit for the period grew 71% to 7.8 billion rupees as a result of improving profit margins and significantly lower forex losses.

Dialog Axiata increased its mobile subscriber base by 10% year-on-year to 11.3 million, mostly from prepaid services. The company also recorded 43,000 net additions to its subscription TV service.

Broadband revenue for the nine-month period grew 27% to 6.76 billion rupees, but the broadband segment recorded a net loss of 62 million rupees due to aggressive fixed LTE and fiber expansion.

Total group capex for the nine months reached 12.7 billion rupees, with the high-speed broadband investments dominating spending.

Blended ARPU grew 3.8% during the third quarter to 406 rupees, while average minutes of use edged up by 1 minute to 133.