M1 nine-month profit falls 12.6%

Singapore’s M1 has reported a 12.6% decline in net profit for the first nine months of the year, due to slowing service revenue and depreciation and amortization costs associated with the operator’s 4G network.

Net profit fell to S$117.9 million ($84.7 million), while service revenue decreased 1.4% to S$604.5 million as a result of the ongoing impact of OTT substitution on traditional telecoms services revenue.

Mobile data revenue grew by 6.2 percentage points year on year to account for 54.2% of service revenue, with average postpaid smartphone data usage growing to 3.4GB per month in the third quarter from 3.3GB a month a year earlier.

Fixed service revenue for the nine-month period meanwhile increased 26.1% year-on-year to S$77.1 million, or 12.8% of service revenue. M1’s fiber customer base increased by 7,000 to 152,000.

Looking ahead, M1 said barring unforeseen circumstances, the operator expects a similar percentage decline in net profit for the full year as reported for the first nine months.

Announcing its results, M1 said its planned of Singapore’s first nationwide commercial NB-IoT network, announced n August, will help open up a new growth market for the operator.

“The needs and behavior of our consumers and corporates are changing rapidly. We will continue to make network investments to provide our customers with a superior and all-encompassing experience while also tapping into new growth areas in data analytics, IoT and other solutions,” M1 CEO Karen Kooi said.