DTAC posts growth in Q1 revenue

DTAC posts growth in Q1 revenue

Total Access Communication (DTAC), the country's third-largest mobile carrier, posted 14.1 billion baht in first-quarter revenue -- excluding interconnection charges (IC) -- representing quarterly growth of 0.5%.

This marks the first positive note after four consecutive quarters of decline.

The company's subscriber base stood at 19.1 million at the end of the first quarter, a quarterly gain of 229,000, which reflects a sustained recovery, DTAC said in a statement.

Postpaid subscribers accounted for 32.2% of the company's total subscriber base.

Revenue for its core voice and data services recorded a slight drop of 0.7% quarterly to 31.7 billion baht, down 6.5% year-on-year.

However, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) surged 12.2% quarterly but dropped 2.5% year-on-year to 7.4 billion baht.

"We are pleased to see early signs of recovery despite the ongoing pandemic," said DTAC chief executive Sharad Mehrotra.

"Thanks to the aggressive rollout of the 700MHz network, which has already covered two-thirds of the population, our customers are experiencing improved network coverage and capacity."

Mr Mehrotra said DTAC offers 5G services in six major cities and aims to expand this capability to more locations this year. It is also working with industry partners to explore 5G use cases.

The company's revenue from handset and starter kit sales also jumped 44.3% year-on-year to 2.4 billion baht but declined 7.8% quarterly.

In the first quarter, DTAC booked a net profit of 822 million baht, compared with 281 million baht in the final quarter of last year.

Nakul Sehgal, DTAC's chief financial officer, said service revenue has stabilised for the first time after four consecutive quarters of decline.

"This was the result of our recovery plan and focus on the Thai mass-market coupled with a favourable impact from the government stimulus programmes," said Mr Sehgal.

Meanwhile, DTAC has revised guidance for 2021 covering service revenue, excluding IC, from a low single-digit decline to a flat to low-single-digit decline.

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