In the second year of its Transformation, the Group is on track to achieve its 2022 market guidance, focusing on strengthening its core businesses and investing in new growth areas
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) continued its growth trajectory and long-term business sustainability, recording a steady performance in its First Quarter ended 31 March 2022 as compared to the same period last year (YoY).
The Group's operating revenue increased by 2.9% to RM2.89 billion, compared to RM2.81 billion in the same quarter last year, driven primarily by increased demand for voice, Internet and multimedia. Despite rising competition to offer converged solutions among telco and other technology players, TM continued to deliver strong customer growth across its operations.
Capitalising on its core businesses and investing into new growth areas, TM further ramped up its transformation initiatives, delivering profit after tax and non-controlling interests (PATAMI) for the quarter at RM339.9 million or 4.4% higher than the RM325.5 million recorded in 1Q2021. The Group also recorded lower financial costs subsequent to the early redemption of its RM2.0 billion sukuk in March 2021, as well as lower foreign exchange translation losses on borrowings. The Group has applied the Cukai Makmur statutory tax rate accordingly for the current quarter.
Accelerating into the second year of its Transformation, TM brought forward its manpower optimisation to enable earlier realisation of expected benefits to the Group. This, along with foreign exchange impact on trade settlement has led to a 5.0% decrease in EBIT at RM560.4 million for 1Q2022 compared to RM589.7 million in the same quarter last year. Excluding these costs, the Group's underlying EBIT is 14.0% higher at RM650.2 million compared to RM570.5 million in 1Q 2021. Free Cash Flow is lower by 15.1% at RM658.8 million compared to RM775.7 million due to higher CAPEX as the Group continues to invest in business expansion and meeting customers' demands through technology refresh and network delivery, ensuring steady growth.
unifi: Double-digit revenue and subscriber growth
unifi continued its growth performance, recording revenue increase of 10.6% from RM1.25 billion to RM1.38 billion in the current quarter. Sustained by increasing demand from Internet, voice and sales of devices, with cumulative fixed Internet subscribers increasing by 17.5% against the corresponding quarter last year. unifi remains the largest growth contributor for the Group.
unifi will continue to maintain its leadership in fixed broadband and enhance its Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC), enriched with TV and streaming content. This reflects its commitment to improve its FMC customer experience with better and seamless service. unifi will also grow its SME digital platform as a one-stop service centre for solutions catering especially to SMEs nationwide.
TM Wholesale (TMW): Higher revenue from increased demand for data services
TM Wholesale (TMW) also recorded a growth performance for 1Q2022, with revenue increasing by 1.2% from RM631.9 million in 1Q2021 to RM639.5 million, mainly contributed by higher revenue from voice and data services. This was underpinned by increasing demand from High-speed Broadband Access (HSBA) and higher International Voice and Data.
To date, TMW continues to enable industry broadband and 4G network via its fibre infrastructure, with the ongoing 5G rollout further strengthening that role. On the international front, it will continue to serve other OTTs and hyperscalers with connectivity and data centres, while regionally, TM Wholesale aspires to establish Malaysia as a digital hub for ASEAN via new submarine cables, enhanced data centre solutions and edge computing.
TM One: Renewed focus on growing B2B digital solutions market
TM One, the Group's enterprise and public sector arm, recorded a 7.4% decrease in revenue from RM925.2 million to RM856.8 million in 1Q2022 due to decline in data services revenue.
Strengthening and growing its B2B digital solutions, TM One has focused its efforts on high potential industry verticals, namely healthcare, manufacturing, education, oil & gas, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) and public sector. It has entered a partnership with Tune Protect and Huawei Malaysia that saw Tune Protect becoming the first organisation in Malaysia to host an insurance core system on public cloud (Cloud αEdge).
Commentary and Outlook from Imri Mokhtar, TM Group Chief Executive Officer
"With our economy and borders reopening, TM is powering Malaysia's journey on its road towards recovery, by ensuring the vision of an inclusive and extensive Digital Malaysia becomes a reality.
"Into the second year of our Transformation, we are focused on strengthening our core business while investing into new growth areas to meet customers' demands. In ensuring sustainability in the long run, we continue to grow our profitability to invest and seize opportunities arising from digital acceleration.
"One of these opportunities is in the exciting space of digital solutions and services for enterprises. Building on TM One's existing capability and relationships with enterprises and the public sector, we will deliver speed and agility through our new digital arm Credence: a corporate start-up led by technology leaders.
"unifi continues to better its fixed broadband and Fixed-Mobile Convergence value proposition to improve customer experience, while expanding our offerings to provide quality entertainment to customers at home or on-the-go.
"We have also achieved some key milestones in our sustainability efforts. TM One has successfully secured the Green Electricity Tariff from Tenaga Nasional Berhad for its data centres in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya and Johor Bahru, contributing to a lower carbon footprint as the demand for cloud storage inevitably increases. This is in addition to the existing Green Building Index (GBI) certification earlier obtained for its core data centres. TM's broader ESG commitment also remains consistent with Malaysia's initiatives towards achieving net-zero Greenhouse Gas emission for the country by 2050.
"Meanwhile, TM Wholesale continues to establish Malaysia as a regional digital hub via new submarine cables, edge computing, data centres and supporting international connectivity. On the domestic front, TM Wholesale continues performing its role as the enabler for industry broadband, 4G and 5G network via fibre infrastructure that will transform the nation's connectivity capabilities."
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TM and Cisco announce strategic partnership to supercharge Malaysia’s digital agenda
This collaboration is part of Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration programme and aligns with MYDIGITAL to accelerate Malaysia towards becoming a regional digital leader Malaysia’s national connectivity and digital infrastructure provider, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and worldwide leader in technology, Cisco International Limited, today announced a new strategic partnership as part of Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme to supercharge Malaysia’s ambitions to become a technology-driven nation and regional digital leader. Both parties signed two collaboration agreements to pave the way for key projects focused on helping the country develop its 5G innovation platform as well as accelerate technology adoption and transformation for Malaysia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These initiatives were introduced at a signing ceremony presided over by YB Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima TPr Annuar Haji Musa, Minister of Communications and Multimedia; and attended by YBhg. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Mentek, Chief Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia; YBhg. Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din, Interim President, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission; Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM; Dave West, President, Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China (APJC); and Hana Raja, Managing Director, Cisco Malaysia. Cisco’s CDA programme is a strategic partnership with governments worldwide to accelerate their national digitalisation agendas and create new value for the country, its businesses, and citizens. The programme taps on the power of private and public partnerships across a variety of sectors, including national infrastructure, education, and smart businesses and communities, to bring digital solutions to national challenges. Digitalisation initiatives that are rolled out are made into replicable solutions to cross-pollinate and contribute to Cisco’s wider CDA ecosystem which is currently present across 44 countries globally. The CDA programme in Malaysia was unveiled as a collaboration framework between Cisco and MyDigital Corporation in May 2022. It is aligned with MyDIGITAL, the government’s Digital Economy Blueprint, aimed at accelerating the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy, with a focus on driving digital transformation in the public sector, building digital infrastructure, and cultivating agile and competent digital talent. TM’s partnership with Cisco focuses on three key pillars: digital transformation in the public sector, specifically education – which will be launched at a later date; digital transformation for service providers, focusing on 5G innovation, and digital transformation for SMEs. The two (2) collaboration agreements signed today were: • 5GaaS Innovation Platform Cisco and TM will build a 5G-as-a-service Centre of Excellence to springboard 5G adoption and develop proof of concepts for enterprises and vertical industries. Supported by Cisco’s full stack of Private 5G Core technologies complete with services and support, the innovation platform will demonstrate 5G enterprise use cases realized on the reference architecture to allow businesses to visualize and implement 5G frameworks and solutions that address unique business challenges. • Accelerating Digital Transformation of SMEs Cisco and TM will drive a joint digital solution seeding programme through a proof of concept for selected SME customers. These solutions will range from the Internet of Things (IoT) to business analytics solutions for SMEs in the retail, education, and manufacturing sectors. Successful deployments will be showcased to broaden adoption within the SME ecosystem. Cisco will also launch a digital talent development initiative focused on introducing digital talent to Application Programming Interfaces (APIS) and training on how to navigate its cloud-based network, Cisco Meraki, as well as other mentoring opportunities and hackathon events. “TM is honoured to be the first company to partner with Cisco in bringing the CDA programme to Malaysia, which has the potential to benefit enterprises, consumers and over 400,000 SMEs. This collaboration builds on TM and Cisco’s 17-year partnership and will be the first of many “Innovation Sandbox” collaborations TM will drive, in our efforts to realise the Digital Malaysia aspiration and 5G objectives for the nation,” said Imri Mokhtar, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer. "Technology plays a critical role in powering an inclusive future for all. Our CDA programme in Malaysia is focused on turning the country's digital economy blueprint into reality by leading the development of core 5G technologies and infrastructure, accelerating the digital transformation of SMEs, and nurturing a pipeline of next-generation IT talent that will continue to support its national ambitions," said Dave West, President, Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China. "We are thrilled to embark on a new chapter of our collaboration with TM and the Malaysian government through our CDA programme and we're excited about the opportunities ahead."

TM to accelerate fibre deployment in Sabah, targeting 58% state coverage by 2025
Building on its commitment to support the Sabah Maju Jaya aspiration, TM will accelerate its fibre deployment, targeting a minimum of 145,000 premises to be connected in the next three (3) years from 2022 – 2025, achieving 58% of fibre coverage in the state. These targets, along with other matters, were shared during an engagement initiative by TM’s leadership with the Chief Minister of Sabah, YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor today, in an effort to foster a stronger relationship with the state government and various stakeholder groups in Sabah. The delegation, led by Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM shared updates on TM’s activities in the state as part of its effort to bring seamless connectivity and digital solutions to the population, business community, industry and the public sector. TM has invested more than RM1.1 billion in CAPEX in Sabah since 2012 towards improving connectivity and fiberisation in the state. With a total of 32,000km fibre optic cables statewide, TM has connected close to 282,000 premises in Sabah, in addition to the rollout of 59 fibre connectivity sites at schools in the state which serve as Points Of Presence (POPs). Cumulatively, TM has deployed over 600,000km fibre optic cables nationwide, and will continue to expand in line with the implementation of JENDELA. Also shared during the visit were TM’s various initiatives to improve browsing experience of customers in Sabah. To enable faster content downloading and reduced latency, TM deployed the TM internet exchange (TMiX) nodes locally in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang as well as upcoming ones in Inanam, Kinarut, Menggatal and Putatan, expected to be ready by December 2022. The company will also enable content localisation, where OTT players can place their content servers in Penampang, establish a Content Delivery Network (CDN) node and implement an International Gateway (IGW) in the district by Q1 2023. “As a human-centred technology company, TM is ready to play the role of a strategic partner in realising Sabah’s digital agenda in multiple ways, including developing competitive and competent digital talents for Sabah’s Digital Economy through scholarships, education collaboration with MMU as well as job opportunities,” said Imri. TM is also ready to collaborate and offer comprehensive custom digital solutions to Sabah’s public sector and business community, with Digital Government, Digital Marketplace, unifi Business Club as well as its comprehensive Cloud, Data Centre and Cybersecurity offerings, in addition to its suite of Smart City solutions.

TM reinforces commitment for employee welfare & safety; signs new Collective Agreement with NUTE for 2022-2024
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) signed its twelfth (12th) Collective Agreement (CA) last week, on 24 August 2022, with the National Union of Telecommunications Employees (NUTE) for the period of 2022-2024. Consecutively, the CA was also signed between NUTE and TM's subsidiaries, namely Telekom Sales & Services Sdn Bhd, TM Info-Media Sdn Bhd, GITN Sdn Bhd and TM R&D Sdn Bhd. About 8,000 non-executive employees in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan were covered by this CA. It includes employment enhancements for various terms and conditions, including salary adjustment and cost of living allowances among others. It is also aimed to enhance and boost employees’ productivity and work performance. Representing TM Group for the CA signing was Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer and Sarinah Abu Bakar, Chief Human Capital Officer while NUTE was represented by its President, Mohd Jafar Abd Majid, and Mohamad Farid Mohamad Daud, General Secretary of NUTE. The signing ceremony was also witnessed by Tan Sri Mohammed Azlan Hashim, Chairman of TM. “The new CA demonstrates TM’s unwavering commitment and strong industrial partnership with NUTE towards the well-being of our employees. Our people – Warga TM, is the impetus behind our achievements, they are the engine driving TM’s performance. It is hoped that the harmonious relationship between both parties will fuel the continuous growth of TM, inculcating a high-performance working culture and realise TM’s aspiration to become a Human-Centred Tech Company,” said Imri Mokhtar, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer.