Higher revenue sends M1's Q3 earnings up 12.7%

Singapore

A BETTER topline drove M1's net profit 12.7 per cent higher to S$44.5 million for its third quarter, the telco reported after market close on Thursday. Operating revenue, which includes service revenue and handset sales, was up 3.5 per cent at S$250.2 million. Service revenue on its own inched up 0.5 per cent to S$206.9 million.

M1's mobile segment drove some of the gains for the quarter, with revenue up 3.3 per cent year-on-year at S$167.5 million. As of the third quarter, 61 per cent of M1's postpaid customers were on tiered data plans, up from 58 per cent in the second quarter of the year. Postpaid monthly average revenue per user (Arpu) dipped from S$62.30 in Q2 to S$61.80 in Q3, which was attributed to the dilutive impact of shared mobile plans.