Malaysia-based Digi recorded declines in profit, revenue and subscribers in the final quarter of 2020, pointing to weak consumer and business spending due to ongoing Covid-19 (coronavirus) restrictions in parts of the country.

Net profit dropped 18.4 per cent year-on-year to MYR321 million ($79.3 million) and service revenue slipped 6.1 per cent to MYR1.35 billion. Device sales were down 12 per cent to MYR211 million.

CEO Albern Murty stated the company rallied against “a challenging and uncertain market” throughout 2020, driven by efficient operations and transformation initiatives.

“In the months ahead, we will maintain a sharp focus on accelerating our digital agenda and modernising our network and IT infrastructure to enhance customer experience, as well as supporting society’s recovery in this current climate,” he said.

For 2021, Digi forecasts a low single-digit decline in service revenue and a mid-single-digit fall in EBITDA.

Annual
The operator said strong uptake of digital services and increased data usage resulted in 9.9 per cent growth in internet and digital revenue in 2020. Total data traffic grew 28.2 per cent.

Mobile subscribers fell 7 per cent to 10.4 million at end-December. Prepaid ARPU increased 7 per cent to MYR32, while post-paid dropped 8 per cent to MYR66.

Capex rose 2.7 per cent to MYR773 million.