PETALING JAYA: Axiata Group Bhd
has recorded a net profit of RM75.56mil for the first quarter ended March 31,2021, which was a 59.83% reduction year-on-year (y-o-y).
This was mainly due to higher depreciation and amortisation and lower one-off gain.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Axiata said mobile operating companies in Malaysia and Bangladesh had recorded accelerated depreciation of 3G assets amounting to RM171.6mil, as opposed to the first quarter of 2020 when Indonesia recognised a one-off gain from sale and leaseback of telecommunication towers of RM420.3mil.
The group’s revenue for the quarter was RM6.06bil, a slight increase of 0.45% y-o-y.
Chairman Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid said the board was heartened to note the steady performance delivered across the group since the start of the pandemic in March last year.
“The region continues to grapple with multi-faceted challenges as each country battles to mitigate blows from the protracted Covid-19 crisis.
“Despite this, we press on towards the realisation of our ambition to become The Next Generation Digital Champion by 2024.
“The board will place strict emphasis in ensuring the relentless execution of the Axiata 5.0 vision, which will keep us steady in these uncertain times, ” he said in a statement.
