February 3, 2016 – dtac reported total revenues and net profit for Q415 of
THB23.2 billion and THB998 million, respectively. From operating results in Q415, dtac declared dividend of THB0.52 per share, a payout ratio of
124% and subject to the approval of the annual general meeting.
For
the full year 2015, dtac generated total revenues and net profit of
THB87.8 billion and THB5.9 billion, respectively. Revenue from
data service surpassed that from voice service for the first time in
2015 due to the change in mobile phone usage behavior. Despite strong
growth in demand for data service, its revenue growth was more than
offset by the decline in voice revenue, resulting
in the decline in total service revenue excluding IC of 3.0% from
previous year.
In
order to take a leading position in 4G service, dtac increased its
investment in network to THB20.2 billion in 2015, rolling out 4G
network on 20MHz bandwidth, highest among mobile operators in the
market, in BMA and more than 40 cities throughout Thailand. Furthermore,
it plans to further strengthen its network in 2016 by investing similar
amount of CAPEX to expand 4G network coverage
to reach every province in the country, and to extend 3G coverage to
95% of population.
In
2015, dtac increased spending on network expenses along with network
expansion; and on selling, marketing, and general administrative
expenses, and handset subsidy to address higher level of competition.
Moreover, depreciation and amortization expenses went up due to higher
level of investment in the networks as mentioned above. The increases
were partly offset by the decline in regulatory
cost. Consequently, net profit declined 45% from previous year.
dtac
is fully committed to becoming the leading Digital Service provider and
continues to improve and expand its networks, now reaching
an all-time high of 94% population coverage. In addition, dtac
continues nationwide network campaign, initially launched in late Q3-15,
to capitalize on the improvement of its network and offers attractive
price plans and handset bundle packages to customers.
We
provide outlook for 2016 based on high uncertainty in the market from
competition and pending entry of a new player following the conclusion
of the auctions in Dec 2015, in addition to weak recovery of the
overall economy. The outlook for 2016 comprises (1) flat/slight increase
in service revenue excluding IC from last year, (2) EBITDA margin in
the range of 27% - 31%, and (3) similar CAPEX level
as last year.
