TRUE Reports Net Profit and Announces Dividend Payment
BANGKOK, February 28, 2018 – True Corporation PLC (SET: TRUE) recorded a net profit of Baht 5.4 billion in the fourth quarter and Baht 2.3 billion in 2017 driven by record-high revenue and EBITDA, cost and productivity initiatives, and asset divestment to the Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. Its board of directors today approved dividend payment of approximately Baht 1 billion (Baht 0.031 per share), subject to approval by shareholders at the AGM in April.
Consolidated 2017 service revenue grew more than 10% YoY to Baht 97.0 billion due to significant growth of both the cellular and broadband businesses while EBITDA surged 59% YoY to reach Baht 39.9 billion in 2017. Excluding the effect of the asset divestment to DIF, EBITDA grew 36% YoY to Baht 34.0 billion. This, combined with corporate-wide cost and productivity initiatives as well as the successful asset divestment to the Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (DIF), resulted in a net income of Baht 2.3 billion in 2017 paving the way for True to achieve sustainable profitability and dividend payments.
President (Co) for Operations Mr. Vichaow Rakphongphairoj said, “Our ongoing commitment to improving customers’ service experience and building the best telecommunications networks nationwide utilizing world-class standards and cutting-edge technologies have been important factors contributing to the Group’s solid revenue and subscriber growth. We have also put relentless efforts on cultivating a digital mindset and creativity within the company which will enable us to always keep pace with changes in consumers’ behavior and advancements in technology. All these developments, together with the Group’s wide range of cost and productivity initiatives, lay a solid foundation for us to continue growth in 2018 and beyond.”
President (Co) for Commercial Dr. Kittinut Tikawan said, “Our determination to provide high-value convergence offerings and digital services to consumers enhances their engagement and matches their needs toward digitalization. In 2017, the Group’s cellular business significantly outgrew peers as it was the only operator recording positive net adds of 2.7 million while the other two major players reported combined net subscriber loss of 2.8 million. This drove TrueMove H’s service revenue up 17.3% YoY while the industry’s revenue grew 5.7% YoY, the highest yearly growth rate since 2014. TrueOnline’s broadband business also grew well with consumer broadband revenue and subscriber base increasing at a solid double-digit rate resulting from its focus on upgrading speed and services through fiber campaigns. All of our broadband customers are now on our FTTx network. TrueVisions continues to provide high-quality content which can be enjoyed across multiple platforms, reinforcing the Group’s convergence leadership. As we continue to add more value to consumers while emphasizing on digital content and privilege programs through TrueID, IoT and other innovative offerings, we are well positioned to amplify growth and stay at the top of consumers’ mind in the Thailand 4.0 era.”
TrueMove H’s network strength particularly 4.5G/4G service fulfills consumers’ constantly-growing demands for data and streaming usage. Its attractive device-bundling and data campaigns continued to receive overwhelming response from both postpaid and prepaid segments. The business gained 2.7 million net subscribers during the year and expanded its total subscriber base to 27.2 million, of which 20.3 were prepaid and 6.9 were postpaid users. TrueMove H’s non-voice revenue growth of 24.7% YoY drove its service revenue up 17.3% YoY in 2017 and acted as a catalyst to push the overall industry revenue to grow 5.7% from the previous year. This contrasts with service revenue growth of TrueMove H’s major competitors combined which was only 2.1% YoY. The positive growth trend will continue as data consumption keeps rising.
TrueOnline accelerated expansion of its fiber footprint both in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA) and upcountry while adding more value for consumers with speed and technology upgrades to meet their rapidly growing demand for faster online transmission. The business continues to support the national broadband rollout initiative and bridge the digital divide within the country by increasing its broadband network to reach over 13 million homes passed nationwide. These resulted in solid double-digit broadband revenue and subscriber growth and sealed its leadership in the broadband internet market. TrueOnline achieved 385k net adds in 2017 and expanded its broadband subscriber base to 3.2 million, all of which were on FTTx network.
TrueVisions remains committed to enhancing its offerings through a comprehensive range of high-quality content, live broadcasting and HD viewing experience while developing its own-produced channels to match Thai consumers’ preferences. This strength and the Group’s value-driven bundled packages boosted TrueVisions’ subscription revenue and paying subscriber base. The business ended 2017 with a total customer base of 4.0 million households. By sharing its unrivaled content across True Group’s multiple platforms including wired and wireless broadband, television and digital media platforms, the Group ideally fulfills today’s consumer demand to access content anytime, anywhere, and on any devices.
