Singapore’s third largest operator M1 reported its H1 net profit increased 3.8 per cent year-on-year to SGD90 million ($66.7 million), but overall service revenue fell 2.3 per cent to SGD408.6 million.

Mobile revenue was also down, falling 0.7 per cent to SGD166.6 million, but the decline was more than offset by a 137 per cent jump in handset sales to SGD72.7 million.

Its operating revenue rose 19 per cent to SGD571 million in the six months ending 30 June.

Mobile data accounted for 43 per cent of service revenue during the period, up 9.5 percentage points year-on-year.

M1’s postpaid revenue inched up 0.7 per cent to SGD295 million. It added 13,000 mobile customers in the second quarter, bringing its total base to 1.88 million at 30 June for a 23 per cent market share. Monthly postpaid churn remained stable at 1 per cent.

International call revenue dropped 25 per cent to SGD36 million. ARPU was down 0.5 per cent to SGD62 during the period.

The operator expanded its fibre customer base by 6,000 to 114,000 during the quarter. Fixed services revenue grew 18 per cent to SGD39.5 million for the first half and now accounts for 9.7 per cent of service revenue.

Operating expenses rose 2.5 per cent SGD200 million. Capex for the period rose 6.7 per cent to SGD65 million.

Its EBITDA margin rose 1 point to 40.9 per cent of service revenue.

Based on current economic outlook and barring unforeseen circumstances, M1 estimates “moderate growth” in net profit after tax for the full year. It expects to spend SGD120 million on capex for the year.