India’s Idea Cellular reported a 69 per cent increase in its Q2 profit as revenue expanded 20 per cent and it added 4.7 million connections in the quarter ending 30 September.

The number three operator, with a 15 per cent market share, grabbed 34 per cent of the country’s total net additions in Q3 and now has 143.6 million connections, according to GSMA Intelligence. Bharti Airtel is the leader with 211 million connections (23 per cent market share) followed by Vodafone India with 174 million connections (19 per cent share).

The company’s profit increased to INR7.56 billion ($123 million) while revenue was INR75.7 billion. EBITDA rose 27 per cent from a year ago to INR24.9 billion and its EBITDA margin was 32.9 per cent.

Mobile data revenue expanded by 22 per cent and now accounts for 14 per cent of total services revenue. The company said it added 3.1 million mobile data subscribers in the quarter and now has 30.9 million. Despite strong growth, 3G data subscribers account for just 9 per cent of its user base.

ARPU rose 7.3 per cent to INR176 ($2.86).

DiGi’s net profit rises 8.5%
Malaysia’s third largest mobile operator DiGi also posted a rise in quarterly profit and revenue.

The company’s Q3 earnings increased 8.5 per cent to MYR486.9 million ($149 million) while revenue was up 3.3 per cent to MYR1.75 billion during the quarter. EBITDA rose almost 10 per cent to MYR789 million and its EBITDA margin was 45 per cent.

For the first nine months of the year, earnings increased 27 per cent to MYR1.47 billion.

The Telenor subsidiary, with 10.8 million connections and a 26 per cent market share, added 123,000 mobile connections in the quarter – or 34 per cent of the country’s net additions, according to GSMA Intelligence. Celcom has a 33 per cent market share while Maxis has a 29 per cent share.

DiGi said the number of internet customers rose 26.5 per cent to six million and internet revenue increased 40 per cent. Smartphone users now account for 47 per cent of its customer base. Its data traffic increased 90 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

Its capex increased almost 24 per cent in Q3 from a year ago as it expanded 3G coverage to 84 per cent of the populated areas. The company said capex is expected to hit MYR900 million for the full year.