Malaysia-based Maxis reported mixed results for the second quarter with revenue stable despite Covid-19 (coronavirus) restriction measures, while profit dropped sharply on a one-off provision and higher depreciation costs.

Maxis CEO Gokhan Ogut said: “Overall, we delivered a strong Q2 performance amidst a challenging environment.”

He said it will continue to invest in its network and is accelerating its 5G network readiness, working with the industry on trials and RAN sharing.

“We are ready to deploy 5G and are committed to providing the best 5G innovation to Malaysia as soon as the spectrum is made available”.

Net profit fell 13.6 per cent year-on-year to MYR338 million ($79.5 million), due mainly to a provision for bad debt stemming from lockdown measures and increased depreciation related to higher capex. Service revenue was flat at MYR1.9 billion.

With a government movement control order in place during April and May, the operator’s physical retail channels and field sales team were constrained, leading to a 6.9 per cent drop in prepaid subscribers to 5.98 million, a 13.3 per cent revenue decline to MYR686 million and 2.4 per cent drop in ARPU to MYR40.

Prepaid net additions rebounded in June, as Maxis ramped digital channels to allow customers to top-up.

Post-paid users increased 9.7 per cent to 3.4 million, driving a 2.1 per cent rise in revenue to MYR961 million despite ARPU declining 6.6 per cent to MYR85, attributed to a reduction in the mobile termination rate and lower international outbound roaming.

Average data usage was 54 per cent higher at 21.1GB a month.

H1 capex of MYR422 million was up 7.1 per cent year-on-year.

Maxis declined to release a full outlook due to pandemic-related uncertainty, noting it withdrew its previous guidance in April.