Singapore’s smallest operator M1 posted a 6.6 per cent increase in its net profit in Q1 compared to a year ago, as brisk demand for the latest smartphones boosted handset sales 150 per cent to SGD90 million ($66 million).

The operator’s profit for the quarter rose to SGD45.7 million as service revenue was stable at SGD204.4 million. International calling revenue dropped 21 per cent to SGD19 million.

Non-voice revenue rose 6.9 percentage points year-on-year and accounted for 52 per cent of service revenue. Mobile data represented 41 per cent of service revenue.

During the quarter, M1 added 18,000 customers, bringing its total mobile customer base to 1.87 million. Its postpaid market share was fairly stable at 24.4 per cent, but its prepaid share fell 4 points from a year ago to 20.7 per cent.

The company said average smartphone data usage jumped to 3.2GB per month from 2.8GB per month a year ago, while average prepaid data usage doubled year-on-year to 0.8GB per month.

Prepaid ARPU rose 20 per cent to SGD15.1 from Q1 2014, and postpaid ARPU was stable at SGD62.

Overall operating expenses rose 5 per cent to SGD102, while the cost of handsets almost doubled to SGD110 million.

Its capex for the quarter fell 24 per cent to SGD25 million. The company’s capex budget for the full year is set at SGD120 million, down from SGD140 last year.

Its EBITDA margin rose 0.8 per cent to 40.8 per cent.

The company has forecast moderate growth in net profit after tax for the full year.