Thai mobile operator True recorded a sharp drop in profit in the second quarter, as plunging sales affected its core mobile and broadband units.

Siripoj Kunakornphan, True president, said its focus on micro-level strategies, with targeted marketing campaigns and operations, along with digitalisation has become more efficient.

In addition to strengthening network quality with more than 76,000 base stations and 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, the group expanded its sales and service channels while “working cohesively with partners to better reach and add convenience to customers”, he added.

It added 1.7 million mobile subscribers in the year to end-June, taking its total to 29.8 billion. Post-paid increased 9.7 per cent and prepaid 5.3 per cent. Blended ARPU slipped marginally to THB212 ($6.86).

Net profit dropped nearly 90 per cent to THB1.06 billion, due in part to the impact of an asset sale to the Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund in Q2 2018 and a one-time cost of THB748 million stemming from a new law related to employee benefits.

Consolidated revenue fell 45.1 per cent to THB33.6 billion as a result of an 88.7 per cent drop in product sales to THB3.49 billion.

Mobile service revenue increased 6.3 per cent to THB19.5 billion, driven by the subscriber growth and sequential improvements in both prepaid and post-paid ARPU, while revenue at its broadband division fell 73.4 per cent to THB9.1 billion, due to a sharp fall in product sales.