CelcomDigi Berhad Results Review






CelcomDigi Berhad Results Review


PublicInvest Research Results Review
KDN PP17686/03/2013(032117)

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Neutral

CelcomDigi Berhad Results Review

DESCRIPTION

The third largest mobile operator in Malaysia with strong positioning in the prepaid segment and youth market.

12-Month Target Price RM4.00
Current Price RM3.78
Expected Return +5.8%
Previous Target Price RM4.00
Market Main
Sector Telecommunications
Bursa Code 6947
Bloomberg Ticker CDB MK
Shariah-compliant Yes

SHARE PRICE CHART

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Share Price Chart Visual (No image provided)
52 Week Range (RM) 3.25 – 4.00
3-Month Average Vol (000) 2,762.4

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
1M 3M 6M
Absolute Returns -1.6 -3.9 13.4
Relative Returns -5.2 -4.8 11.2

KEY STOCK DATA
Market Capitalisation (RMm) 44,345.1
No. of Shares (m) 11,731.5

MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS
%
Telenor Asa 33.1
Axiata Group 33.1
EPF 10.7

Within Expectations

CelcomDigi Bhd’s (CDB) posted a net profit of RM439m for 2QFY25, an 8.1% increase from 2QFY24. This was mainly driven by lower depreciation and amortisation charges, which fell 9.2% YoY. Stripping out non-operating items, core net profit of RM958.2m accounted for 52% of our and consensus full-year earnings estimates. The group continues to demonstrate earnings resilience despite the rising competition. Benefits from its 5-year merger synergies are starting to reflect more meaningfully in both financial and service performance. We maintain our earnings forecasts and our Neutral rating with an unchanged TP of RM4.00. A second interim dividend of 3.80sen per share was declared (2QFY24: 3.50sen per share).

  • 2QFY25 revenue increased by 2.3% YoY. The increase in revenue was mainly supported by higher device revenue from postpaid device bundle sales. Meanwhile, service revenue was flat at around RM2.7bn with a marginally higher subscriber base while ARPU remained flat at RM41.

  • 2QFY25 headline net profit improved by 8.1% YoY, mainly driven by a 9.2% decline in depreciation and amortisation cost. Total operating cost increased by 4.9% YoY as a result of higher device and traffic-related costs. EBITDA margin was lower at 43.5% compared to 44.9% in 2QFY24.

  • Outlook. The major shareholder of CDB, Telenor ASA, has indicated plan to develop a sovereign and sustainable “artificial intelligence factory” in Malaysia, intended to be a data centre designed to deliver local compute power. Given its experience in Norway, Telenor sees opportunity to work with the Malaysian government to develop a scalable Al infrastructure, which could also offer services to CDB’s sizeable customer base of over 20m users. As demand for Al services is likely to expand, in areas such as education, financial services, health, data analysis etc, customers would require greater compute power to perform end-to-end tasks in the future. Meanwhile, CDB has recently announced the injection of an additional shareholder advance of RM116.67m to Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to support the deployment of 5G network and strengthen the state-owned network provider’s financial position. Earlier on, it has invested RM233m in DNB for a 14% stake back in December 2023, bringing total investment to RM350m. This advance will be interest-free and we expect it to be treated as prepayments to offset future access fee payments for DNB’s wholesale services. While financial impact is not expected to be material but we are concerned of greater competition once U Mobile fully rolls out the second 5G network by mid-2026.

Eltricia Foong

T: 603 2268 3000

F: 603 2268 3013

E: eltriciafoong@publicinvestbank.com.my

KEY FORECAST TABLE (RM m)
FYE Dec 2023A 2024A 2025F 2026F 2027F 3-year CAGR
Revenue 12,682.2 12,679.4 13,322.9 13,547.1 13,912.7 3.1%
Operating Profit 2,688.9 2,333.6 3,147.0 3,244.1 3,347.6 12.8%
Pre-tax Profit 2,181.0 1,736.4 2,567.0 2,686.6 2,824.1 17.6%
Net Profit 1,552.3 1,377.7 1,833.2 1,919.4 2,018.4 13.6%
EPS (Sen) 13.2 11.7 15.6 16.4 17.2 13.6%
P/E (x) 28.6 32.2 24.2 23.1 22.0
DPS (Sen) 13.2 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.5
Div Yield (%) 3.5 3.8 3.7 3.9 4.1

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research estimates

Table 1: Results Summary
FYE Dec (RM’m) 2Q25 2Q24 YoY Chg (%) QoQ Chg (%) 1H25 YoY Chg (%) Comment
Revenue 3,178.5 3,105.9 2.3 -1.0 6,387.8 1.8 Driven by higher device revenue from postpaid bundles
EBITDA 1,384.0 1,396.0 -0.9 2.7 2,733.0 -0.4
Total operating cost -1,794.0 -1,710.0 4.9 -3.6 -3,655.0 3.4 Higher device & traffic-related costs
– Material cost -812.3 -730.8 11.1 -4.8 -1,665.2 12.5
– Staff cost -175.9 -223.0 -21.1 -29.3 -424.5 -26.4
– Depreciation & amortisation -681.7 -750.6 -9.2 13.1 -1,335.4 0.0
– Net finance cost -142.5 -143.4 -0.6 0.9 -283.7 -3.1
PBT 597.3 520.3 14.8 8.0 1,150.4 21.4 Lifted by lower depreciation & amortisation charges
Tax -158.5 -104.4 51.8 -3.9 -323.5 101.4
Minorities 0.2 -9.8 -101.6 -103.7 -4.2 -5.8
PAT 438.9 406.0 8.1 14.4 822.7 5.1

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research

KEY FINANCIAL DATA

INCOME STATEMENT DATA

FYE Dec (RMm) 2022A 2023A 2024A 2025F 2026F 2027F
Revenue 12,682.2 12,679.4 13,322.9 13,547.1 13,912.7
Operating Profit 2,688.9 2,333.6 3,147.0 3,244.1 3,347.6
Net interest -539.0 -597.3 -600.0 -587.5 -553.5
Pre-tax Profit 2,181.0 1,736.4 2,567.0 2,686.6 2,824.1
Income Tax -614.0 -346.4 -718.8 -752.3 -790.8
Effective Tax Rate (%) 28.2 20.0 28.0 28.0 28.0
Reported Net Profit 1,552.3 1,377.7 1,833.2 1,919.4 2,018.4

Growth

2023A 2024A 2025F 2026F 2027F
Revenue 1.4% 0.0% 5.1% 1.7% 2.7%
Operating Profit -19.3% -13.2% 34.9% 3.1% 3.2%
Net Profit -21.0% -11.2% 33.1% 4.7% 5.2%

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research estimates

BALANCE SHEET DATA

FY Dec (RMm) 2023A 2024A 2025F 2026F 2027F
PPE 6,127.3 6,575.8 6,767.2 6,977.8 6,975.0
Other long-term assets 26,884.2 25,515.7 24,418.9 24,304.0 24,268.1
Cash at bank 397.0 237.3 351.1 446.9 460.2
Other current assets 3,018.4 3,682.7 2,925.8 2,970.7 3,043.8
Total Assets 37,543.7 37,544.7 37,545.7 37,546.7 37,547.7
Short-term borrowings 2,227.5 1,860.3 2,000.0 2,000.0 2,000.0
Long-term borrowings 10,769.4 11,192.5 10,500.0 10,500.0 10,300.0
Payables 4,285.0 4,974.0 4,437.4 4,481.7 4,526.5
Other liabilities 2,797.1 1,909.0 1,267.9 1,267.9 1,268.9
Total Liabilities 20,079.1 19,935.8 18,205.2 18,249.6 18,095.4
Shareholders’ Equity 16,347.7 16,075.7 16,257.9 16,449.8 16,651.6
Total Equity and Liabilities 37,543.7 37,544.7 37,545.7 37,546.7 37,547.7

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research estimates

PER SHARE DATA AND RATIOS

FY Dec 2023A 2024A 2025F 2026F 2027F
Book Value Per Share (RM) 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Gross debt/EBITDA (x) 2.1 2.3 2.0 1.9 1.8
EPS (Sen) 13.2 11.7 15.6 16.4 17.2
DPS (Sen) 13.2 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.5
Payout Ratio (%) 99.8 121.8 90.0 90.0 90.0
ROA (%) 4.2 3.8 5.2 5.6 5.8
ROE (%) 9.5 8.5 11.3 11.7 12.2

Source: Company, PublicInvest Research estimates

RATING CLASSIFICATION

STOCKS

OUTPERFORM

The stock return is expected to exceed a relevant benchmark’s total of 10% or higher over the next 12months.

NEUTRAL

The stock return is expected to be within +/- 10% of a relevant benchmark’s return over the next 12 months.

UNDERPERFORM

The stock return is expected to be below a relevant benchmark’s return by -10% over the next 12 months.

TRADING BUY

The stock return is expected to exceed a relevant benchmark’s return by 5% or higher over the next 3 months but the underlying fundamentals are not strong enough to warrant an Outperform call.

TRADING SELL

The stock return is expected to be below a relevant benchmark’s return by -5% or more over the next 3 months.

NOT RATED

The stock is not within regular research coverage.

SECTOR

OVERWEIGHT

The sector is expected to outperform a relevant benchmark over the next 12 months.

NEUTRAL

The sector is expected to perform in line with a relevant benchmark over the next 12 months.

UNDERWEIGHT

The sector is expected to underperform a relevant benchmark over the next 12 months.

DISCLAIMER

This document has been prepared solely for information and private circulation only. It is for distribution under such circumstances as may be permitted by applicable law. The information contained herein is prepared from data and sources believed to be reliable at the time of issue of this document. The views/opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice and solely reflects the personal views of the analyst(s) acting in his/her capacity as employee of Public Investment Bank Berhad (“PIVB”). PIVB does not make any guarantee, representations or warranty neither expressed or implied nor accepts any responsibility or liability as to its fairness liability adequacy, completeness or correctness of any such information and opinion contained herein. No reliance upon such statement or usage by the addressee/anyone shall give rise to any claim/liability for loss of damage against PIVB, Public Bank Berhad, its affiliates and related companies, directors, officers, connected persons/employees, associates or agents.

This document is not and should not be construed or considered as an offer, recommendation, invitation or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe or sell any securities, related investments or financial instruments. Any recommendation in this document does not have regards to the specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile and particular needs of any specific persons who receive it. We encourage the addressee of this document to independently evaluate the merits of the information contained herein, consider their own investment objectives, financial situation, particular needs, risks and legal profiles, seek the advice of their, amongst others, tax, accounting, legal, business professionals and financial advisers before participating in any transaction in respect of any of the securities of the company(ies) covered in this document.

PIVB, Public Bank Berhad, our affiliates and related companies, directors, officers, connected persons/employees, associates or agents may own or have positions in the securities of the company(ies) covered in this document or any securities related thereto and may from time to time add or dispose of, or may be materially interested in, any such securities. Further PIVB, Public Bank Berhad, our affiliates and related companies, associates or agents do and/or seek to do business with the company(ies) covered in this document and may from time to time act as market maker or have assumed an underwriting commitment in the securities of such company(ies), may sell them or buy them from customers on a principal basis, may have or intend to accommodate credit facilities or other banking services and may also perform or seek to perform investment banking, advisory or underwriting services for or relating to such company(ies) as well as solicit such investment advisory or other services from any entity mentioned in this document. The analyst(s) and associate analyst(s) principally responsible for the preparation of this document may participate in the solicitation of businesses described aforesaid and would receive compensation based upon various factors, including the quality of research, investor client feedback, stock pickings and performance of his/her recommendation and competitive factors. The analyst(s) and associate analyst(s) may also receive compensation or benefit (including gift and company/issuer-sponsored and paid trips in line with the Bank’s policies) in executing his/her duties. Hence, the addressee or any persons reviewing this document should be aware of the foregoing, amongst others, may give rise to real or potential conflicts of interest.


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