CelcomDigi Berhad Results Review
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 |
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52 Week Range (RM) | 3.25 – 4.00 |
3-Month Average Vol (000) | 2,762.4 |
1M | 3M | 6M | |
---|---|---|---|
Absolute Returns | -1.6 | -3.9 | 13.4 |
Relative Returns | -5.2 | -4.8 | 11.2 |
Market Capitalisation (RMm) | 44,345.1 |
No. of Shares (m) | 11,731.5 |
% | |
---|---|
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).
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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.
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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.
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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
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
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
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 |
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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
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