CHAIRMAN’S
STATEMENT
Over the last seven years, Axiata has
grown its subscriber base by seven fold to
touch the lives of approximately 275 million
customers at year end 2015. The Group
is present in nine countries and covers a
population of close to 2 billion
2
people,
which is approximately 24% of the world’s
population.
Responding to an increasingly digitalised
world, Axiata is embarking on the
third phase of its journey, which will
transform the Group into a truly digital
telecommunications company. This is in
line with its ambition of becoming a New
Generation Telco by 2020.
RESILIENCE DESPITE
UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES
Last year was challenging for the Group in
each of its markets. Against the landscape
of global economic volatility compounded
bya sluggish regional businessenvironment,
Axiata’s operating companies (OpCos)
faced the added pressures of heightened
competition, regulatory uncertainties and
currency fluctuations.
Despite these challenges, Axiata’s diverse
and balanced portfolio as well as prudent
cash management policies allowed us to
mitigate headwinds, and as a result, I am
pleased to report an overall healthy and
profitable year.
Our balance sheet remains strong with
a higher cash balance of RM5.5 billion
(USD1.3 billion) and a Gross Debt/Earnings
Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and
Amortisation (EBITDA) ratio of 2.25x post
our issuance of the USD500 million Sukuk.
Axiata successfully has hedged 67.3% of
its USD-denominated debt as a result
of initiatives taken to mitigate currency
volatility.
BUILDING CONSISTENT
SHAREHOLDER VALUE
Given our strong balance sheet and
sustained underlying performance, our
commitment to provide healthy returns
to our shareholders remains, which is
underscored by our pragmatism to set
aside funds for future growth. Taking into
account the proposed acquisition of Ncell
Private Limited (Ncell) and anticipated
regulatory developments, Axiata has
maintained its dividend payout policy for
2015 by moderately increasing its dividend
payout ratio. The Group declared a final
dividend under a single tier system of
85% dividend payout ratio, up marginally
from the 2014 payout ratio of 84%. This
translates into a 20 sen dividend per
ordinary share of RM1 each in Axiata. Our
earnings per share for 2015 was 29.5 sen.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS DRIVING
THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
As the Group continues to drive value
for shareholders, we remain focused on
setting aside funds for future investments
to drive long-term business growth. In
2015, the Group recorded significant
deals/partnerships, in addition to its
continued investments in digital assets,
that will position Axiata for future growth
and ensure sustainable profits in the years
to come:
I.
Proposedmerger between Robi Axiata
Limited and Airtel Bangladesh Limited
(Airtel) to establish Robi as the number
two mobile operator in Bangladesh by
subscriber market share.
II.
Expansion of our footprint with the
proposed acquisition of Ncell, the
number one mobile operator in Nepal
by revenue market share.
III. Celcom’s signing of a collaboration
deal with Telekom Malaysia Berhad
to pave the way for fixed-mobile
convergence.
IV. The entry of edotco, our tower
business, into Myanmar, the last
greenfield telecommunications market
in Southeast Asia.
V.
Through intense investments in digital
assets, Axiata Digital has established
24 brands under its portfolio of digital
services assets.
Dear Shareholders,
The year 2015 marked another milestone year in Axiata’s journey as a Regional Champion.
Alhamdulillah, I am proud to report that we are now even better positioned against regional
peers where we rank number two in customer base, number four in revenue and number
five in market capitalisation
1
– highly commendable achievements by any definition. Axiata
is recognised globally as a leading Asian telecommunications Group.
1
Notes / assumptions on ranking: a) Axiata customer base, revenue and market capitalization are benchmarked against regional peers with footprint within the Southeast Asia and
South Asia region. b) Revenue adjusted based on LTM at 31 Dec 2015 and Forex rate conversion of average 1 Jan 2015 – 31 Dec 2015. c) Market Capitalization based on Bloomberg
forex adjusted to RM on last trading day closest to 31 Dec 2015.
2
Total population of 9 countries within the Axiata footprint. Source: World Bank.
axiata group berhad | annual report 2015
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