BUSINESS
REVIEW
Celcom is also a pioneer of industry leading
wholesale partnerships which include
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
as well as domestic and international
roaming. Celcom currently has six MVNO
partners that provide additional channels
to the market, covering niche segments
with strong growth potential. With the
strong support from Celcom, MVNOs
are performing well and have captured
a majority of the MVNO market share.
Celcom views MVNOs as an important
alternative channel for servicing niche
consumer segments and continuously
evaluates new MVNO partnerships.
Celcom’s long standing partnerships with
local and global operators have resulted in
a broad Internet network coverage with
roaming services in over 200 countries
via over 550 network partners. As part of
the Axiata Group, its customers also enjoy
great rates and consistent experience
whilst roaming.
In moving with evolving technologies,
Celcom emphasizes a culture that places
customer experience in all its products
and services. This is reflected in our award
winning customer service, products and
other corporate accolades at a regional
level.
Business Review 2015
2015 saw Celcom stabilising in a very
competitive market amidst an overall
declining market. This was further
impacted by price driven competitive
moves focusing on data rates and
providing free basic Internet access.
Adding to this was the implementation of
the Goods & Services Tax (GST) in April
2015 which also impacted market growth.
Despite seeing three challenging quarters
at the beginning of 2015, Celcom showed
signs of stabilisation by recording its
first positive revenue growth in the fourth
quarter of 2015 with a growth of 1.0%
Quarter on Quarter (QoQ).
• Strong growth in data
services contributing to
28%
of revenue
• MVNO subscribers
grew more than
10%
• Driving data leadership
with close to
3500
4G LTE sites
With the conclusion of its IT modernisation
in 2015, Celcom introduced a number
of product innovations to cater to the
growing data needs of the marketplace.
These include Celcom’s new prepaid
product Xpax’s Magic SIM which was
rolled out to offer free basic internet,
free high speed internet, carry forward
data quota, free calls and free SMS and
came with monthly surprise bonuses
to incentivise active reloads and usage.
Following Xpax’s Magic SIM, the Company
introduced a new postpaid product family
under its FiRST brand with the launch of
FiRST Blue and FiRST Gold. As part of its
new product innovations, it also launched
the music streaming service Yonder Music
exclusively for Celcom customers. The
Company also complemented its focus on
data products with an aggressive 4G LTE
site deployment which commenced in the
second half of the year with around 3500
4G LTE sites.
With its focus on the data segment of
the market, Celcom saw strong growth in
data services which contributed to 28% of
revenue in 2015 compared to 22% in 2014.
Additionally, there was strong growth of
smartphones users by almost 20%.
Celcom continues to show strong
leadership in the MVNO segment, being
host to six leading MVNO in Malaysia. The
Company’s MVNO subscribers grew by
more than 10%, ending the year with over
3million subscribers. Celcomviews MVNOs
as an important alternative channel for
servicing niche consumer segments with
third party brands and sales channels.
Financial Performance
Celcom’s overall recovery was hampered
by industry conditions and a flat growth
market. It recorded normalised Profits
After Tax and Minority Interests (PATAMI)
of RM1.7 billion (USD0.4 billion), down
14% from the previous year. PATAMI
was impacted by one-off expenses and
losses recognised for the year in new
About Celcom
Celcom is Malaysia’s premier and most
experienced mobile telecommunications
company with the widest coverage in
the nation. It provides both prepaid and
postpaid mobile services to more than 12
million subscribers. Celcom is also growing
its position in content and Value Added
Services (VAS), enterprise solutions, bulk
wholesale services, digital services and
machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions,
in line with evolving technologies and
changing consumer behaviour in Malaysia.
Celcom has the widest network in
Malaysia, covering 95% and 88.1% of the
population with its 2G and 3G networks
respectively. With approximately close to
3500 4G LTE sites, Celcom continues to
invest in network coverage, capacity and
performance to maintain its technology
leadership and position as the country’s
best mobile service provider whilst
looking to drive differentiation based on a
superior network and exceptional mobile
data and Internet experience.
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