The Positives And Negatives That Investors Should Know M1 Ltd’s Latest Earnings Update

M1 Ltd (SGX: B2F) is the smallest player in Singapore’s telecommunications industry. 

M1 Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile and fixed communications services to consumers and corporate customers in Singapore.

This undervalued stock recently released its 2018 third-quarter earnings update. In this article, Multi Management Future Solutions research some good and not-so-good points from its results announcement.

The positives

M1’s revenue improved by 10.1 % YOY to S$274.6 million. Service revenue also inched up by 1.9% YOY to S$190.2 million.

M1’s balance sheet improved. As of 30 September 2018, the telco’s net debt stood at S$363.5 million and its gearing ratio was 0.7; a year ago, M1’s net debt and gearing were S$397.9 million and 1.0, respectivel. 

The number of postpaid mobile subscribers for M1 increased by 7.1% year-on-year to 1.36 million. Similarly, fiber customer numbers jumped by 12.3% YoY to 204,000.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) for M1’s fiber broadband business increased by 4.3% to S$38.60 compared to a year ago.

The Negatives

The mobile telecommunication and international call segments reported YOY declines in revenue of 0.1% and 29.4%, respectively.

Prepaid mobile subscriber numbers fell by 20.7% to 584,000. This resulted in a decline in the segment’s market share from 22.3% a year ago to 19.8%.

ARPUs for postpaid, prepaid, and data plan were down by 2.6%, 2.8%, and 16.5%, respectively, compared to 2017’s third quarter.