Singapore's M1 has reported a 6% decline in net profit for 2018 despite a 2% increase in service revenue, partly as a result of higher customer acquisition and retention costs.
The operator reported a profit for the year of S$130.7 million, from service revenue of S$755.8 million.
Fixed line service revenue continued to experience double digit growth in 2018, increasing 18.6% to S$143.1 million.
But higher customer acquisition costs, increased headcount resulting from the expansion of M1's corporate segment and higher maintenance and repair expenses all contributed to the profit slump for the year.
The increased spending helped M1 increase its total postpaid mobile customer base to 1.38 million, with the company adding 22,000 postpaid subscribers in the fourth quarter.
An increase in average postpaid mobile data consumption to 5.4GB per month in the fourth quarter – up from 4.3GB a year earlier - also increased the contribution from mobile data to 63.9% of service revenue from 56.2% over the same period.
On the fixed line side, M1’s fiber increased to 209,000 at the end of 2018, having grown by 5,000 during the fourth quarter.