Singapore’s M1 reported a 6.6% increase in net profit after tax to S$85.4 million ($70.1 million) for the quarter ended in June.
A statement issued by the firm said higher service revenue and handset sales had contributed to higher operating revenue of S$503 million. Service revenue also improved due to a 34,000 customer increase in the company's subscriber base to nearly 2 million.
Increased demand for smartphones and mobile broadband drove non-voice services contributed 35.2% to service revenue, a 30.8% increase from a year ago. Mobile data alone contributed20.8% to service revenue, and smartphone users made up 63% of M1’s customer base.
Cost of sales had increased S$18 million to stand at S$120 million year-on-year due mainly to higher handset costs, while the EBIDTA margin on service revenue stood at 42.1% for the quarter.
The firm’s overall mobile market share for May 2011 ended stable at 26.2%, with churn remaining stable at 1.2% for the quarter.
M1 CEO Karen Kooi said M1’s net profit after tax for the year 2011 was likely to improve over 2010 due to continued investment in its network. M1 had launched Southeast Asia’s first LTE dual band (1.8Ghz and 2.1Ghz) network for businesses in June, with nationwide coverage scheduled for Q1 2012.