Total Access Communication (DTAC), the country's third largest mobile operator by subscribers, saw a drop of 107,000 subscribers in the third quarter, with service revenue excluding interconnection charges down 7.6% year-on-year to 14.4 billion baht because of the slow recovery from the pandemic and aggressive competition.
The company's total subscribers stood at 18.7 million at the end of the third quarter, down 8.5% year-on-year and 0.6% quarterly. Of the total, 12.6 million are pre-paid customers and the rest post-paid subscribers.
The company said its Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) in the third quarter declined 4.3% quarterly and 3% year-on-year to 7.8 billion baht from soft revenue development.
Its net profit fell 24% year-on-year and 18.3% quarterly to 1.4 billion baht.
"Despite uncertainty and evolving market conditions affecting top-line growth, we are certain about our disciplined financial approach," said Dilip Pal, DTAC chief financial officer. "With yet another quarter of zero tourists, we focused on providing connectivity for the mass Thai market while optimising our operations for improved efficiency."
The company also revised guidance for 2020 on service revenue excluding IC from a low single-digit decline to a larger single-digit dip. It wants to maintain Ebitda at the 2019 level, with capital expenditure at 8-10 billion baht.
"With our digital transformation, we are well-placed to capture long-term sustainable earnings growth," said Mr Pal.
The firm saw average revenue per user of 255 baht per month in the third quarter, up 0.8% quarterly and down 1.3% year-on-year. The postpaid subscriber base accounts for 32.3% of total subscriber base.
"DTAC has initiatives to deliver digital enhancement on the customer front and internally," said DTAC chief executive Sharad Mehrotra. "With strong digital transformation momentum, we want to improve our operational efficiency heading into prolonged pandemic-driven uncertainty."
Referring to the business sector, he said DTAC aims to address its pain points by launching simplified solutions, covering SIMs, Internet of Things technology and cloud services.