Time attributed the rise to higher overall revenue, higher share of profit from associates, and higher net gain on foreign exchange.
However, this was partially offset by higher depreciation on property, plant and equipment and higher staff costs, it said in its filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
Group revenue for the first quarter increased marginally to RM368.42 million from RM346.54 million a year earlier.
“The group is pleased with its performance for Q1 2023. The strategic decisions we have made in the past continue to yield higher shareholder returns on the back of healthy profitability and solid fundamentals,” Time said.
It added the wholesale customer segments continued to lead contributions to revenue growth while market demand for data and data centre offerings from the group persisted.
Special dividend
It declared a special interim tax-exempt dividend of 54.4 sen per ordinary share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 to be paid out on May 26, 2023.
The company had on March 24, 2023 paid an ordinary interim and a special interim tax-exempt (single tier) dividends of 12.33 sen and 2.36 sen per ordinary share respectively, for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022.
Last November, Time announced it was divesting 49% of the ordinary shares and 100% of the irredeemable convertible preference shares in AIMS Data Centre Holding Sdn Bhd, as well as 21% of the ordinary shares in AIMS Data Centre (Thailand) Ltd to US-based DigitalBridge Group Inc.
News reports indicated the telecommunications services provider will receive about RM2 billion from its divestments, of which up to RM1 billion was to be used to pay a special dividend to its shareholders.
Time announced last month that it had completed transactions with funds affiliated with DigitalBridge for a strategic partnership to accelerate the expansion of AIMS Group data centre business across Asia.
In its filing today, Time said with the completion of the strategic partnership in respect of the AIMS Data Centre business, the group will be “refining its strategic direction” to accelerate the expansion of its businesses.
In parallel, it will continue to focus on enhancing operational excellence and improving customer experience through innovation, whilst remaining cautious of existing and emerging risks and their possible impact, it added.
Going forward, it expects demand for products and services across its core customer segments to persist.
“This will also be in support of Jendela and the government’s aspirations for building a strong digital economy in Malaysia,” it added.
Time Dotcom’s share price rose by 1.15% or 6 sen to RM5.30, valuing the company at RM10.8 billion.