Its revenue, however, widened 7.1% to RM6.54 billion from RM6.11 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 0.7% to RM2.86 billion, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Axiata said its Malaysian operation revenue grew by 1.2% to RM1.6 billion, mainly driven by growth in the mobile business.

For Indonesia, revenue increased by 6.3% to RM2 billion due to growth in the mobile and broadband businesses.

The telco’s Bangladesh operation saw revenue expanding 7.0% to RM1 billion following growth in the prepaid business while its Sri Lanka revenue went up 11.8% to RM772.1 million amid growth across core revenue segments.

Revenue for its Nepal operation added 2.6% to RM356.2 million, mainly driven by higher data revenue, while Cambodia’s revenue was 11.4% higher at RM372.0 million, attributed to growth in the prepaid business.

The company said infrastructure revenue advanced 5.3% to RM493.8 million.

Based on performance to date, the group said it is confident of exceeding its headline key performance indicators (KPIs) to mid-single digit growth in revenue and EBITDA for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2021.

In a statement, chairman Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid said the steady performance demonstrated by Axiata in Q3 had placed the group on a strong trajectory for growth.

He said Axiata has pledged RM115 million for the next 10 years to Axiata Foundation to further expand its “education pillar”, which is anchored by the Axiata Young Talent Programme, in order to advance the skills and knowledge required to thrive in the digital economy.