Maxis: Higher marketing costs contribute to slight decline of normalised EBITDA

Maxis has revealed that normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) have declined marginally by 1% to RM1,007 million. This was due to higher marketing costs and realised foreign exchange losses which offset the increase in revenue, the telco revealed in an earnings release.Marketing costs were at RM90 million in the period ending 30 June 2018, up from RM82 million the same period last year. Meanwhile in the quarter ending 30 June 2018, marketing costs were at RM51 million, up from RM43 million the same period last year.Consequently, the Group reported lower normalised profit of RM480 million compared to RM510 million in the preceding quarter. Normalised EBITDA and EBITDA margin on service revenue remained stable at RM2,027 million and 50.8% respectively. This was mainly due to a result of cost optimisation initiatives that offset the decline in service revenue.Most recently, expanded its enterprise solutions offerings with the new Maxis e-commerce solution, which specially targets small and medium-sized enterprises in Malaysia to build, amplify and optimise their e-commerce presence. This includes assisting with webstore setup, digital marketing, as well as insights and analytics.In line with the World Cup, it also launched the “first-of-its-kind” baju raya that also doubles as a football jersey using augmented reality. It also partnered with Astro GO and RTM to offer Malaysians access to the live action of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia.Earlier this year, it also launched its HuatAR Ang Pao in a bid to re-imagine the way consumers experience the lion dance for Chinese New Year. It worked with Ensemble Worldwide, IPG Mediabrands Malaysia’s creative agency, for the campaign with the aim of bringing blessings (‘Huat’ in Hokkien) to many.Read also:Maxis partners five brands for new rewards programMaxis’ head of marketing communications Bernard Lee heads to DigiMaxis campaign shows how technology can unite families this CNYMaxis wants you to see Malaysia through a different lens