Dialog Axiata 2Q earnings boosted by sharp exchange gains

Dialog Axiata PLC, the country’s leader in mobile telephony communications, saw improved performance for the period ended June 20, 2023 (2Q23) amid better top line performance and sharp exchange gains.

The group reported earnings of Rs.4.47 per share or Rs.3.09 billion for the quarter under review, against a net loss of Rs.1.53 per share or Rs.12.5 billion reported for the same period last year.

Revenue for the period rose to Rs.47.56 billion from Rs.43.3 billion while the gross profit improved to Rs.15.5 billion from Rs.14.2 billion a year ago.
Operating profit for the quarter under review was Rs.3.8 billion, up from Rs.2.8 billion a year ago.

A sharp increase in finance costs during the quarter to the tune of Rs.3.8 billion was negated by unrealised net foreign exchange gains of Rs.3.4 billion, compared to a loss of Rs.14.1 billion a year ago, as a result of the appreciation of the rupee.
Dialog Axiata has foreign currency denominated loans.

“The Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the United States Dollar by 5.6 percent during the quarter resulting in a forex gain for the group. Normalised for the forex gain a Net Loss was recorded at Rs.0.5 billion for 1H 2023 and Rs. 0.3 billion for 2Q 2023,” Dialog Axiata said in a press release. 
Dialog group continued to be a significant contributor to state revenues, remitting a total of Rs.21.9 billion to the Government of Sri Lanka during the first six months of 2023, an increase of 29 percent YTD.

The group’s capital expenditure reached Rs.14 billion for 1H 2023 representing a decline of 38 percent YTD.  Dialog Axiata’s mobile operations generated Rs.57.5 billion revenue during the first half of 2023 compared to Rs.54.7 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. The operating profit of the segment stood at Rs.3.6 billion compared to Rs.6.8 billion a year ago.

The fixed telephony and broadband segment of the group generated a revenue of Rs.41.4 billion during the first half of 2023 and an operating profit of Rs.2.1 billion compared to Rs.28.8 billion revenue and Rs.2.1 billion operating profit a year ago.

The group’s pay TV segment generated revenue of Rs.6 billion compared to Rs.5.5 billion a year ago and the operating loss was narrowed to Rs.146.4 million from Rs.397.2 million.
Axiata Investments Labuan Limited holds 82.27 percent stake in Dialog Axiata and Employees’ Provident Fund has 2.88 percent stake in the company as the second largest shareholder.’