Gelonghui, Feb. 22 | Digiton Telecom (00315.HK) announced its 2023/2024 interim results. For the six months ended 31 December 2023, shareholders' share of the Group's profit was HK$246 million (first half of 2022/23: HK$256 million). The Group's total revenue was HK$3.39 billion, down 11% from the same period last year. The main reason was the decline in sales revenue for mobile phones and accessories during the period, but the gross profit from this sales remained stable compared to last year, reaching HK$17 million. The Board of Directors announced an interim dividend of HK14.5 cents per share, in line with last year. With a strong net cash of HK$1 billion, Digitcom will benefit from a high interest rate environment.
The Group's total service revenue declined slightly by 1% compared to the younger generation, while service revenue, excluding prepayment, mobile virtual network operators and SMS business revenue, showed strong resilience and increased by 3% during the period. This is mainly due to the strong recovery of the roaming business and the continued growth of 5G home broadband products and enterprise application solutions, which offset the pressure brought about by fierce competition in the mobile services market in Hong Kong.
During the review period, market price competition was fierce, and the economic environment was full of challenges. However, in such a competitive environment, the average revenue per user (ARPU) and number of customers of Digitcom's monthly mobile service plan both increased by 1%, to HK$224 and 2,650,000, respectively. Currently, 5G service customers account for 38% of the total number of customers, an increase of 5% over December 2022. Excluding mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), SMS and prepaid services, service revenue increased 3%. There was also clear resistance in the market, including intense price competition putting pressure on the lower end market (especially MVNO), and a marked decline in SMS service revenue due to the termination of messaging services related to the pandemic.
The recovery in outbound travel during the period led to a strong recovery in roaming revenue, which increased by 64% year-on-year. As of December, roaming revenue had returned to 86% of pre-pandemic levels, and continued to record quarterly growth since the resumption of travel. This growing trend is driven by strong demand from high-end customers for Digitom data roaming products. Compared to before the pandemic, the percentage of customers choosing to use Digitcom roaming services over third-party services has more than doubled. The company notes that customers are willing to spend money on reliable and convenient high-quality roaming services when traveling, so Digitcom continues to strive to meet customer expectations and continues to make relevant investments to further promote the growth of related businesses.
The Digitcom 5G home broadband service launched in 2020 has now become an important source of growth for the company, providing a more advantageous choice for households without fiber optic network coverage with faster, lower fees and more convenient services. Furthermore, the service is flexible, flexible, easy to install, and cost-effective, and is attracting more and more individuals and SMEs to choose it.