Axiata posts second-quarter net loss

Axiata Group Bhd. swung to a loss in the second quarter mainly due foreign exchange losses and taxes.

The cellular services provider posted a second-quarter net loss of 106.4 million ringgit ($23.8 million), compared with net profit of MYR277.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

For the six months ended June, it recorded a net loss of MYR149.3 million, compared with net profit of MYR353.3 million a year earlier, the company said Friday.

Second-quarter revenue rose to MYR6.70 billion from MYR6.39 billion, a year earlier, mainly on account of higher contributions from its digital and data business.

“With Covid-19 impacts clearly behind us, a majority of our operating companies have delivered solid operational results in the first half of 2022, mostly outperforming in their markets,” said Vivek Sood, the company’s joint acting chief executive.

Its overall bottom line in the second quarter was dragged lower by a foreign exchange loss of MYR475.7 million as well as one-off taxes in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The company said the declaration of an interim dividend has been deferred in light of macroeconomic headwinds, particularly in the frontier markets where it operates. MorningStar