TELEKOM Malaysia’s (TM) first half of financial year 2026 (1HFY26) net profit of RM687.0 mil is deemed to be within Public Investment Bank (PIB) and consensus expectations at 41% of full year forecast.
Recall that in quarter one financial year 2026 (1QFY26), the Group recorded a write-down of RM127.3 mil in relation to the unutilised prepaid capacity of 5G multi-operator core network services.
Management categorised the expense as one-off and expects 5G cost to be more optimal going forward as it has fully vacated and ceased access to DNB’s network in July and migrated to the second 5G network.
On top of that, the first phase of TM Nxera is on track for completion in 3QFY26, with 70% of the capacity being contracted.
“As such, we expect higher profit in 2HFY26. TM’s medium to long term outlook remains bright due to the heightened demand for connectivity and AI,” said PIB.
Quarter two revenue grew 6.8% to RM2,960.4 mil from advancement in all business segments.
Unifi saw commendable income growth at +5.3% year-on-year (YoY) to RM1,450.2 mil, supported by average revenue per user that rose 4.8% YoY to RM132 while adding 44,000 Unifi Home subscribers during the quarter.
TM One’s revenue rose 3.3% YoY to RM693 mil due to growth in Government and Enterprise demand for Cloud, Cybersecurity and other smart services.
Meanwhile, TM Global revenue jumped 12.0% YoY to RM778.0 mil underpinned by rising hyperscaler demand and domestic backhaul expansion.
The segment saw wholesale customers upgrading their bandwidth requirements in line with growing demand.
On the international front, IPDC Block 2 has been fully taken up while it delivered new international data services to support traffic for hyperscalers.
Reported net profit for quarter two was 9.3% lower YoY at RM365.5 mil due to higher operating costs which increased by 10.9% YoY to RM2,454.3 mil.
It also recorded foreign exchange losses on operations and higher manpower costs, which is partially attributable to expenses from requests for voluntary separation under its “Prihatin” programme.
On top of that, it also registered costs for the FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast rights during the quarter.
The costs for the broadcast rights are expected to extend into quarter three as the final match took place on 19 July.
On a brighter note, its Unifi TV app saw about 400,000 downloads from the broadcasting of the game.
At the half year mark, TM is on track to achieve revenue growth of low single digit, EBIT on par with 2025 and capex to revenue ratio of 18% to 20% (currently 9.4%).
TM remains our top pick among telcos due to the breadth of its products and segments, growing demand for 5G fibre backhaul and cross border connectivity powered by the surge in data center activities.—Aug 21, 2026
Main image: marketing-interactive.com
