Thailand - True (TrueVisions) posts quarterly results

Friday, August 15th, 2008
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True Corporation PLC (SET: TRUE) posted soft Q2 quarterly results although convergence uptake was strong and a second-half improvement is expected.

TrueVisions posted solid revenue and subscriber growth due mainly to mass market success. Service revenue increased 11.9% Y-on-Y and 4.1% Q-on-Q to Bt 2.3 bn. EBITDA was up 9.6% Y-on-Y but declined 8.5% Q-on-Q to Bt 650 mn after increased marketing activities.

Net adds were slightly softer Q-on-Q at 68,000. Total subscribers rose to almost 1.2 mn while subscribers to mass market packages continued to increase. In the past two years, TrueVisions has attracted more than 500,000 subscribers, doubling its subscriber base. The proportion of upcountry subscribers has risen from 42% in 2006 to 48% in 1H08 providing greater opportunities to tap rising rural purchasing power.

TrueVisions Net additions and subscribers (000s):

                    1Q07   2Q07   3Q07   4Q07   1Q08   2Q08
                    ----   ----   ----  -----  -----  -----
Free to air           62     66     73     90     85    100
Free View            108    186    250    319    358    420
Standard Packages    104    114    141    149    189    202
Premium Packages     464    455    473    481    479    457
                    ----   ----   ----  -----  -----  -----
  Total              737    821    937  1,039  1,111  1,179
  Net Adds                   84    116    102     72     68

1. Free to air including satellite disc sale +32 free-to-air channels, no commitment to True Move mobile (from SSK pre-paid and sales in the past)
2. Free view including satellite disc sale +32 free-to-air channels +7 TrueVisions’ channels, with commitment to True Move
3. Standard packages including Knowledge and prepay EPL
4. Premium packages including Platinum, Gold and Silver
5. TrueVisions started to include free-to-air subscribers (satellite disc sale with 32 free-to-air TrueVisions channels and no monthly commitment to TrueMove) with restatement to prior quarters.

More: Earnings Release