Saturday, October 20, 2007

DiGi 3Q07 net profit to grow 45% to RM263m

KUALA LUMPUR: DiGi.Com Bhd is expected to post a year-on-year net profit growth of 45% to RM263 million on the back of a 21% growth in revenue in its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2007 (3Q07), driven by continued strong subscriber growth and high usage stoked by higher wages, said CIMB Research.

The research house estimated the telecommunications provider had added about 300,000 to 350,000 subscribers in 3Q07 versus 471,000 in 1Q07 and 241,000 in 2Q07.
“Malaysia’s 1.6 million civil servants and pensioners enjoyed a 7.5% to 42% increase in pay from July 1, 2007, which should translate in greater mobile usage.
“Also, we believe the cut in DiGi’s prepaid domestic long distance (DLD) rates to match local call rates should boost revenue in the medium term by attracting more users and encouraging usage,” it said yesterday.

CIMB Research maintained its outperform recommendation on DiGi at RM22.40 and an end-2008 target price of RM30 for DiGi, based on discounted cash flow, 10.3% weighted average cost of capital and terminal growth 2.5%.

The research house said catalysts for re-rating include continued strong growth, market share gains and further capital management initiatives.

“Management may offer greater clarity on its capital management during the results release, in light of the country’s proposed introduction of a single-tier tax system. Our estimates are 6% to 18% above consensus, reflecting our optimistic view of its execution and competitive environment.

“We advocate accumulating on any weakness in the share price arising from concerns over Telenor’s mandated selldown from 61% to 49% by Dec 31, 2007,” it said, adding DiGi offered one of the best values among its regional cellular companies’ universe.

CIMB Research said it expected DiGi to continue clawing its postpaid market share due to its aggressive push in the small and medium-scale enterprise segment.

“The company offers free calls between two companies/organisations subject to a minimum monthly commitment whereas its competitors only offer free calls within a single company,” it said.

The research house said competition had been benign although it appeared to heat up in the middle of this year.

“We expect EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin to be unchanged quarter-on-quarter at 47%, a little above management’s FY07 guidance of mid-40’s.
“In July 2007, DiGi and Maxis Communications Bhd were locked in a battle to offer the lowest call rates for selected plans but the war did not drag as earlier feared,” it said.

(Source: The Edge Daily , Surin Murugiah )

Friday, October 19, 2007

Little Rachel Chan gets to meet DiGi’s ‘yellow men’


PETALING JAYA: Little Rachel Chan had been so enchanted by the yellow men on TV that she wanted to meet them.


So the seven-year-old wrote them a letter.“DiGi man, can you come to my house please? I like you because you are yellow.“I see you on TV, you follow people; please, please, please come to my house and follow me to school.”


Yesterday, she got her wish. The yellow men showed up at her doorstep.


Two DiGi Yellow Coverage Fellows (YCF) came to her house in Taman Megah here and the little girl hid shyly behind her mother when she saw them. But not for long.Soon, she started dancing and gave jumping high fives to the duo.


Her first question was, “Why can’t they talk?”, which drew laughter from DiGi officials who explained to her that the YCF was like its namesake, a figure to represent a mobile phone's coverage capacity.She then asked whether the YCF came in other colours besides yellow.“Are there green or blue DiGi men, Mummy?“Why aren't they doing the 'boing-boing' dance now?” the Year Two pupil asked.


Rachel, who first saw the antics of the YCF on television following mobile phone users to illustrate DiGi's wide coverage, had written the letter several weeks ago.Without Rachel's knowledge, her mother Esther Lai forwarded the letter to the mobile communications provider.“Almost every night before I tuck Rachel to bed we would download video clips of the YCF from the Internet and we would always have a good laugh watching what my daughter calls the 'boing-boing' dance.“Even when we pass a DiGi outlet, she would ask me whether the DiGi man was inside hiding somewhere,” said Lai.


Rachel was chauffeur-driven in an MPV and accompanied by both YCFs to her school here yesterday, much to the envy of her schoolmates who were assembled in the hall.Pandemonium filled the hall as the two YCFs thrilled the thousand-odd students with their “boing-boing dance.”They also handed out candies and other goodies to them.



Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/27/nation/17260493&sec=nation


DiGi’s ad campaign makes Malaysia proud



NAGA DDB, together with DiGi Telecommunications, brought home Malaysia’s first-ever gold at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness (AME) Awards 2006 for the recent DiGi Yellow Coverage Fellow campaign.


In total, the DiGi campaign brought home the gold for “Most Effective Use of Advertising in Asia” and a silver AME in the “Best Idea” category.


The AME is the only international marketing award in Asia judged primarily on the measurable impact of advertising campaigns on the clients’ business.


This is Naga DDB’s fifth AME award in four years, and also the first year that any Malaysian brand has been recognised with a rare gold AME award.


Apart from being one of the most consistently recalled campaigns in Malaysia, DiGi’s own brand health tracking showed the DiGi’s Yellow Coverage Fellow garnered an overwhelming 83 per cent approval rating from the public. It is also reflected in the number of letters and e-mails received by DiGi requesting personal appearances.


The campaign also featured heavily in both local and regional media, generating an estimated media value of RM826,144.83 at the time of submission back in April this year. In the same period, Naga DDB also tracked and documented 349 online blog mentions in at least three different languages and 50 YouTube films, including six home-made spoofs.


“I think of all the votes approval we’ve received from this campaign, the huge public following and affection the Yellow Coverage Fellow has shown — both online and in the letters DiGi received — have been the most gratifying.


“You know you’ve done something right when people ask for Yellow Man baby-sitting services and guest appearances at weddings,” Naga DDB managing director Chit Quah said in a statement.


Naga DDB’s win follows a series of recent coups for the agency, including being named Malaysia’s “Agency of the Year” for the second year in a row by Campaign Brief Asia as well as securing new assignments from Astro and IGB Corp.


Among those present to receive the award were DiGi’s principal brand consultant Steven Mak, associate Marcom consultant Rema Chetty, Naga DDB’s creative director Alvin Teoh, creative group head Richard Koh, business unit head Sarina Sham and brand manager Sazrina Samat.