SHAH ALAM, February 22 - Following three consecutive quarters of posting operating profits, TIME dotCom Berhad (TdC) has made its way back to black when it recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of RM33.1 million for the financial year ending 2009 (FY09).

PAT for FY09 was recorded on the back of RM286.8 million in revenue, a period which saw TdC recording stronger data and internet revenue, offset by the loss of revenue from its payphone business that was disposed in  the second quarter of 2009 (Q209).

FY09 also saw the telecommunications service provider recording an operating profit of RM16.1 million, compared to RM343.9 million operating loss it recorded in the previous financial year. TdC's EBITDA during the period has improved to RM51.6 million against 2008 EBITDA of RM17.8 million as growth in its core data and internet busininess exceeded 30 percent year-on-year.

According to Chief Executive Officer Afzal Abdul Rahim, "2009 saw us focusing on optimizing our operations and we now have a leaner and highly skilled team. With their concerted effort we are able to structurally improve the company's profitability.

"We were also able to significantly de-risk and strengthen our balance sheet and were disciplined in our cost saving efforts, all of which enabled us to post a moderate achievement. The crew of TdC have dug deep and given their all in helping us break the profit barrier that has eluded us thus far -- they have been absolutely fabulous and we are blessed to have them."

As for the outlook for 2010, Afzal said that while profit was posted in FY09, the challenge now would be to further improve its financial performance against a highly competitive market. 

"We know the industry is competitive, but the team is optimistic in efforts to grow our market share from the current 4 percent of the Malaysian fixed line business."

In this respect, he said the company would continue to drive sales and increase market share in areas like wholesale, corporate and small-and-medium enterprises. To achieve this, the company plans to aggressively expand coverage and roll out numerous exciting and innovative products by end of 2010. TdC had this year launched its Cross Peninsular Cable System and 50Mbps Pure Fiber Broadband to the home.

"We are encouraged with the progress the company has made in a relatively short period. We will continue to strengthen the company’s operations and financials as well as work towards achieving sustainable profitability and value creation for our shareholders," said Afzal.

TdC's initiated its turnaround initiative in late 2008 following a partnership formed between its main shareholder, Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Global Transit Internationational (GTI).

GTI was chosen following a rigorous selection process by Khazanah and Afzal’s appointment as chief executive came soon after following approval received from TdC's board of directors. The new team's ability to lead the company to emerge from the red is evident that the move is bearing fruit.

About TIME dotCom Berhad (www.time.com.my):
TIME dotCom Berhad, Malaysia's alternative fixed-line telecommunications solutions provider, is a public listed company, listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. A pioneer in fibre optics technology, TIME dotCom hosts Malaysia's most robust fibre optics network with its 6,000km land and submarine cables, providing nationwide coverage connections to businesses, residential and remote areas.

Licensed under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, TIME dotCom's full suite of telecommunication licenses has enabled the TIME dotCom group to operate and offer its services, ranging from voice and data communications to broadband Internet, satellite connectivity, managed services, as well as other IT and communication solutions.