Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS), Thailand's biggest mobile operator by subscriber base, reported 46.2 billion baht in total revenue in the third quarter, up 9.1% year-on-year, supported by sales of the new iPhone 14 series.
The iPhone 14 series hit the local market on Sept 16, with Thailand among the first-tier countries for the rollout this year.
According to the firm's third-quarter performance analysis, the increase in revenue was due to "a high volume of sales of the new iPhone 14, which was launched a quarter earlier than usual this year, together with continued business momentum in broadband business".
The carrier reported net profit of 6 billion baht in the third quarter, a decline of 5.4% year-on-year and a fall of 4.3% compared with the previous quarter.
AIS posted 29.1 billion baht in mobile revenue in the third quarter, a drop of 0.3% year-on-year and 0.4% on a quarterly basis.
The firm said the decline resulted from the segment's competition and inflation, which affected the mass market, though this was partially offset by an increase in revenue from international roaming and international direct dialling following Thailand's reopening.
AIS's mobile subscriber base tallied 45.6 million in the third quarter, covering 12.3 million post-paid subscribers and 33.2 million pre-paid users.
Total subscribers climbed 0.3% on a quarterly basis and 4.6% year-on-year.
Post-paid gained 296,100 new subscribers in the third quarter, up 2.5% on a quarterly basis attributed to higher handset bundling sales with 5G packages, especially in the affluent segment, AIS said.
AIS's 5G subscriptions in the third quarter reached 5.5 million, up from 3.9 million in the previous quarter.
AIS Fibre, a fixed broadband business, reported 2.5 billion baht in revenue in the third quarter, a rise of 16% year-on-year and 2.2% on a quarterly basis as the firm continued to gain subscribers and market share.
AIS Fibre added 114,500 subscribers in the third quarter for a total subscriber base of 2 million.
"The increase was due to an expansion of service coverage to more suburban areas as well as efforts to reduce the churn rate by offering a variety of packages and services," said the company.
The carrier posted 1.48 billion baht in other service revenue in the third quarter, up 5.6% year-on-year, but down 6.7% on a quarterly basis.
