Reporting its first-quarter financial results for the year (Q1 FY2026), CelcomDigi Berhad has demonstrated a clear shift from expansion-driven integration to structurally recurring Operational Efficiencies (OE). While the telco’s top-line revenue remained flat at RM3,208 million (-0.03% Y-Y), profit after tax (PAT) jumped an impressive 8.8% Y-Y to RM422 million, signaling that its cost-discipline strategy is flowing directly to the bottom line.
The results mark the first full-quarter performance under newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Albern Murty, who took the helm in February 2026 to lead the country’s largest mobile operator through the final lap of its three-year post-merger transformation.
Q1 FY2026 Financial & Operational Snapshot
CelcomDigi closed the quarter with a massive base of 20.4 million subscribers and declared a first interim dividend of 3.4 sen per share, maintaining its long-term dividend commitment.
An evaluation of the segment metrics reveals a deliberate strategy: trading low-value user acquisitions for high-yield, converged subscribers.
| Segment | Revenue (Q1 2026) | Performance Metrics | Strategic Underpinning |
| Postpaid | RM1,102 Million | +3.1% Y-Y revenue; Subs up 235k to 6.1 million. | Value-mix shift to premium tiers; ARPA rose to RM113 (+7.7% Y-Y). |
| Prepaid | RM1,024 Million | -3.0% Y-Y revenue; Subs down 987k to 11.99 million. | Intentional shift away from one-time SIM acquisitions; ARPU lifted to RM30. |
| Home & Fibre | RM89 Million | +56.1% Y-Y revenue; Subs up 92k Y-Y to 297k. | Massive acceleration of CelcomDigi One™ convergence; ARPU up to RM102. |
| Enterprise | Stable Core | Mobile core grew +3.7% Y-Y; Solutions up +29.8% Y-Y. | Improving business fundamentals tempered by predictable drops in bulk SMS and contractual billing cycles. |
Strategic Outlook: The RM800 Million Efficiency Moat
CelcomDigi’s massive consolidation program is now in its final stretch, with network integration and modernization surpassing 90% completion.
- The Margin Multiplier: The telco extracted over RM40 million in savings this quarter alone through procurement and site rental optimization. CelcomDigi remains firmly on track to hit steady-state annualized cost savings of RM700 million to RM800 million post-2027.
- Ecosystem Digitalization: The Q1 rollout of the consolidated Distribution Management System (DMS) and Dealer Wallet now supports 22,000 retail outlets nationwide, stripping out friction and enabling an automated, data-driven go-to-market execution.
- 5G Monetisation: To capture high-value enterprise and consumer segments, CelcomDigi deployed its first 5G In-Building Connectivity (IBC) framework at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, providing a structural benchmark for future dense urban indoor rollouts.
Editor’s Take: The ROI of Architectural Simplicity
For the Malaysian Business reader, CelcomDigi’s Q1 print is a textbook lesson in managing the “Complexity Tax” of a mega-merger. When Celcom and Digi combined, skeptics feared an unwieldy tech stack and bloated overheads. Instead, Albern Murty’s team has systematically applied the exact principles highlighted in the recent Turnkey Consulting SAP report: cleaning up backend architecture to unleash structural efficiency.
Losing nearly a million prepaid subscribers would usually trigger a boardroom panic. In 2026, it is a sign of operational maturity. By letting go of low-margin, transient SIM buyers and aggressively upselling converged Home & Fibre plans (which surged 56.1% Y-Y), CelcomDigi is maximizing its Capital Velocity. As the National AI Office (NAIO) steers Malaysia toward a data-driven economy, CelcomDigi isn’t just acting as a pipe provider; it is engineering a highly profitable, automated infrastructure moat that its competitors will find increasingly expensive to match.