BANGKOK: Total Access Communication PCL (TAC), Thailand's second-largest mobile group, on Friday said first-quarter net profit fell 31 percent due to higher marketing and other costs.
The results show the impact of fierce competition in Thailand's mobile market, where companies have increased spending on marketing, handset discounts and promotions against a backdrop of weak consumption and slow economic growth.
TAC, controlled by Norway's Telenor ASA, made a profit of 2.29 billion baht ($70 million) for the January-March quarter, higher than the 1.92 billion baht mean estimate of 10 analysts polled by Reuters.
The result compared with 3.3 billion baht in the same period a year earlier.
TAC's first-quarter service revenue dropped 3.6 percent on the year, while total costs jumped 10 percent with selling and marketing up 8.5 percent, it said. The company stuck with its revenue growth forecast at "low single digits" for 2015 on the expectation that revenue will improve along with network expansion and coverage.
TAC said it raised its investment budget to 18-20 billion baht from 14 billion baht, mostly on network expansion, part of plans to become a leading mobile internet provider in Thailand.
TAC has a 30 percent share of the Thai mobile market and competes with market leader Advanced Info Service and True Corp.
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