M1 Limited says net profit after tax increased 5.7% y-o-y to $119.6 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2010.

Operating revenue at $717.8 million rose 27.0% y-o-y due to higher service revenue and handset sales. Service revenue grew 4.9% to $546.0 million, benefiting from growth in both postpaid and prepaid mobile customers, as well as contribution from fixed services. EBITDA at $235.9 million was up 2.4%.

Revenue from non-voice services rose by 5.9% points to make up 31.5% of service revenue, driven by continual growth in the mobile broadband and smart phone customer base.

M1 added 43,000 new customers in the third quarter, comprising 22,000 postpaid customers and 21,000 prepaid customers. Total customer base was 1.892 million as at 30 September 2010.

Karen Kooi, M1’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “With the commercial launch of the new fibre network on 1 September 2010, M1 was the first to provide ultra high- speed broadband services to customers on this network. This represents a major milestone as we continue to grow our fixed-line business. Both retail and corporate customers can now enjoy a whole suite of next generation fixed-line solutions from M1 at highly attractive prices, and supported by our unrivalled customer care. Based on the current outlook, we are maintaining our guidance that net profit after tax for 2010 is likely to improve year on year.”