Service revenue slowed for the incumbents but stayed in the low-single digit band, with Softbank still ahead followed by NTT. Mobile divergence continues to play out with SB leading the pack and is likely to remain so in our view. Industry EBITDA improved as NTT inflected to growth and led to a strong EBIT beat this quarter.
KDDI today announced an increase in their share buyback from ¥300-¥400bn this year. On the call, the company indicated that this pace could be maintained at least for next year suggesting a structural increase in share buybacks. Thoughts below.
KDDI’s results were okay in Q2 as it was pegged against a tougher comparable. Topline remained ahead of expectations while EBIT was slightly behind YTD though we believe it is likely to improve on the back of DX, synergies from Lawson, mobile and declining roaming losses from Rakuten
We met with all 3 of the incumbent Japanese Telcos & Rakuten in Tokyo this week. Every time we visit, we are reminded of how much better the telco industry is in Japan vs other DMs, as the MNOs continue to expand their scope of operations beyond traditional telco driving higher returns and growth.
KDDI reported after close today, with both topline and EBIT tracking slightly ahead of full year guidance. Enterprise continued to show good momentum and helped support the topline beat. With Lawson delisted since July, the deal is expected to be completed by September, as planned. Multi-brand mobile revenue continues to trend positively, with positive commentary around the transition from UQ mobile to AU brand.
We ran our Asia Telco tour last week. This time we met 12 companies in 3 countries (Korea, Japan, Thailand). Telco share prices in all 3 of these countries have been pretty strong recently as telcos continue to benefit from generally positive themes: growth, return on capital and shareholder remuneration are all typically improving.
We met with all 3 of the incumbent Japanese Telcos & Rakuten in Tokyo this week. Every time we visit we are reminded of how much better the telco industry is in Japan vs other DMs and we continue to be of the view that Japanese incumbents are in a “Golden Age”; ARPU inflection is being held back a little we think by voice weakness post-Covid but is likely to come through over time. The integration of financial services though is a game changer and means SB is the likely medium term “winner” in t...
Service revenue trend was softer on slower non-mobile this quarter. Collectively, mobile revenue trend (Consumer + Enterprise) maintained its second consecutive of growth and operators are implying a strong Q4. For instance, Softbank is expecting Consumer MSR to rebound this year (at flat YTD); NTT implying a strong Q4 EBIT on cost reductions and streamlining of non-core assets like Real Estate.
In our 2010 Japan Perspective, written close to the nadir of the bear market, we discussed what was wrong with Japan, but also what it was starting to do right. Fourteen years on, the Nikkei 225 - though not yet Topix - has hit a new all-time high. This report looks at how Japan built on those things that were going right, while also starting to address what else needed to be done, and looks at whether more is needed to be done if the market rally is to continue from here.
Wireless spectrum is one of the most valuable commodities in the telecoms market. Japanese telcos have previously been issued spectrum for free. But what if it starts to be auctioned? In this note, we use our new proprietary SpectrumHub Global Database to calculate the likely cost of mmWave spectrum in Japan. We also look at the total value of all spectrum held by the incumbents, to address the implications if Japan were to move to auction for all spectrum.
KDDI plans to launch a ¥500bn (USD 3.37bn) tender offer for Lawson, Japan's third largest convenience franchise. If successful, the move will see KDDI own 50% of Lawson, up from 2.1% today, with the other remaining half owned by Mitsubishi Corporation. On our estimates, the deal is expected to be 3.4% EPS accretive on an annual basis.
KDDI reported results today, in line with consensus on revenue and EBIT. Revenue growth slowed primarily driven by lower Energy and roaming revenue (which were known about), partially offset by strength in Enterprise. Mobile KPIs continue to move in the right direction with strong subs growth and sequential ARPU improvement again (yoy trends impacted by a weak Q2 last year).
Something significant has shifted in Japan. The telcos, and especially KDDI and SB Corp are now using their strength in financial services to drive customers towards unlimited offers. The result is likely to be an acceleration of ARPU recovery, and suggests we are at an important inflection point. We lift ARPU forecasts and price targets. SoftBank Corp is our new top pick, PT ¥2,500, from ¥2,200.
Japanese telcos delivered better service revenue growth in Q2, driven by an inflection in mobile and non-mobile segments. Mobile performance for KDDI and Softbank were very encouraging, with the former hitting inflection on both mobile revenue (expected) and ARPU growth (earlier than expected) while Softbank witnessed an earlier than expected bottoming of MSR and upgraded its full year ARPU guidance from ¥3,680 to ¥3,720. Across the board, EBITDA trend was also better.
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