KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Axiata Group Bhd's interim dividend of five sen per share and special dividend of four sen per share will be paid on Jan 20.

The group said in a bourse filing that the ex-date is Dec 29, and the entitlement date is Dec 30.

Axiata had announced the interim dividend when it released its quarterly results on Nov 25. The group registered a net loss of RM52.4 million for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 versus a net profit of RM349.56 million in the same quarter of 2021. This was the group’s third straight quarterly net loss.

As for the special tax-exempt dividend, the group announced it on Dec 6 following the completion of the Celcom-Digi merger on Nov 30.

As part of the transaction, Axiata had received a cash consideration of RM2.5 billion from Digi.Com Bhd and RM300 million from Telenor Asia Pte Ltd. Part of the cash proceeds were channelled into strengthening Axiata’s balance sheet by paring down Axiata's debts, while the remaining cash was to be used to reward shareholders.

Axiata's share price rose nine sen or 3.08% to RM3.01 on Tuesday (Dec 14), giving the group a market capitalisation of RM27.62 billion.