SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Mainboard-listed StarHub's earnings rose by 3.5 per cent year on year in the last quarter, helped by government wage subsidies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The telco's net profit came to $36.1 million in the three months to Dec 31, 2020, according to financial results released on Friday evening.
Revenue was down by 4.8 per cent to $579.5 million for the quarter.
Fourth-quarter service revenue came in 5.5 per cent lower at $419.4 million, while equipment sales fell by 2.8 per cent to $160.1 million.
But StarHub recognised $11.3 million in Job Support Scheme for the quarter, boosting other income to $13.4 million, from $1.9 million in the year-ago period.
The consumer segment was behind the revenue plunge, with turnover from the core mobile service business down by 27.4 per cent to $138.6 million.
Post-paid average revenue per user (Arpu) was $30, against $40 at end-2019, while the number of subscriptions fell to 1.41 million, from 1.45 million before.
The decrease was attributed to lower international dialling, excess data and voice charges, lower income from value-added services, and lower roaming fees as the Covid-19 pandemic forced travel restrictions around the world.
Meanwhile, home fibre broadband lines declined to 498,000 in the same period, from 501,000 before, and pay-television users retreated to 314,000, from 329,000.
On the other hand, enterprise segment revenue was up by 21.1 per cent to $188 million. Contributions from the growing cyber security business rose 63.4 per cent, while the consolidation of Malaysian provider Strateq added regional ICT services revenue.
These new business units more than made up for the 9.9 per cent revenue decline in StarHub's network solutions arm, which includes enterprise data and Internet as well as managed services and voice services.
For the full year, net profit was down by 15.2 per cent to $157.9 million, while group revenue lost 13 per cent to S$2.03 billion.
StarHub is looking at stable service revenue in FY2021, cushioned by contributions from Strateq and the cyber security business, while the service Ebitda margin could thin to between 24 per cent and 26 per cent, down from 31.1 per cent in FY2020.
Meanwhile, the board has declared a final dividend of 2.5 Singapore cents a share, taking the full-year payout to five Singapore cents a share, in line with earlier guidance.
It expects to pay either the same amount in FY2021 or at least 80 per cent of net profit attributable to shareholders, whichever is higher.
This dividend move takes into account "the ongoing effects of Covid-19, the group's ongoing investments in, and returns from transformation initiatives", StarHub said.
New chief executive Nikhil Eapen added in a statement that there were "early signs of business demand picking up" as Singapore reopened its economy from mid-2020 onwards, and added that "we plan towards a gradual recovery in 2021".
The green shoots identified by management include a recovery in the managed services order book, as well as "accelerated demand from enterprises for digitalisation and multi-cloud strategies", according to StarHub's outlook statement.
StarHub shares ended lower by $0.01, or 0.78 per cent, to $1.28, before the results.
