StarHub's Q3 net profit falls 11.5% to $76.2m

Its earnings from mobile, pay-TV and broadband services decline but enterprise space sees growth

StarHub has declared an interim dividend of four cents per share, down from five cents a share in the same period last year. It said it intends to maintain the dividend of four cents per quarter per share for the rest of this year.
StarHub has declared an interim dividend of four cents per share, down from five cents a share in the same period last year. It said it intends to maintain the dividend of four cents per quarter per share for the rest of this year. ST FILE PHOTO

Lower takings from mobile, pay-TV and broadband services hit earnings at telco StarHub in the third quarter.

Net profits fell 11.5 per cent to $76.2 million from the same period a year earlier while revenue in the three months ended Sept 30 was $580.4 million, down 0.8 per cent.

Higher depreciation and amortisation expenses, which rose $8.1 million from a year earlier after the additions of 4G spectrum and other assets, also dented the bottom line.

Total service revenue, which excludes equipment sales, was stable at $545.4 million. Third-quarter handset sales declined 10.6 per cent to $35 million on lower quantities sold.

Mobile turnover fell 0.8 per cent to $297 million, owing to lower voice, IDD and outbound roaming usage, partially mitigated by increased usage of data, and higher revenue from mobile value-added services.

StarHub lost 11,000 or 0.8 per cent of its post-paid mobile customers in the quarter, bringing its subscriber base to 1.36 million as at Sept 30.

About 69.8 per cent of its post-paid customers were on tiered data plans, from 66.7 per cent a year earlier. About 38.1 per cent of these users busted their data caps.

  • AT A GLANCE

  • REVENUE: $580.4 million (-0.8%)

    INTERIM DVIDEND: 4 cents per share (-20%)

Average revenue per post-paid user was $69, $1 lower than the preceding quarter and unchanged from the third quarter last year, primarily due to lower revenue from IDD, local voice and roaming services.

Enterprise fixed services turnover jumped 11.3 per cent to $109.4 million, boosted by the consolidation of Accel Systems & Technologies (ASTL), a newly acquired cyber security solutions provider.

Excluding ASTL's results, takings from enterprise fixed services would have risen by 4.3 per cent.

Chief executive Tan Tong Hai noted that a lot of StarHub's growth came from the enterprise space, which it will continue to invest in. Pay-TV services revenue fell 8.5 per cent to $85.7 million while broadband revenue dipped 2.8 per cent from a year ago to $53.2 million. Both were hit by a shrinking subscriber base.

Earnings per share was 4.3 cents, down from five cents in the same quarter last year. Net asset value per share was 22.9 cents as at Sept 30, up from 11.3 cents as at Dec 31 last year.

An interim dividend of four cents per share has been declared, down from five cents a share in the same period last year.

StarHub said it intends to maintain the dividend of four cents per quarter per share for the rest of this year.

The counter closed two cents or 0.75 per cent down at $2.64 yesterday before earnings were released.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 03, 2017, with the headline StarHub's Q3 net profit falls 11.5% to $76.2m. Subscribe