KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s wholly-owned unit Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd (MBNS) secured a term loan facility of up to RM400 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp Malaysia Bhd (SMBC).
The facility is to refinance the existing term loan facility of RM380 million obtained from SMBC on Aug 9, 2018, Astro said in a Bursa Malaysia filing on Monday (Aug 14).
“The board of directors of Astro, after having considered all aspects of the facility, is of the opinion that the facility will facilitate Astro group’s borrowings to be managed more efficiently due to its competitive pricing and tenure,” it said.
Besides, the facility will be used to finance costs relating to the production, purchase and licensing of content, programme or channels, purchase of set-top boxes (including the settlement of vendor financing) as well as capital and operating expenditure, said Astro.
“The facility is granted to MBNS on a clean basis. The first drawdown of the facility shall be made within three months from the date of the facility agreement, and is available for multiple drawdowns thereafter,” according to Astro.
In addition, the facility shall be fully repaid on or before the expiry of four years from the date of the first drawdown with a one-year option to extend.
“This is a principal amortisation facility with the first instalment payable by MBNS 24 months from the first drawdown date,” Astro said.
Last month, Astro announced that it will be undertaking a voluntary separation scheme that will allow the group to focus on core business activities and improve its financial performance by simplifying the organisation, streamlining operations and reducing operating expenses.
Astro’s net profit dropped 84% to RM15.9 million in the first quarter ended April 30, 2023 (1QFY2024), from RM100.02 million a year earlier, while revenue declined 7.38% to RM891.13 million RM962.09 million.
Astro’s share price, which has fallen 19.23% year-to-date, closed unchanged at 52.5 sen. This values the group at RM2.71 billion.