KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (KL:ASTRO) posted a net profit of RM54.71 million in the second quarter ended July 31, 2024 (2QFY2025), its best quarterly results since the quarter ended January 2023, on the back of lower expenses, and better finance costs on favourable foreign exchange impact.
Quarterly net profit more than doubled year-on-year from RM23.65 million despite a 5.98% decline in revenue to RM787.3 million, from RM837.37 million, due to lower subscription and advertising revenue.
Quarterly earnings per share stood at 1.05 sen versus 0.45 sen last year. No dividend was declared for the quarter.
Notably, finance costs dropped sharply to RM10.8 million, from RM74.1 million in the same period last year.
The group sources international content in US dollars, with more than 50% of its borrowings and lease liabilities of RM3.12 billion in the greenback. In the quarter, the US dollar averaged at 4.70 against the ringgit.
“Excluding unrealised forex gains from transponder lease liabilities, normalised net profit stood at RM27 million, a 10% improvement on the previous quarter (1QFY2025). Furthermore, cash generation remained robust, with free cash flow up by 52% to RM171 million quarter-on-quarter,” Astro said.
For the six-month period ended July, Astro's net profit rose 81.35% to RM71.72 million from RM39.54 million a year ago. Revenue, however, slipped 7.94% to RM1.56 billion, from RM1.69 billion.
Finance costs for the period fell by nearly two-thirds to RM67.3 million, from RM183 million.
“A sustained strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit would help mitigate some of the US dollar-based cost pressures over the medium term,” Astro said.
Average revenue per user for its pay-TV services inched higher to RM99.80 in 2QFY2025, from RM99.10 a year ago.
Meanwhile, Astro said its broadband user base grew 11% year-on-year, while its over-the-top TV service sooka sees active monthly users of 1.3 million, with more paying customers amid popular events such as Euro 2024.
Such major sporting events “captivated a cumulative total of 15.4 million viewers on Astro, highlighting the fervent enthusiasm of Malaysians for our content slate”, it said.
“As part of our ongoing transformation, Astro is planning to launch three streamlined TV packs in the future for: entry-level viewers, sports fans, and all-access seekers.
“These offerings provide exceptional value, tailored to content preferences, while driving long-term ad growth and positioning Astro as the preferred choice,” it said.
The group is committed to grow its customer base, strengthen its adjacent businesses like Astro Fibre and sooka, and to better manage costs, said Astro group chief executive officer Euan Smith.
Astro shares settled half a sen lower at 26.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM1.15 billion. The counter is down 33% this year.