StarHub Q3 Ebitda falls 26.3% to S$72.1 million as staff costs eat into higher revenue
Consumer segment retreats with mobile, broadband, entertainment revenues down 6%, 4% and 10%, respectively
StarHub announced a 26.3% decrease in Ebitda to S$72.1 million for the third quarter, down from S$97.8 million the previous year. Meanwhile, net profit was S$3.9 million. The company attributes the drop to higher staff costs resulting from investments in capabilities and business growth, which outweighed improvements in gross profit.
Despite revenue increasing to S$486.8 million, up 4.5% from S$464.8 million a year earlier, the telco noted that Ebitda still declined due to lower gross profit, higher operating expenditure, and reduced income from other avenues. The consumer segment, comprising mobile, broadband, and entertainment, saw a decline in revenues. Mobile revenue dropped 6%, broadband revenue fell 4.1%, and entertainment revenue decreased 10.6%.
The telco cited price competition as the reason for the revenue decline, even though customer subscriptions rose. StarHub expects to achieve 75 to 80% of its FY2025 Ebitda target and maintain its capital expenditure commitment of 13 to 15% of total revenue. The company reiterated its dividend policy, which is the higher of S$0.06 a share or at least 80% of net profit attributable to shareholders, adjusted for one-off items.
StarHub is on track to achieve S$70 million in cost savings and has 15% of its targets met so far. Talks with Keppel regarding a possible transaction in relation to M1 continue.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
