StarHub Q3 profit falls 11%

Singapore’s StarHub has reported an 11% decline in net profit for the third quarter of 2017 to S$77 million ($56.6 million), partly as a result of lower core service revenue.

Service revenue fell 0.7% to S$545 million, with mobile revenue down 2.3% to S$297 million, broadband revenue declining 1.5% to S$53.2 million and pay TV revenue falling 7.9% to S$85.7 million.

Enterprise fixed line revenue by contrast increased by a healthy 11.1% to S$109.4 million, growing to account for 18.8% of total revenue (including device sales).

This quarter, we are further seeing the fruits of our growth strategy as shown by the encouraging double-digit increase in our enterprise fixed revenue. We will continue investing in the enterprise space to drive our future growth,” StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai commented.

“We have recently struck Singapore’s first bank-telco strategic partnership with OCBC Bank. By harnessing our collective data insights, we can better understand customers’ needs and deliver even more relevant services to enhance their connected lifestyles.”

For the first nine months of the year, service revenue likewise fell 1% to S$1.62 billion with net profit down 18% to S$235 million. Mobile service, broadband and pay TV revenues declined 0.8%, 1.8% and 7.7% respectively but enterprise fixed service revenue grew 5%.

StarHub’s postpaid mobile customer base decreased by 11,000 year-on-year due to a termination of 23,000 inactive legacy data-only lines. Postpaid ARPU dipped by S$1 to S$69, while prepaid ARPU declined from S$16 to S$15.

Broadband customers meanwhile decreased by around 1,000 to 466,000 but ARPU remained stable at S$37.

For the full year, StarHub is projecting roughly flat revenue, but expects total capex to decrease to around 10% of total revenue.