StarHub Q4 profit falls 33.2%

Singapore’s StarHub revealed its fourth quarter profit fell 33.2% to S$54 million ($38.6 million), as a result of higher costs and growing competition.

Revenue for the quarter stayed flat at S$634.8 million, but service revenue grew 1% year-on-year to S$567.1 million.

Higher handset subsidies, a higher finance expense and other costs all contributed to the decline in profit during the quarter.

Mobile revenue decreased slightly to S$311.8 million, with both postpaid and prepaid ARPU declining by S$2 year-on-year to S$70 and S$15 respectively. Pay TV revenue also decreased 6% year-on-year to S$93.9 million.

Broadband revenue by contrast grew 4% year-on-year to S$54 million, with ARPU growing S$2 year-on-year to S$37. But residential broadband customers fell by 1% year-on-year to 473,000.

Enterprise fixed line revenue also grew 10% year-on-year to S$107.2 million due to a higher take-up of data and managed services.

For the full year, SartHub’s net profit fell 8.3% to S$341.4 million, with total revenue down 1.9% to S$2.39 billion. Mobile revenue was up 2% to S$1.2 billion, broadband revenue was 8% higher at S$216.6 million and enterprise fixed revenue increased 3.9% to S$400 million.

“Despite increased competition, we have registered growth in key areas. Mobile, which accounts for half of our total revenue, showed resiliency as we saw an increase in subscriber base and data revenue. Momentum for our broadband revenue was maintained and we also witnessed a consistent revenue growth in our enterprise fixed business,” StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai said.

“In the new year, we remain focused on our customer-centric approach to deliver innovative solutions to both our consumer and enterprise customers.”

Based on the current outlook, StarHub is currently projecting roughly flat service revenue for the current year. The operator has a capex target of around 13% of total revenue.

The Singaporean mobile market is facing renewed competitive pressure due to the upcoming entry of Australia-based TPG Telecom as well as the impact of disruptive 4G MVNO Circles.Life.