StarHub profits up 1.7% to $58m in Q3

However, total revenue slipped 1.6% to $572.6m as mobile and TV services suffer downturns.

StarHub’s profits went up 1.7% YoY to $58m in Q3 from $57m in Q2, an SGX filing revealed. But total revenue dipped 1.6% YoY to $572.6m for Q3 as its mobile and television services continue to slow down due to competition and lower customer bases.

Also read: StarHub's profits fell 14.2% to $54m in Q1

Enterprise revenues climbed 16.7% YoY to $145.5m, boosted mainly by demands in cloud and data networks as well as digital and cyber security services.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) accelerated 16% YoY to $170.5m from $147m in the same quarter last year.

Mobile operations declined by 11.1% YoY in revenue to $190m, attributed to lower IDD and voice calls and excess in data usage, roaming, data subscription, and value-added services, noted Starhub CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos.

However, the company shared that they are recording high sign-ups in their giga and Hello Change postpaid plans. StarHub is also conducting 5G trials with a target to submit a proposal for a nationwide network following the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s announcement.

Pay TV revenue also weakened by 24.8% YoY to $56.1m. While the migration to Internet protocol (IP) TV from cable was completed this quarter, Kaliaropoulos stated that dormant set-up boxes, OTT and other content options resulted to a lower customer base of 347,000. StarHub also incurred losses of about $9.6m with their switch from cable to fibre.

Broadband services revenue lowered to $3.6m and $4.8m YoY for Q3 and YTD respectively. Nevertheless, equipment sales like mobiles and smart home appliances surged 12.5% YoY to $137.9m.