StarHub’s earnings jump 25.9% to $92.8m in Q1

Due to decreased expenses, higher sales.

Thanks to lowered costs and increased sales of lower- to mid-end models, StarHub closed the first quarter of 2016 with a 25.9% YoY jump in net profit to $92.8m.

According to a report by OCBC, StarHub’s revenue for the slipped 4.4% YoY to $590.4m, on back of lower revenue from equipment sales.

On the flip side, cost of sales and operating expenses dropped as well, falling 19.7% YoY and 9.1% YoY respectively. As a result, earnings before interest, tax, dividends and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 13.2% to $183.4m.

Meanwhile, StarHub expects the SIM-only plans and the new data upgrade service at a low monthly fee to contribute to a lower subscription and excess data usage revenue.

However, it still anticipates monetisation of mobile data from the burgeoning data usage and takeup of other value-added services. It also plans to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction in the second half of 2016.

OCBC notes, though, that StarHub is likely to encounter tight competition sooner-than-expected, as Circles.Life is released more details about its pricing plans last night.

On the other hand, it is likely to face increased competition sooner-than-expected, with Circles.Life releasing more details about its pricing plans last night.