StarHub's net profit up 19% to S$175m in 1H12

Capex was S$15 million higher at S$57 million compared to a year ago.

In a release, StarHub Ltd announced its results for the second quarter and first half ended 30 June 2012.

Operating revenue, for the quarter, was at S$591 million, 4% more compared to a year ago. On a half-year basis, it was at S$1,182 million. The Group‟s EBITDA increased 10% for both the quarter and first half to S$179 million and S$356 million, respectively. EBITDA margin as a percentage of service revenue was 32.0% for the quarter, which was a 1.6 percentage point increase from the year before. On a half-year basis, it was at 32.1%.

Profit from operations, for the quarter, was an increase of 16% to S$111 million and net profit after tax was at S$87 million, an increase of 11% year-on-year (YoY). For the half-year, profit from operations increased 18% to S$220 million while net profit after tax rose 19% to S$175 million. Free cash flow was S$143 million, for the quarter, compared to S$140 million in 2Q2011. Cash capital expenditure (capex) was S$15 million higher at S$57 million compared to a year ago. On a half-year basis, free cash flow was S$247 million while cash capex was S$98 million.

Business Highlights

For the quarter and half-year, Mobile services revenue increased 1% and 3%, respectively. Pay TV revenue grew 12% for the quarter and 9% for the half-year. Broadband revenue rose 2% for the quarter and the half-year, while Fixed Network services revenue increased 6% for the quarter and 4% for the half-year.

Mobile revenue grew to S$306.2 million from S$302.5 million YoY and to S$612.8 million for the half-year period. Post-paid mobile services revenue was 3% higher at S$246.4 million. Comparing to 2Q2011, pre-paid mobile services revenue decreased 6% to S$59.8 million for the quarter. YoY, post-paid ARPU increased S$2 to S$75, while pre-paid ARPU decreased S$2 to S$18.

Pay TV revenue increased 12% to S$103.7 million from S$92.3 million a year ago. The UEFA EURO 2012 broadcast in June led to higher Pay TV services revenue for the quarter. As a result, Pay TV ARPU increased S$5 to S$54. For the quarter, our customer base was stable at 543,000.

Broadband revenue increased 2% to S$62.4 million YoY. The residential broadband customer base also grew 2% YoY, ending the quarter with 439,000 customers. Broadband ARPU was S$46 for the quarter, S$1 higher than a year ago. The higher ARPU was mainly due to a higher mix of customers on the higher speed broadband plans.

Fixed Network revenue increased 6% to S$88.0 million from a year ago. Data and Internet revenue grew 6% to S$72.9 million while Voice services revenue increased 4% to S$15.2 million YoY. The higher Voice revenue was mainly contributed by higher subscription of local voice services and increased interconnect revenue.

The total number of Hubbing households with at least one StarHub service was 786K for the quarter. This was 4,800 lower than a year ago. However, the ratio of households who subscribed to multiple StarHub services increased slightly from a year ago.

"We are pleased to see an 11% growth in profits for the quarter and a successful broadcast of the UEFA EURO 2012, the first exclusive content subject to the cross-carriage regime,” said Mr Neil Montefiore, CEO of StarHub. “Our subscribers were also able to enjoy the sports event on our inaugural TV Anywhere service; an Internet TV platform available on multiple screens, anytime, anywhere.”