KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit nearly doubled to RM141.25 million in the first quarter (Q1) ended April 30, 2021, from RM73.84 million in the same period a year ago.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the pay-TV operator said the improved net profit was mainly due to the increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and lower net financing costs.
Revenue advanced about one per cent to RM1.06 billion from RM1.05 billion previously, mainly arising from the increased advertising revenue, merchandise sales and others.
Astro also declared a first interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, payable on July 23, 2021.
Moving forward, group chief executive officer Henry Tan expects the financial year ending Jan 31, 2022 (FY22) to be an action-packed year.
“We continue to execute on our strategy and we have introduced two new streaming services this month: sooka featuring live sports and winning local content for millennials, and Disney+ Hotstar with amazing content at an incredible value,” he said in a separate statement.
Tan pointed out that its broadband base had grown around 80 per cent year-on-year, as more customers bundled broadband with their content packages for convenience and value.
On outlook, Tan cautioned that prolonged lockdowns may impact the company’s revenue, in particular advertising and enterprise revenue.
“The operating environment remains challenging amid nationwide lockdowns, even as Malaysia rolls out its vaccination programme,” he said. — Bernama
Source: Malay Mail
