Astro Malaysia declares first interim dividend of RM0.25 per share following RM891m revenue in Q1FY24
KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd posted revenues of RM891 million for the first quarter of the financial year ending January 31, 2024 (Q1FY24) amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds and foreign currency volatility.
The group said its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 36 per cent quarter on quarter to RM248 million due to higher sports content cost the previous quarter (Q4FY23).
It recorded normalised profits after tax and minority interest (Patami) of RM62 million, impacted by higher unrealised forex loss due to transponder lease liabilities as the US dollar strengthened.
As such, its board has declared a first interim dividend of 0.25 sen per share.
In a statement, Astro group CEO Euan Smith said its average revenue per user (ARPU) had risen by RM1.30 year on year to RM98.70 in Q1FY24, adding that around 25 per cent of customers were using its new streaming TV packs which can be bundled with its internet service, Astro Fibre.
“Astro Fibre had a great first year, driving our broadband base higher by 28 per cent year on year. Our OTT (order-triggers-two) aggregation strategy is advancing. WeTV is the latest to join Astro’s growing family of streaming apps, namely BBC Player, beIN Sports Connect, Disney+ Hotstar, HBO Go,iQIYI, Netflix, TVBAnywhere+, Viu and ZEE5, in addition to our own Astro GO,” he said.
“Streaming on Ultra and Ulti boxes, as well as on Astro GO is growing significantly, with On Demand shows streamed jumping 31 per cent year on year to 194 million in Q1FY24. Ultra and Ulti Boxes installs grew 42 per cent to 860,000 while Astro GO saw its monthly active users rise 7 per cent to 566,000 with average weekly viewing time of 3.5 hours,” Euan added.
Astro said it has 77 per cent of the viewing share in Malaysia and are actively reinventing their content propositions to meet the increasing demands for high quality content.
