Mainboard-listed telco StarHub saw its fourth-quarter earnings more than double as operating expenses were pared enough to cover the year-on-year slip in the top line, the firm reported yesterday.
Net profit surged from $19.8 million to $34.9 million for the three months to Dec 31 even as turnover dipped 1.8 per cent to $608.4 million. Service revenue, which excludes equipment sales, was down by 3 per cent to $443.7 million.
Revenue continued to fall in the core mobile, pay-television and broadband businesses, although chief executive Peter Kaliaropoulos said that "consumer business has stabilised its quarter-on-quarter revenues for the first time following years of decline".
Mobile post-paid average revenue per user stood at $40 at the end of the quarter, compared with $39 in the previous quarter and $43 in the same period in 2018, while subscriber numbers rose to 1.45 million.
The company said it has achieved 64 per cent of its targeted $210 million in cost savings from its ongoing strategic transformation - which Mr Kaliaropoulos kicked off in late 2018 with retrenchments.
Besides "workforce optimisation", costs have also come down on the back of lower licence fees, among other factors.
Earnings per share rose to 1.9 cents from one cent before, while net asset value was 29.9 cents a share against an earlier 29.4 cents.
Net profit fell 7.5 per cent to $186.3 million for the full year on a 1.3 per cent decline in revenue to $2.33 billion.
Full-year service revenue was down 3.7 per cent to $1.77 billion, even worse than the downgraded guidance last November for a decrease of 2 per cent to 3 per cent.
Still, even with the coronavirus outbreak, which Mr Kaliaropoulos told an earnings call has affected aspects like retail activity and roaming, StarHub's service revenue for this year is expected to improve by between 1 per cent and 3 per cent as higher turnover from the cybersecurity services make up for lower mobile and pay-television contributions.
The board has recommended an interim dividend of 2.25 cents a share, compared with four cents a share in the same period the year before.
This is under a trimmed dividend policy announced last year, when StarHub switched from fixed to variable payouts while pledging to distribute at least 80 per cent of net profit each year.
"Taking into consideration... cash flow requirements... the group intends to maintain a dividend of nine cents per ordinary share for 2020," it has now affirmed in its financial statements.
StarHub shares fell 0.66 per cent to $1.50 yesterday before the results were announced.
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