StarHub's Q4 profit down 33.2% to S$54m

STARHUB'S net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016, fell 33.2 per cent to S$54 million, from S$80.8 million one year ago. Revenue for the period was flat with a 0.2 percentage-point gain to S$634.8 million, from S$633.8 million one year ago.

The company declared a final dividend of five Singapore cents per share, the same as last year. This brings StarHub's total dividend payout for 2016 to 20 Singapore cents per share.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter was 3.1 Singapore cents, down 34 per cent from 4.7 Singapore cents one year ago. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) was down 13.6 per cent to S$135.7 million, from S$157 million one year ago.

For the full year, net profit was down 8.3 per cent to S$341.4 million, from S$372.3 million one year ago. Revenue was down 1.9 per cent to S$2.4 billion, from S$2.44 billion. EPS was 19.8 Singapore cents, fell 7.9 per cent from 21.5 Singapore cents one year ago. Ebitda was down 3.2 per cent to S$690.1 million, from S$712.3 million.

The telco noted that for the fourth quarter, revenue remained stable but for the full year it was lower by 2 per cent due to lower revenue from the sale of equipment and services.

For the fourth quarter, Ebitda was down due to lower profits from operations. This, according to the company, also contributed to the decrease in full-year Ebitda. The Ebitda margin as a percentage of service revenue was 23.9 per cent for the quarter and 31.2 per cent for the full year.