StarHub gunning for 5G licence, cuts revenue outlook

Singapore

MAINBOARD-LISTED telco StarHub is weighing a joint 5G bid with another mobile network operator, chief executive Peter Kaliaropoulos told an earnings call on Tuesday.

This is on top of an ongoing push into the enterprise market, which has been identified as a growth area.

The company cut its forecast for full-year service revenue, which it now expects to decrease by between 2 per cent and 3 per cent - down from an earlier guidance of zero to 2 per cent - on a sharper drop in the year to date.

StarHub posted third-quarter net profit of S$58 million, up by 1.7 per cent, as minority interests absorbed the slip from a higher share of loss of associate and tax expenses.

Revenue for the three months to Sept 30 dipped by 1.6 per cent to S$572.6 million, on lower contributions from the mobile, pay-television and broadband segments.

But turnover from the enterprise business grew by 16.7 per cent, despite a decline in contributions from network solutions, as revenue from the fledgling though loss-making cybersecurity arm more than doubled.

Mr Kaliaropoulos noted on the call with analysts that StarHub's growth business "is really enterprise and 5G". On the 5G front, StarHub is open to partnerships - such as network-sharing joint ventures - with other mobile network operators, he said, while laying out conditions such as shared commitments to a robust network, and a "fair and equitable" deal.

Singapore regulators last month launched a call for proposals for up to four 5G operating licences - including two nationwide networks - with telcos' submissions due by January.

Mr Kaliaropoulos said: "We have the smallest market share in the enterprise market ... so we see the opportunity to win new customers and have more revenues."

Rival M1, which is partly owned by The Business Times publisher Singapore Press Holdings, said separately on Tuesday that it planned to grow its footprint with small businesses, as it joined a scheme that provides newly set-up companies with off-the-shelf digital solutions.

StarHub's focus on the enterprise space comes even as the consumer mobile market is expected to stay fiercely competitive, according to Mr Kaliaropoulos, who foresees more mobile virtual network operators emerging in the first quarter of 2020.

For the nine months, StarHub's net profit shrank by 16.6 per cent to S$151.5 million, with revenue down by 1.2 per cent to S$1.72 billion.

The board has recommended an interim dividend of 2.25 Singapore cents per share, under a trimmed dividend policy announced previously. The books will close on Nov 14 and the dividend will be paid on Nov 27.

StarHub shares ended the day S$0.02, or 1.54 per cent, higher at S$1.32 before the results were announced.