Astro Posts Strong Recovery: Q1FY22 PATAMI +91%

Astro Posts Strong Recovery: Q1FY22 PATAMI 91%

Date Released:22 Jun 2021

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Kicking off an action-packed year with sooka, Disney Hotstar, UEFA EURO 2020 & Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad | Result highlights for the first quarter of the financial year ending 31 January 2022 (Q1FY22)

Revenue 1% y-o-y to RM1.06bn

PATAMI 91% y-o-y to RM141mn

Adex 21% y-o-y to RM109mn

Go Shop 21% y-o-y to RM115mn

First interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share

Tun Zaki Azmi, Chairman of Astro, said: Astro posted strong recovery in Q1FY22 amid reimposition of lockdown. Astro continued to be cash generative, cost disciplined and proactive in its capital management. The Board has declared a first interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share.

Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer of Astro said: FY22 promises to be an action-packed year. We continue to execute on our strategy and in June, we introduced 2 new streaming services: sooka featuring live sports and winning local content for millennials and Disney Hotstar with amazing content at an incredible value. Customers can look forward to more exciting additions as we push ahead with our ambition to be Malaysia's #1 aggregator of the best streaming services.

Our Ultra and Ulti Box, already in over 300k homes are giving customers a new viewing experience. Astro GO, enhanced with pre-access' and download' features, has 1.4mn monthly active users with an average weekly viewing time of 213 minutes, while On Demand videos streamed tripled to 100mn. Our broadband base grew around 80% y-o-y, as more customers bundled broadband with their content packages for convenience and value.

Key Highlights

Disney Hotstar: Our Movies Pack customers can now stream more than 800 films and 18,000 episodes of Disney's amazing content on Disney Hotstar at an incredible value

sooka: The newest streaming service uniquely targeted at Malaysian millennials. In addition to the free tier, viewers can unlock the world's best live sports, record-setting local entertainment and exclusive sooka originals at affordable price points

Compelling Astro Originals:

Latest #1 drama, Rindu Awak Separuh Nyawa (2.3mn TV Viewership) and Projek: Anchor SPM (616k TV Viewership) are resonating with younger digital natives with bold and edgy storytelling. Projek: Anchor SPM recorded over 1mn episodes streamed, 123mn views on TikTok and a total social media reach of 139mn

Muzikal Lawak Superstar 2 (1.7mn TV Viewership)

The Maid (877k TV Viewership)

Sepahtu Reunion Al Puasa 2021 (870k TV Viewership)

Astro First, the destination for local films:

#1 local film, 18 Puasa Di Kampong Pisang (RM5.0mn)

Penunggang Agama (RM3.0mn)

Hantu Bonceng 2.0 (RM2.1mn)

Astro First revenue jumped 83% y-o-y to RM11.2mn

Biggest Sporting Events in 4K HDR:

Sports Pack customers will get more value and the most premium viewing experience with this year's biggest sporting events - the UEFA EURO 2020 and selected Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 events in 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Atmos on the Ultra Box.

Astro brings the best coverage of the Olympics over 13 dedicated HD channels, with exclusive coverage of Malaysian athletes' key moments on Astro Arena

ADEX Recovers: Underpinned by live vernacular signatures and compelling Astro Originals, Adex grew 21% y-o-y to RM109mn, outperforming the 9% advertising industry growth. However, the ongoing lockdowns continue to dampen revenue performance in Adex, where clients have been cautious; and in the Commercial Establishment and Hotel business, impacted by low traffic and occupancy. TV viewership share was stable at 72%. Radex, TV Adex and Digital Adex share stood at 78%, 39% and 3% respectively. Astro Radio brands continued to rank No. 1 across all languages, reaching 17mn weekly radio listeners (FM and digital), while Astro digital brands registered over 13mn monthly unique visitors

Reinventing Radio: Plans are underway to reinvent and digitise radio with a focus on everything audio - including podcasts and customised content for the new generation of streamers and digital natives

Go Shop Serves More Online Shoppers: Registered customers rose 23% y-o-y to 2.9mn and Q1 revenue increased by 21% to RM115mn

Social Impact: Astro currently ranks among the top 10 percentile of media companies worldwide as assessed by FTSE Russell for overall ESG rating in 2020. Astro continues to fulfil its ESG commitments encompassing environmental responsibility, positive social impact and good governance with these initiatives:

Continuous investment in our education initiatives to offer Tutor TV, TVIQ and TV Pendidikan for 5mn students nationwide

Over 16,000 hours of Public Service Announcements yearly and discrediting fake news across TV, radio and digital platforms

Complimentary viewing of selected channels during the various lockdowns

NJOI decoders and TV sets for COVID-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centres nationwide to keep patients informed and entertained

Laptops for students at SK Magandai and SK Malinsau in Sabah; and SK Sungai Paku in Sarawak to make online education content accessible

Outlook

The operating environment remains challenging amid nationwide lockdowns, even as Malaysia rolls out its vaccination programme. Prolonged lockdowns may impact Astro's revenue, in particular advertising and enterprise revenue.

As we celebrate being 25 years young this year, we are revitalising our brand and powering ahead in our transformation journey that encompasses:

our ambition to be Malaysia's #1 aggregator of the best streaming services,

enhancing local content by producing more premium Astro Originals,

seizing opportunities for adjacencies in commerce, broadband and digital, and

realisation of our reimagined business models and technology with the evolving ecosystem

LINK:	https://www.astro.com.my/mediaroom/articledetails.aspx?id=1454&title=a...
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