27March
2023
ASTROS Q4FY23 REVENUE 7% Q-O-Q TO RM991MN, SUPPORTED BY HIGHER ADEX AND BROADBAND BASE
ARPU RM1 Y-o-Y to RM98.20 Underpinned by Higher Value Bundles
Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (AMH) | Result highlights for the fourth quarter of the financial year ended 31 January2023 (Q4FY23) [All comparisons refer to the third quarter of FY23 (Q3FY23) quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) comparison, except as noted]:
PATAMI >100% q-o-q to RM55mn
Adex 14% q-o-q to RM126mn
Broadband base 34% y-o-y
ARPU increased by RM1 y-o-y to RM98.20
Astros Q4FY23 revenue increased by 7% q-o-q to RM991mn, driven in part by higher Adex and a larger broadband base. PATAMI improved q-o-q to RM55mn, the result of higher revenue and unrealised forex gains due to transponder lease liabilities as the Ringgit appreciated during the period, offset by higher sports content cost. The Group remained cash generative and proactive in its capital management. However, amid macro and industry challenges, in this quarter the AMH legal entity recognised a non-cash impairment of RM763mn in respect of its historical cost of investments in subsidiaries. This impairment is an accounting adjustment and has no impact on the Groups consolidated PATAMI, nor any bearing on the entity or Groups current or future cash position. The Group recorded a full year PATAMI of RM259mn in FY23. Given the non cash impairment, no interim or final dividends will be paid this quarter. The dividend declared in respect of FY23 amounts to 3.0 sen per share, equating to a 60% payout ratio.
Euan Smith, Group CEO of Astro said: Our transformation plans have continued apace this year as we continue to put in place the structures and architecture that will define the Astro of the future. We are starting to see the benefits from the investments in content, product, connectivity, advertising and customer service, moving the company aggressively into the new streaming, on demand era. In line with Astros OTT aggregation strategy, we added Viu and ZEE5 to our existing premium apps and further enriched the content line-up for customers, who now have access to over 110k shows on demand. Together with the best live international and local sports, Astro Originals, premium international shows and everyones favourite Astro signatures, the addition of Viu reinforces our position as the entertainment destination for Malaysians with its extensive Korean drama and original series, while ZEE5 brings compelling new content for our Indian vernacular. Customers are streaming more than ever on the Ultra and Ulti boxes, as well as on Astro GO, with our On Demand shows streamed rising 25% y-o-y to 660mn. Our value-added streaming-focused TV packs, which can be bundled with Astro Fibre, are delighting our current customers and attracting new ones, contributing to the growth of both our ARPU by RM1 y-o-y to RM98.20, and increasing our broadband base by 34% y-o-y.
As the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we were very pleased with viewing figures. In addition, many match events and special appearances by football legends helped increase footfall and generate on-ground excitement for all our customer groups. More recently we are extremely pleased to have become the official broadcaster of Liga Malaysia. Initial reception to our high quality coverage has been strong and we look forward to building the sport with the league and clubs. Elsewhere, the heightened awareness on the consequences of using illegal streaming devices at commercial premises is helping to drive higher subscription for our enterprise packs, which can be paired with BIZFibre.
Key HighlightsBest of Live Sports, Astro Originals and Local Movies:
As the official broadcaster of Liga Malaysia, Astro has returned to champion local football with 244 matches in HD and 13 supporting programmes on 2 dedicated Arena Bola channels. Take up of Liga Malaysia offerings on Astro, NJOI and sooka are off to a good start since the 2023 season kick-off last month
Astro Original, Projek: High Council, currently the No.1 show On Demand with 155mn minutes streamed, has attracted a new wave of fans with total social media reach of 23mn and 1bn views on Tik Tok. On ground activities generated huge excitement, reinforcing the new Astro experience among fans
Live signature shows enthralled viewers with fan favourite Gegar Vaganza Season 9 registering 2.3mn TV viewership and 1.7mn shows streamed
Mechamato The Movie is the No.1 local animated film with RM36mn while Didi & Friends The Movie grossed RM8.1mn inbox office sales
Streaming More on Astro: Ultra and Ulti Boxes installs grew 47% y-o-y to 827k while Astro GO saw its monthly active users rose 10% y-o-y to 581k, with average weekly viewing time of over 3 hours. Both platforms are designed to make streaming easy and seamless, resulting in OnDemand shows hitting 660mn in FY23, up 25% y-o-y
Growth in Adex: Total Adex rose 14% q-o-q toRM126mn, with year-end festivities and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 driving strong performance across all TV, radio and digital platforms. Radex, TV Adex and Digital Adex share stood at 73%, 34% and 2% respectively. Astro Radio brands continued to rank No.1 across all languages, registering 17.7mn weekly radio listeners on FM and online. SYOK, Malaysias most popular audio entertainment app, saw its podcast monthly listens increased by 28% y-o-y to 1.1mn while Astro digital brands registered 8.4mn monthly unique visitors
sooka Continues to Win Over Millennials: Streaming service, sooka, which has over 22k hours of content library, achieved 1.1bn minutes watched to date, with 82% users on mobile. Sales of World Cup Match Passes exceeded expectation and drove engagement, with VIP TV subscriptions on the big screen doubling during the World Cup period. sooka users can
