KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd posted a 11.5% rise in net profit to RM170.85 million or 3.28 sen per share in its third quarter ended Oct 31, 2019 (3QFY19), from RM153.22 million or 2.94 sen per share last year, owing to lower net finance charges and tax expenses.

However, revenue declined 12.18% to RM1.22 billion from RM1.38 billion last year, amid a decrease in subscription revenue, production revenue, sales of programming rights and advertising revenue, Astro said in a filing with the local stock exchange today.

The group declared a third interim dividend of two sen per share for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2020 (FY20), payable on Jan 3, next year. The proposed dividend is lower than the 2.5 sen paid in the same period last year, the improved performance notwithstanding.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY19), net profit jumped 49.88% to RM516.38 million or 9.9 sen a share, from RM344.52 million or 6.61 sen a share last year, although revenue slipped 10.34% to RM3.69 billion, from RM4.11 billion.

Earnings improvement for the period was mainly due to lower FIFA World Cup content cost, marketing and distribution expenses, as well as reduced net finance charges.

The pay TV operator said the market remains challenging with structural changes in the global content, media and advertising industries, including threats of piracy and streaming wars.

Astro will continue to strengthen its core Pay TV and NJOI businesses by redefining customer value propositions, elevating customer service, refreshing and aggregating the best content and streaming services, the company said. It added it will also leverage on its customer base to build new revenue adjacencies in commerce, broadband, digital and OTT (over-the-top), while maintaining disciplined cost optimisation.

“Despite a challenging media landscape, Astro continues to deliver solid PATAMI (profit after tax and minority interest) growth, as we continue our journey to improve customer service, refresh our content, as well as enhance home entertainment and personalisation on Astro GO,” its chief executive officer Henry Tan said in a separate statement today.

“The newly-launched Ultra Box saw good response with over 10,000 orders to-date. iQIYI launched its first app partnership outside China, with Astro taking the lead in marketing, customer acquisition and media sales.

“With greater emphasis on video streaming services, we now have three exclusive streaming services — Astro GO, HBO GO and iQIYI.”

Astro closed down one sen or 0.73% to RM1.36 today, valuing the company at RM7.09 billion.