KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit rose 17.3% to RM138.92 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2020 (4QFY20), from RM118.4 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, helped by lower staff-related costs.

Earnings per share rose to 2.66 sen from 2.27 sen, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Quarterly revenue fell 10.3% to RM1.23 billion, from RM1.37 billion a year earlier.

Astro declared an interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, to be paid on April 24.

The group said it saw better Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin during the quarter, amid lower staff-related costs arising from the separation scheme payments in the corresponding quarter, although partly offset by higher licence, copyright and royalty fees and marketing and distribution expenses.

The increase in net profit for the quarter was also due to lower amortisation of software and amortisation of event licence rights, offset by higher tax expenses.

Astro also made a software impairment in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, which contributed to the higher profit posted for 4QFY20.

Segmentally, Astro’s television business saw lower revenue and Ebitda contribution for the quarter, due to lower subscription revenue, production revenue, as well as sales of programming rights and advertising revenue.

Its radio segment was affected by lower advertising spend, but managed to post higher profit contribution to the group due to lower operating costs.

The home-shopping business saw higher revenue during the quarter, due to the festive season, but reported lower earnings contribution due to tactical campaigns and lower margins due to the product mix for the festive season.

For the full financial year ended Jan 31, Astro said its net profit increased 41.6% to RM655.3 million from RM462.92 million in the previous year, while revenue declined 10.4% to RM4.91 billion from RM5.48 billion.

The group said the Covid-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge to businesses around the world, adding that Astro had instituted its business continuity plan and has teams split across different sites and working from home.

“Astro remains focused on strengthening its customer value proposition and loyalty, while pursuing deeper cost optimisation and stronger anti-piracy push, as well as leveraging on its customer base to build new revenue adjacencies in commerce, broadband, digital and OTT,” it said.

Astro’s share price fell 0.5 sen or 0.6% to 83 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.33 billion.