KUALA LUMPUR: Astro Malaysia Holdings, the dominant pay-TV operator in Malaysia said Wednesday net profit in the quarter ended October improved 43% year-on-year to 151 million ringgit ($34 million), thanks to better performance in all business divisions.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year, net profit increased 16% to 478 million ringgit on revenue of 4.2 billion ringgit. For the third quarter, revenue rose 4% to 1.42 billion ringgit helped by higher subscriptions, advertising and home-shopping, the company said in a filing to the stock exchange.
With a subscriber base of about 5 million customers, or over two-third penetration of TV households, Astro said average revenue per user grew from 99.3 ringgit to 99.9 ringgit, pushing TV revenue up by 2.6% to 1.3 billion ringgit.
Revenue from home-shopping, a collaboration with South Korea’s GS Home Shopping that is available in Malaysia and Singapore, grew by 19% to 62 million ringgit due to a wider range of products offered. The unit sold roughly 337,000 products, up from 260,000 in the same quarter last year on a customer base of about 228,000 people.
Amid a softer consumer market, Astro said it would continue to provide “differentiated content and unique line-up” of TV programs to attract customers. It will also roll out video services with regional partners.
Astro’s shares ended 1.15% higher at 2.65 ringgit, while the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.17% to 1632.47 on Wednesday.
