KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd recorded a lower net profit of RM460.87 million for the financial year (FY) ended January 31, 2022 from RM539.85 million a year ago.

The drop was mainly due to lower earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) which fell 3 per cent on higher content and broadband costs as well as marketing and distribution expenses.

This was mitigated by lower merchandise costs as a percentage of revenue, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Its revenue decreased by 4.2 per cent to RM4.18 billion from RM4.36 billion previously, mainly due to a decrease in subscription revenue and merchandise sales, offset by higher sales of programming rights and advertising revenue. Revenue during the year continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On a quarterly basis, its fourth quarter net profit for FY2022 was RM126.59 million versus RM167.83 million a year ago, while revenue was at RM1.03 billion and RM1.11 billion, respectively.

Looking ahead towards the financial year ending 2023, Astro said it is powering up by becoming an internet service provider, bundling Astro Fibre with content and introducing Astro Fibre standalone broadband to complement its suite of offerings, as well as a full-scale rollout of advertising propositions.

The group will continue to invest in its transformation plans, in particular content, broadband, streaming, customer experience, data, advertising and technology infrastructure to simplify processes.

The group also remains cautiously optimistic and will continue to monitor business conditions while managing costs.

It declared a fourth interim single tier dividend of 1.5 sen per share for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2022, to be paid on April 29, 2022 with the entitlement date on April 15, 2022.

The board also recommended a final single tier dividend of 0.75 sen per share payable on a date to be determined, subject to obtaining shareholders’ approval at the forthcoming 10th Annual General Meeting of the company to be convened, it said. — Bernama