Astro Malaysia Holding Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended 30 September 2020, is alleged to have fallen to RM164.53 million from RM170.85 million in the same quarter last year. Apart from that, the company's revenue also faced a decline of 8.9% to RM1.11 billion from RM1.22 billion last year.
Based on the statement submitted, the company revealed that their revenue was falling due to a decrease in subscription and advertising revenue affected by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic but sales of their merchandise recorded an increase.
Accordingly, the company's net profit has recorded a decrease of RM3.5 million or 2.1% over the same quarter, offset by declining net financing costs, depreciation of property, plant and equipment and tax expenses.
Meanwhile, the television segment, their revenue for the current quarter of RM946.1 million decreased by RM104.4 million or 9.9% compared to the same quarter of RM1.05 billion, driven by the fall in subscription and advertising revenue.
Nonetheless, the decline in profits can be offset by lower content and license costs, copyright and royalties.
Subsequently, radio revenue for the current quarter was reportedly influenced by slower economic activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, recording a lower revenue of 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Therefore, the management has taken cost reduction measures to help reduce operating financing.
Meanwhile, household income segment revenue for the current quarter has increased by RM17.6 million or 18.9% to RM110.7 million compared to RM93.1 million in the same quarter. This is because consumers are beginning to switch to online shopping activities following the movement control order (MCO).
Therefore, Astro will be more vigilant in facing any possible impact from the newly implemented conditional MCO. Even the extension of CMCO is alleged to affect advertising and commercial revenue. So, they will continue to optimize costs, prioritize capital expenditures, and actively manage capital to strengthen its finances.
