Astro’s shares fall slightly after Q3 earnings decline

PETALING JAYA: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd's share price fall slightly by 0.71% this morning, after its net profit for the third quarter ended Oct 31, 2017 fall 2.9% to RM146.68 million from RM151 million a year ago.

At 10.49am, the stock stood at RM2.78 with 330,400 shares changing hands. It has a market capitalisation of RM14.39 billion.

Astro told the stock exchange yesterday, the lower net profit was due to the decrease in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda), on the back of higher license, copyright and royalty fees, higher selling and distribution expenses and higher telecommunication cost.

Revenue during the period was lower by 1.9% to RM1.4 billion against last year's corresponding quarter of RM1.42 billion, mainly due to lower subscription, advertising and licensing revenue.

The group has proposed to declare an interim dividend of 3 sen per share.