StarHub : Commendable 1Q09 Results

1Q09 results within expectations. StarHub reported its 1Q09 results last night, with revenue down 0.8% YoY at S$530.6m, almost smack on our S$530.0m forecast, while net profit rose 3.1% to S$82.6m, or shy of our S$82.9m estimate; this included a tax credit of S$0.8m due to the corporate tax rate cut from 18% to 17%. On a sequential basis, revenue fell 1.1%, reflecting the economic slowdown, while net profit declined by 5.6%. But we note that the sharper earnings QoQ decline was due to a lower effective tax rate in 4Q08; otherwise, pre-tax profit rose 2.5% to S$101.5m, thanks to lower cost of sales and operating expenses. It also declared a dividend of S$0.045/share.

Drop in mobile revenue. On its key business segment, mobile revenue came off 3.1% YoY and 2.8% QoQ to S$264.7m, mainly due to lower revenue from its post-paid segment, which fell 4.8% YoY and 3.5% QoQ. Although it managed to grow its post-paid subscriber base by 9k users, we note that ARPU (average revenue per user) eased from S$71 in 4Q08 to S$67, hit by lower voice usage, IDD and outbound roaming services, while monthly usage also dropped from 469 to 442 minutes. A higher mix of customers on the discounted MaxMobile Data plans also had a diluting effect on post-paid ARPU. On the other hand, pre-paid revenue rose 2.7% YoY (down 0.5% QoQ), as the base grew by 40k to 914k users, though ARPU slipped from S$25 in 4Q08 to S$24. Mobile EBITDA margin improved from 36.6% in 1Q08 to 37.4%, thanks to lower acquisition cost and quantity of equipment sold.

Guides for stable service revenue. StarHub is guiding for stable service revenue (excludes non-core equipment sales), which management considers as "recurring revenue". Earlier, management guided for a low single-digit growth in total revenue. On the other hand, it has bumped up its service EBITDA margin from 31% to 32%. It has also kept its capex guidance to 11% of operating revenue. More importantly, based on its projected profitability and cash flow, StarHub intends to continue to pay S$0.045/ cent dividend every quarter, totalling S$0.18 for the full year. Maintain BUY. Overall, StarHub posted a pretty commendable set of results, despite the economic slowdown. As 1Q09 results were well within expectations, we are leaving our FY09 estimates intact; we may see room for upward revision should the economy recovers faster than expected. Maintain BUY with S$2.88 fair value.

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