StarHub H1 profit falls 41.7% to S$47.9 million; dividend of S$0.03 per share declared

[SINGAPORE] Telco StarHub on Thursday (Aug 14) reported a net profit of S$47.9 million for the first half ended Jun 30, 2025, sliding 41.7 per cent from S$82.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

The drop included a one-off forfeiture payment of S$14.1 million for the return of certain spectrum rights.

Earnings per share dropped 43.8 per cent to S$0.026, from S$0.046 in the corresponding period the year before.

StarHub announced the purchase of the rest of MyRepublic’s broadband business that it did not already own on Tuesday.

This came a day after an end to long-time speculation about StarHub acquiring M1, when Keppel proposed the sale of its telco business to Simba Telecom. Shares of StarHub fell as much as 6.6 per cent that day in response to the news.

The drop in earnings comes despite revenue rising 2.2 per cent to S$1.13 billion in H1 from S$1.1 billion, thanks to higher contributions from its broadband, regional enterprise and cybersecurity services. Revenue from these segments rose 4.4 per cent, 6.8 per cent and 20.1 per cent, respectively.

The group’s regional enterprise business added 6.8 per cent year on year to S$296.1 million in revenue, from S$277.3 million. This was due to a 12.8 per cent growth in managed services, reflecting higher project completions from StarHub’s modern digital infrastructure solutions.

This was offset by a drop in entertainment service revenue of 9.1 per cent, mainly due to a reduction in subscribers, and a 2.9 per cent fall in revenue from sales of equipment, mainly due to longer device replacement cycles that resulted in lower volume of handsets sold.

Mobile subscribers rose 8.2 per cent, excluding the impact of a one-time consolidation of inactive prepaid subscribers.

Chief executive Nikhil Eapen said eroding prices have challenged industry sustainability, but StarHub still managed to extend its No 2 position behind Singtel in the mobile segment.

“We intend to remain aggressive across brands and segments in the domestic consumer market to position for eventual market recovery,” he added.

This more aggressive stance means StarHub’s earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation outlook for the financial year 2025 has been revised down to 88 to 92 per cent of the 2024 figures.

“This revision reflects a deliberate strategic decision to preserve competitiveness and defend market share, while continuing to invest in long-term growth levers,” said StarHub.

The company has declared an interim dividend of S$0.03 per ordinary share for H1, same as the amount in the corresponding year-ago period. It will be paid on Sep 5, 2025.

The company previously guided for a full-year dividend per ordinary share of at least S$0.06 in 2025.

It noted that free cash flow might be temporarily affected by the one-off spectrum payment, but expects positive free cash flow trends from FY2026.

Shares of StarHub closed 0.9 per cent, or S$0.01 higher, at S$1.19 on Wednesday.