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Joelton
Supreme |
17-May-2026 22:32
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StarHub CEO on staying the dividend course through headwinds By Julian Wong When Nikhil Eapen became group CEO of StarHub in early 2021, he inherited a company in need of reinvention. StarHub had been built on a single insight: bundle everything. And for years, that was enough. Mobile, broadband, pay television, fixed line. StarHub was among the first telcos in the world to offer an all-in-one package. Eventually, consumer behaviour shifted with the times, shaped by changing needs and expectations across each segment. StarHub, known as the challenger and innovator, now needed to reignite its spark. &ldquo StarHub has changed over the last five years,&rdquo Eapen says. &ldquo We are now a full-fledged telco and enterprise services company.&rdquo Two businesses, one company According to Eapen, StarHub is roughly evenly split between its consumer and enterprise operations today. On the consumer side, it considers itself number two in mobile by revenue market share, number one in residential broadband (a position built through organic growth and solidified with the acquisition of the MyRepublic Broadband brand), and dominant in pay television by differentiating itself as the &ldquo Home of Sports&rdquo . But mobile is no longer the whole story, as its enterprise business now narrows the gap with the consumer business in scale. The enterprise business has two components. The larger of StarHub&rsquo s regional enterprise divisions generates roughly $600 million to $700 million in annual revenue and is built around a managed digital infrastructure platform. Rather than the traditional systems-integrator models of reselling and implementing third-party hardware and software, StarHub offers enterprise customers (campuses, large corporations, government-linked entities) a modular platform built on its own cloud-native network. Contract range varies in the millions. The second component is Ensign Infosecurity (Ensign), a cybersecurity joint venture focused on government and large-enterprise clients. Ensign generates around $400 million in annual revenue and currently operates close to breakeven. &ldquo When investors value StarHub, they don&rsquo t really factor in the value of Ensign,&rdquo Eapen says. Since this interview, however, that has changed. On April 15, StarHub announced it had agreed to terminate its assigned rights arrangement with Temasek for total cash proceeds of $121 million, and expects to recognise a fair value gain of over $200 million from the transaction. StarHub retains a 38.92% equity interest in Ensign, which remains an important cybersecurity partner to the group. Winning revenue share without cutting price At the same time, the more immediate challenge in the consumer business is the state of Singapore&rsquo s mobile market, where pricing has been driven to levels that Eapen calls &ldquo shocking.&rdquo Plans for less than $10 a month, with generous data allowances, have become a common sight at promotional booths in Singapore shopping malls. Eapen understands: &ldquo If it&rsquo s there, you&rsquo re gonna take it.&rdquo But he views it as a symptom of a sector that has been &ldquo structurally distorted&rdquo and that is now correcting. StarHub&rsquo s response has been to compete on value rather than to match the price cuts. Its flagship 5G Unlimited+ plan bundles unlimited voice and data, roaming inclusions, and device and cybersecurity protection into a single package. It aims to offer more value for a slightly higher spend, rather than fewer features at a lower price. &ldquo What we are not doing is taking revenue market share by taking pricing down,&rdquo Eapen says. &ldquo Instead, we are delivering more value. Not the lowest price, but a good price. And at that great price, real value.&rdquo In the fourth quarter of 2024, StarHub grew its subscriber base while holding average revenue per user (ARPU) flat at $22. Growing subscribers without sacrificing ARPU &mdash without cutting price &mdash is the signal he says investors should be watching most closely. The dividend question StarHub has long been a familiar name among income investors on the Singapore Exchange, and it has maintained its commitment to a dividend of 6 cents per share despite challenges. In the most recent financial year, for instance, free cash flow turned negative and net debt rose, even while its payout ratio exceeded 100%. Eapen is keen to address each of these. Firstly, he points out that the deterioration in free cash flow was driven primarily by a single large, non-recurring payment of approximately $190 million for 700MHz spectrum. The spectrum had been auctioned in 2016&ndash 2017, but only became available after international broadcasters in the region vacated the band in 2025. Set against a starkly different market environment, the mobile sector at the time of the auction was in far better health than it was when telcos in Singapore received the spectrum bands in 2025. After normalising for that payment, StarHub&rsquo s cash balance stands at approximately $857.1 million as of Dec 31, 2025. &ldquo Our cash flow dipped, but it will start going back up,&rdquo Eapen says. &ldquo It&rsquo s something we can definitely do with high confidence.&rdquo Steady plus Eapen is also specific about the signals investors should look for in StarHub. In mobile: ARPU. He points out that investors should look at whether this number holds steady across the sector, and then starts to climb. In enterprise: Order book. StarHub has been signing contracts faster than it recognises revenue, meaning the pipeline is growing faster than the numbers currently show. Large contract announcements that StarHub is allowed to disclose would then be a secondary signal to watch. On the balance sheet: the Ensign assigned rights transaction, which has since closed. The $121 million in cash proceeds and the expected fair value gain of over $200 million have done precisely what Eapen anticipated, strengthening the cash position and crystallising value that had not previously been reflected. Overall, Eapen&rsquo s phrase for the investment case is &ldquo Steady Plus&rdquo . Steady: a dividend that is supportable now, at a yield he describes as attractive at current share prices, and backed by a substantial cash balance and a capital expenditure cycle that has largely run its course. Plus: the operating leverage that becomes available as the mobile sector stabilises and enterprise momentum continues to build. &ldquo Think of us as: you&rsquo ll get your dividend in the short term, we can commit to that,&rdquo he says. &ldquo And then that should hopefully give you the patience to wait for the mid-to-long term, where you&rsquo ll see the positive benefits of operating leverage and a reflation upwards in our financial performance.&rdquo For investors, the steady part is available now. The plus, Eapen argues, is a matter of patience. After all, as he points out, the sector is steadily moving in the right direction. |
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JurongW
Elite |
17-May-2026 18:16
Yells: "Earnings give weight, Chart give wings" |
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shk363
Elite |
17-May-2026 17:18
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sinking like singpost | ||||
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PiRPiR
Master |
17-May-2026 15:58
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https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/kopi-c-company-brew/starhub-ceo-staying-dividend-course-through-headwinds-julian-wong
StarHub CEO on staying the dividend course through headwinds By Julian Wong Julian Wong of Beansprout Fri, May 15, 2026 ? 01:40 PM GMT+08 ? 7 min read |
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Alignment
Elite |
09-May-2026 15:10
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Q1 is Jan-March. The Ensign deal happened in April.
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Joelton
Supreme |
09-May-2026 09:46
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DBS, RHB stay cautious on StarHub after weak 1Q earnings as price competition bites DBS Group Research and RHB Bank are staying cautious on StarHub after the telco&rsquo s 1QFY2026 earnings missed expectations, with both research houses warning that price competition in mobile and broadband will continue to weigh on margins. For the three months ended March, StarHub&rsquo s net profit after tax (NPAT) attributable to shareholders fell 81.3% y-o-y to $5.9 million, while ebitda declined 22.5% y-o-y to $77.7 million. Service revenue fell 3.9% y-o-y to $445.7 million, due mainly to lower revenue from its consumer segments. DBS analyst Sachin Mittal says StarHub&rsquo s 1QFY2026 normalised earnings of $5.9 million came in below consensus expectations of $10.6 million, while service revenue was 4% below consensus expectations of $466.1 million. The miss was &ldquo mainly due to ebitda decline alongside higher depreciation and amortisation and higher net finance costs&rdquo , he writes in his May 7 note. Mittal maintains his &ldquo fully valued&rdquo call on StarHub with an unchanged target price of 94 cents. Meanwhile, RHB has kept its &ldquo sell&rdquo call with a lowered target price of 87 cents, from $1 previously, implying a downside of 13.9%. &ldquo We expect the earnings malaise to continue with price competition having intensified in recent weeks, while strategic cost management initiatives will take time to yield results,&rdquo says the research house. The pressure was most visible in StarHub&rsquo s consumer business. Mobile service revenue fell 10.9% y-o-y to $124 million, while broadband revenue dropped 8.7% y-o-y to $58.8 million. Entertainment revenue declined 9.1% y-o-y to $45.8 million. StarHub says mobile revenue was lower mainly due to softer roaming, value-added services, and SMS usage, while broadband revenue fell mainly due to lower subscription revenue. Both research houses flag competition as the main concern. DBS says StarHub highlighted that Singtel has been " overly aggressive" in both mobile and broadband. Similarly, RHB says management pointed to the incumbent undercutting prices across the board, with some price points falling below mobile virtual network operators and value brands. That pressure is showing up in StarHub&rsquo s margins. Its service ebitda margin narrowed to 16.5% from 20.6% a year earlier, while RHB says higher staff and marketing costs added to the ebitda drag. StarHub has maintained its FY2026 ebitda guidance at 75% to 80% of FY2025 levels, which Mittal notes is below consensus expectations of about 83%. The company is also targeting $70 million in savings through FY2028 under its Strategic Cost Pillars programme that includes legacy decommissioning, network optimisation, systems re-architecture and business simplification. However, Mittal expects the bulk of the savings to kick in only from FY2027 onwards, while RHB says the benefits are likely to be back-loaded to FY2028. RHB has cut its FY2026 and FY2027 core net profit forecasts by 10.7% and 8%, respectively, while raising its FY2028 forecast by 13%. StarHub and Temasek agreed after the quarter ended to terminate an assigned rights arrangement relating to part of StarHub&rsquo s economic and equity interest in Ensign InfoSecurity for total cash proceeds of $121 million. StarHub expects to recognise a fair value gain of about $244 million, strengthening FY2026 NPAT, while its remaining 38.92% stake in Ensign will be recognised as an associate company. The dividend remains one source of support. DBS says StarHub&rsquo s management remains committed to paying at least 6 cents per share for FY2026, while RHB forecasts a dividend yield of 6% from FY2026 to FY2028. RHB says downside risks include weaker-than-expected earnings and margins, competition and regulatory setbacks. Upside risks include easing competition from industry consolidation and stronger-than-expected earnings, though the research house says such upside risks are receding as price competition intensifies. As at 11.08 am, shares in StarHub are trading 1 cent lower, or 0.99% down, at $1. |
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arkan1111
Veteran |
08-May-2026 12:23
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Why $120m from Tamesek exclude in the Q1 net profit??? | ||||
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Speediman
Veteran |
08-May-2026 11:15
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After consecutive years of investments for Dare and write downs, Starhub now need a new leader who can drive higher revenue and better profits. Singtel removed the lady boss and their fortunes start to go better. Dear CEO...please resign! Let someone else takeover this job |
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Joelton
Supreme |
08-May-2026 10:22
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StarHub Q1 net profit tumbles 81.3% to S$5.9 million as consumer business slides across the board Mobile segment subscriptions fall to 2.2 million, from 2.4 million in the year-ago period, amid softer SMS usage revenue [SINGAPORE] StarHub : CC3 -0.99% reported a net profit of S$5.9 million for its first quarter ended Mar 31, down 81.3 per cent from S$31.8 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue for the three months declined 6.1 per cent to S$507.3 million from S$540.5 million in Q1 2025, the group said on Thursday (May 7). The consumer business logged declines across the board, as revenue fell 10 per cent to S$228.6 million for the quarter, from S$254 million previously. This was led by the mobile segment, which posted a 10.9 per cent decline in revenue to S$124 million for Q1 2026, from S$139.2 million in the year-ago period. The mobile segment&rsquo s lower revenue was due to softer roaming alongside usage revenues for value-added service and SMS. Subscriptions fell to 2.2 million from 2.4 million in Q1 2025, while the average revenue per user (ARPU) was stable on the year at S$21. Meanwhile, the broadband segment&rsquo s revenue declined 8.7 per cent on the year to S$58.8 million from S$64.4 million, mainly due to lower subscription revenue. Subscriptions dropped to around 571,000 from 577,000 in Q1 2025, as ARPU fell to S$33 from S$36. Revenue for the enterprise business fell 4.8 per cent to S$139.4 million, from S$146.5 million in the previous corresponding period, due to the timing of project recognitions from the managed services segment, which posted a 10.8 per cent drop in revenue to S$69.8 million from S$78.3 million. This was partially offset by higher enterprise connectivity and carrier and voice revenues. The former posted a 1.7 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue for Q1 and the latter recorded 2.6 per cent higher revenue. Despite revenue declines, the order book for the enterprise business grew more than 50 per cent on the year amid demand for digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Cybersecurity services revenue rose 22.4 per cent year on year in Q1, to S$77.7 million from S$63.5 million, due to project recognition timings. The top-line declines led to a 22.5 per cent slide in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to S$77.7 million, from S$100.2 million previously &ndash alongside higher depreciation and amortisation and net finance costs, but was partially offset by lower tax expense. The telco said Ebitda service margins fell 4.1 percentage points to 16.5 per cent. The group added that it is identifying areas for additional cost savings, as part of cost structure rightsizing. StarHub&rsquo s free cash flow stood at S$26.6 million, with a cash position of S$867.2 million and a net-debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 2.09 times. Its fixed rate debt was around 80 per cent of total debt. The counter ended Wednesday 1 per cent or S$0.01 down at S$1.01. |
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moneynoenough
Senior |
07-May-2026 21:22
Yells: "ikan bilis " |
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starhub green like green puked all over.. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/starhub-q1-net-profit-tumbles-81-3-s5-9-million-consumer-business-slides-across-board |
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noslen
Veteran |
07-May-2026 14:00
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I asked ChatGPT if Starhub's Dare+ is delivering the cost savings committed and this is its comments -
In Q1 2026: EBITDA fell 22.5% YoY to S$77.7m Net profit plunged 81.3% YoY Consumer revenue declined 10% Total revenue fell 6.1% Those are not metrics you would normally expect if transformation savings were already fully flowing through the business. |
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seanpent
Supreme |
07-May-2026 13:09
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huh ?!
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HLW666
Member |
07-May-2026 12:56
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the CEO should fire himself | ||||
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PiRPiR
Master |
07-May-2026 11:55
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11:14 PM EDT, 05/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- StarHub's (SGX:CC3) net attributable profit to shareholders plunged 81% in the first quarter of the year to SG$5.9 million from SG$31.8 million a year earlier, according to a Thursday filing with the Singapore Exchange.
Revenue declined 6.1% year over year to SG$507.3 million from SG$540.5 million, mainly due to an across-the-board decline in services revenue. |
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shk363
Elite |
07-May-2026 11:32
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80% drop in profit.... camp at 80 | ||||
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noslen
Veteran |
07-May-2026 08:56
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Below $1 coming soon... the results doesn't look good. | ||||
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Alignment
Elite |
25-Apr-2026 17:33
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The Q& A does not make the details of what Starhub gave up to get $121m any clearer. Perhaps this is deliberate to prevent outside analysis to accurately assess the deal.
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PiRPiR
Master |
24-Apr-2026 21:21
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StarHub disclosed on Apr, 24 2026 that it has published comprehensive answers to substantial and relevant questions submitted by shareholders, the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) and Corporate Monitor in advance of the group's 28th annual general meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for Apr, 30 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore. The responses, set out in three annexes, cover topics such as the rationale for the full acquisition of MyRepublic Broadband, expectations for mobile pricing following market consolidation, the impact of terminating assigned rights in Ensign InfoSecurity and the company's dividend outlook of six cents per share for the 2026 financial year. StarHub also addressed questions on its cost- optimisation programme targeting 70 million Singapore dollars in run-rate savings across 2026- 2028, capital expenditure guidance of 13%-15% of rovonun for 9096 and ite otratoau for notontial I want to say... |
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Alignment
Elite |
20-Apr-2026 11:06
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I think this analysis is incorrect. Starhub did not sell 16.82% of Ensign for $121m. Instead, I believe Starhub received $121m for not forcing Temasek to buy its stake at a certain price or to force Temasek to sell its stake at a certain price. The disclosure by Starhub is not helpful in making things clear.
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Joelton
Supreme |
17-Apr-2026 11:00
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DBS keeps StarHub at ' fully valued' as Ensign sale falls short of estimates DBS Group Research is maintaining its " fully valued" call on StarHub with an unchanged target price of 94 cents, following the announcement of the telco' s agreement to sell down its stake in Ensign InfoSecurity. Under the deal, StarHub will sell a 16.81% stake in Ensign to Temasek for $121 million in cash, trimming its shareholding to 38.92% from 55.73%. " [That] implies a $720 million valuation for 100% of Ensign, which is lower than our valuation of $1 based on 2x Price to 12-month forward sales," analyst Sachin Mittal writes in his April 16 note. StarHub expects to record a gain of over $200 million from the revaluation of its existing stake, with Mittal noting the cash proceeds are " likely to be used towards strategic investment in enterprise business and/or cybersecurity compliance" . He also projects a 20% decline in ebitda for FY2026, before a gradual recovery from FY2027. The six-cent dividend commitment is seen as supporting the shares. As at 3.57pm, shares in StarHub are trading 2 cents higher, or 1.90%, at $1.07. |
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