StarHub H2 profit drops 50.9%, shares slip 3.3%

StarHub reported a 50.9% drop in second-half profit to $38.5 million (US$30.5 million), with full-year net profit falling to $86.4 million (US$68.4 million) from $160.5 million (US$127.2 million) in 2024.

Following the results, StarHub’s shares fell 3.3% to $1.16 (US$0.92).

The company’s revenue remained flat at $2.35 billion (US$1.8 billion) for the year, with a 3.1% drop to $1.2 billion (US$950 million) in the second half.

The firm cited ongoing pricing pressure in Singapore’s consumer mobile market as a key factor affecting earnings.

Excluding a $14.1 million (US$11.2 million) one-off forfeiture payment for a spectrum return, net profit would have been about $100.5 million (US$79.6 million).

🔗 Source: The Straits Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

StarHub is trading short-term profit for market share in a price war

Profit fell as StarHub’s consumer mobile business in Singapore took a hit, with mobile service revenue down 7.7% for the year 1.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped from $23 to $21, while customer churn rose year-on-year to 1.3% 1.
Rivals cut prices hard, so StarHub took an “aggressive” commercial stance to defend market share and accept lower near-term profitability 2.
Management is leaning on other lines to help cover the gap, with regional enterprise revenue up 2.9% and cybersecurity revenue up 4.3% 1.

StarHub’s dividend policy shows a tense tradeoff for a legacy telecom

StarHub kept a six-cent dividend, which works out to 113% of net profit attributable to shareholders and goes beyond its dividend policy 1.
Mature, cash-generative companies often use dividends to steady investor confidence during tough operating changes.
The plan includes a shift from heavy capital expenditure (capex) to a more flexible operating expenditure (opex) model, including a 50-50 split of 5G passive infrastructure costs through its Antina joint venture (a network-sharing partnership for 5G infrastructure) 3.
StarHub expects this “asset-light” approach to lift net margin efficiency and free cash for dividends plus investment, rather than tying value to depreciating network assets 4.