ASIAN Pay Television Trust’s (APTT) net profit for the third quarter ended September 2024 fell 36.4 per cent to S$6.5 million from S$10.2 million in Q3 FY2023.
This was mainly due to lower mark-to-market gains on derivative financial instruments as well as higher income tax expenses, according to its business update released Tuesday (Nov 12).
Total revenue for the quarter fell 3 per cent to S$63.7 million due to a weaker Taiwan dollar against the Singapore dollar, though APTT’s trustee-manager said the quarter’s topline improved in Taiwan dollar-terms due to one-off channel leasing revenue contributions.
Broadband revenue stood 3.9 per cent higher year on year at S$17.6 million due to an increase of subscribers to the segment, which includes revenue from data backhaul services where mobile operators lease a number of fibre circuits to provide data backhaul.
This helped to partially offset a 5.2 per cent decline in basic cable TV revenue to S$43.5 million, while premium digital TV revenue was down 9.3 per cent to S$2.6 million.
The trustee-manager highlighted that APTT added 7,000 net subscribers in Q3 from the previous quarter, driven by higher subscribers for the broadband and premium digital TV segments.
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It also aims to grow cash flows from the broadband segment to “a level that consistently more than offsets the decline in (its) basic cable TV business”.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter dipped 1.4 per cent to S$37.4 million versus S$38 million in the prior year, though Ebitda margin stood at a higher 58.8 per cent compared to 57.8 per cent in Q3 FY2023.
For the nine months ended September 2024, the trust’s profit stood 11.2 per cent higher at S$33.2 million versus S$29.8 million a year prior, though revenue fell 9.4 per cent on the year to S$129 million.
Total operating expenses fell 5.3 per cent for the third quarter to S$26.2 million, and 8.4 per cent over the nine-month period to S$77.9 million. These figures exclude depreciation and amortisation expenses, net foreign exchange differences, and mark-to-market movements on forex contracts.
Looking ahead, APTT’s trustee-manager said it does not expect growth in basic cable TV revenue-generating units (RGUs) due to a “saturated cable TV market” in Taiwan.
It nonetheless anticipates premium digital TV and broadband RGUs to continue increasing in 2024.
A distribution guidance of S$0.00525 per unit for the second half of the fiscal year and the full-year guidance of S$0.0105 remain unchanged.
“Total revenue will, however, be influenced by the ability to maintain average revenues per user, which will remain under pressure due to market dynamics,” cautioned the trustee-manager.
It also expects lower demand for home shopping, as well as competition from internet retailers, to continue impacting channel leasing revenue.
Adding that it is “managing every expense line item very closely”, the trustee-manager forecasts total operating expenses in 2024 to come in line with 2023 levels.
Units of Asian Pay TV Trust ended Monday S$0.001 or 1.3 per cent lower at S$0.079.
