MAINBOARD-LISTED telco StarHub posted a 36.5 per cent rise in net profit to S$37.3 million for the third quarter ended Sep 30, up from S$27.4 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Total revenue grew 5.3 per cent year on year to S$622.1 million, from S$590.8 million a year ago.

Service revenue for the quarter grew 8.9 per cent on the year to S$526 million, as a result of increased contributions across most business segments, said StarHub in a business update on Wednesday (Nov 8). (see *Amendment note)

The telco also recorded higher operating expenses, which increased by 3.9 per cent to S$568.7 million in Q3, up from S$547.1 million in the year-ago period.

For the nine-month period ended Sep 30, 2023, StarHub’s net profit rose 29.1 per cent on the year to S$114 million; its total revenue was 4.8 per cent higher, at S$1.7 billion.

Commenting on the results, Starhub chief executive Nikhil Eapen said that the company has maintained its momentum into Q3 and delivered “solid growth” year on year.

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He noted that its service revenue growth of 8.2 per cent for the first nine months of 2023 exceeded its earlier guidance range of 3 per cent to 5 per cent.

He added that its service earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margins of 21.8 per cent for the nine-month period was in line with earlier guidance of about 22 per cent.

Eapen also said that the company will continue to put operating and capital expenditure towards rolling out its Dare+ programme. Dare+ refers to the building of StarHub’s 5G network and other IT expenditures as part of its five-year growth road map, which was launched in 2021.

“We reiterate our Dare+ outcomes and our ambition to transcend beyond telco with first-of-its-kind platforms, to enhance long-term total shareholder returns and value for our society and all stakeholders,” he said.

StarHub also said that it will retain its assigned rights for pure-play cybersecurity provider Ensign InfoSecurity for two additional years until Oct 4, 2025, which will maintain the group’s effective interest at 55.73 per cent.

Ensign InfoSecurity was formed in 2018 from a joint venture between StarHub and Temasek Holdings.

A mechanism has been put in place for the telco to potentially retain the assigned rights beyond the 2025 deadline, either through a further extension to be negotiated with Temasek, or through a transfer of the assigned rights shares for a consideration to be determined.

Shares of StarHub closed at S$1.05 on Wednesday, down 0.9 per cent or S$0.01, before the release of the business update.

*Amendment note: Starhub has clarified that the consolidation of MyRepublic broadband subscribers contributed to service revenue growth for 9M FY2023 and not for 3Q 2023. The article has been amended to reflect this.