PETALING JAYA: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd
(Astro) said its biggest threat is content piracy, which it has continued to fight hard against.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the content and entertainment company said it will continue to lobby for more regulatory reforms and enforcement activity not just to protect itself, but to safeguard the future of the Malaysian creative industry.
“Across Malaysia, courts have recently ruled in our favour with landmark decisions in the last twelve months, awarding Astro statutory damages and imposing tougher penalties on illegal streaming device (ISD) sellers and errant F&B outlets who illegally stream our content,” it said.
The company added that given the challenging environment, it will continue to maintain a cautious outlook, carefully monitoring business conditions and ensuring effective cost discipline as consumers and businesses digest the impact of internal reforms and external uncertainties.
For the first quarter ended April 30, 2025, Astro Malaysia recorded a lower revenue of RM703.1mil, compared to the RM772.5mil recorded for the same quarter a year ago.
Subsequently, this also drove down its profit, registering at RM13.45mil compared to RM17mil in the same quarter last year.
According to Astro, the decrease in both revenue and profit was due to a reduction in subscription and advertising revenue.
The lower figures was also attributed to decreased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, which were offset by lower net financing costs, favourable unrealised foreign exchange arising from unhedged lease liabilities, as well as reduced amortisation of intangible assets and tax expense.
For television, revenue for the quarter under review fell 7.9% to RM670mil while radio’s revenue also dropped 27.3% due to soft consumer sentiments leading to lower advertising spend.
It also said its total liabilities had decreased by RM110mil on the back of lower borrowings by RM118mil and payables by RM44mil, offset by higher tax liabilities by RM34.2mil and derivative financial instruments by RM12.2mil.
Moving forward, the company said its investments will continue to be firmly focused on long-term and sustainable growth by elevating local content, while increasing the volume and diversity of content in lower tiers.
These will be coupled with reducing entry pricing for Astro and sooka products, with the intent to grow its base.
“Astro will also increase the uptake of its adjacent businesses and transform legacy structures to support all the other strategies,” the group said.
Its board did not declare any interim dividend in respect of the first quarter ended April 30, 2025.
At market close, Astro Malaysia’s share price was recorded at 17.5 sen with a market capitalisation of RM913.33mil.
