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PETALING JAYA: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd
has revised its dividend policy effective immediately from the financial year ending Jan 31, 2024.
The group said it intends to distribute yearly dividends from its consolidated profit after tax and non-controlling interests.
“Dividends will be paid depending on overall business and earnings performance, capital commitments, financial conditions, distributable reserves and other relevant factors. We will continue to review the dividend policy,” it said.
“In line with this policy, there will be no dividends this quarter,” the company added.
The company said it will continue to invest in content to sustain its core competitive advantage.
“Over RM300mil has been earmarked into the financial year 2024’s (FY24) content production thereby pollinating, nurturing and enhancing the best talent within the local content scene. Astro accounts for half of all content investment in Malaysia, with the group’s local content capturing a huge 77% share of viewing,” its group chief executive officer Euan Smith said in a statement yesterday.
He also pointed out the use of its news channel Astro Awani’s artificial intelligence avatar news anchors, Joon and Monica, for its newsroom operations.
“We are reinventing our content proposition to meet the increasing demand for high quality local content across screens and genres,” he said.
Commenting on its outlook, the group said prolonged macroeconomic headwinds continue to persist including the dollar strength and volatility and ongoing cost of living pressures.
It is mindful of this situation and hopes to provide support and even better value to customers wherever possible.
Astro maintains a cautious outlook and will carefully monitor business conditions whilst prudently managing costs, it said.
Its second quarter net profit ended July 31 fell by 76% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM23.65mil on the back of its revenue falling by 5.6% y-o-y to RM869.82mil. Basic earnings per share stood at 0.45 sen, versus 1.89 sen previously.
In the first six months to July 31, Astro posted a net profit of RM39.5mil on revenue of RM1.76bil.
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