StarHub H2 net profit more than halves to S$38.5 million; guides lower earnings in FY2026

[SINGAPORE] StarHub posted net profit of S$38.5 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, a 50.9 per cent decline from S$78.4 million in the year-ago period.

This translated to an earnings per share (EPS) of S$0.019, down 55.3 per cent from S$0.043 in H2 2024.

Its H2 revenue stood at S$1.2 billion, down 3.1 per cent on the year from S$1.3 billion.

On a full-year basis, StarHub’s net profit fell 46.2 per cent to S$86.4 million, as the group was hit with a one-off S$14.1 million penalty for the return of spectrum rights and the absence of a provision utilisation from which it benefited in the year before.

Excluding the impact of the one-off penalty and provisions, the group’s full-year underlying net profit fell 29.1 per cent to S$100.5 million.

Jacky Lo, chief financial officer at StarHub, attributed the decline in profit to a “very competitive” consumer business; he noted that other telcos were competing on prices, which resulted in lower margins.

This sentiment was echoed by StarHub chief executive Nikhil Eapen, who said that the telco’s full-year results “reflect the operating environment”.

“While our regional enterprise business continues to grow, the Singapore consumer telecommunications market has experienced prolonged pricing pressure. This continues to weigh on returns and the pace of investment across the sector.”

Lo also noted that other expenses, such as depreciation and interest, have also risen. StarHub’s FY2025 operating expense stood at S$2.2 billion, up 3.2 per cent from S$2.1 billion in the year-ago period.

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Lower guidance

StarHub believes that the road ahead will be paved with more challenges.

For the upcoming financial year, StarHub is guiding an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of 75 to 80 per cent of FY2025 – its Ebitda stood at S$403.6 million this financial year.

The new guidance range is lower than the 88 to 92 per cent FY2024 Ebitda guidance for the previous financial year.

The lowered range reflects the management’s decision to focus on “commercial flexibility”, as it ramps up on its capital expenditure commitment to between 13 and 15 per cent of total revenue, up from 6.7 per cent in FY2025, noted Lo.

“These are disciplined investments aligned to long-term competitiveness and operational resilience.”

Consumer headwinds

The consumer segment is also expected to face more headwinds. In FY2025, consumer revenue fell to S$978.7 million, from S$1 billion the year before.

Specifically, StarHub’s mobile revenue fell 7.7 per cent in FY2025 to S$532.5 million, from S$577 million the year before. The group attributes the lower revenue to a decline in roaming, IDDs, subscription and VAS revenues.

The number of mobile subscribers stood at 2.2 million, lower than 2.3 million the year before. Average revenue per user remained stable at S$22.

StarHub CEO Eapen said the telco seeks to expand on its market share through “quality and differentiated value, not through price”.

It also seeks to increase its customer lifetime value and raise monetisation across its brands – namely StarHub, Giga, MyRepublic and Eight.

“We have a unique infrastructure-based platform model that our customers prefer, and we intend to invest to scale our platform to serve our existing customers more, while growing our pace with new customers,” he added.

The group declared a final dividend of S$0.03 an ordinary share for FY2025, down from a final dividend of S$0.032 in the previous financial year.

Its interim dividend of S$0.03 a share brings its total dividend for the year to S$0.06 a share.

Despite the lower Ebitda guidance for FY2026, the group expects the full-year dividend to be S$0.06 or 80 per cent of net profit attributable to shareholders, whichever is the higher. 

Shares of StarHub were 4.2 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$1.15 at 11.30am on Thursday.