Astro sees ADEX improve 14% with end year festivities and FIFA driving performance

Astro has released its fourth quarter results for fiscal year 23 and has said that its revenue increased by 7% quarter on quarter to RM991mn, driven in part by higher Adex and a larger broadband base. According to the statements shared total ADEX rose 14% qoq to RM126mn, with year-end festivities and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 driving strong performance across all TV, radio and digital platforms. Radio adex, TV Adex and Digital Adex share stood at 73%, 34% and 2% respectively.

Astro Radio brands registered 17.7mn weekly radio listeners on FM and online. Its entertainment app SYOK also saw listenership increased by 28% y-o-y to 1.1mn while Astro digital brands registered 8.4mn monthly unique visitors. According to Astro the group is now equipped with unified audience measurement on linear and on demand and has recently augmented this measurement currency to include commercial establishments. The group said it expects addressable advertising to gain traction as more advertisers tap into its capability to deliver targeted ads to specific individuals or households based on location, affluence and other demographics by leveraging Astro’s first-party data. 

Euan Smith, Group CEO of Astro said the group’s transformation plans have continued apace this year as it continues to put in place the structures and architecture that will define the Astro of the future. “We are starting to see the benefits from the investments in content, product, connectivity, advertising and customer service, moving the company aggressively into the new streaming, on demand era,” he said.

He added that customers are now streaming more on the Ultra and Ulti boxes, as well as on Astro GO, with on demand shows streamed rising 25% yoy to 660mn. The results also indicated that Ultra and Ulti Boxes installs grew 47% yoy to 827k while Astro GO saw its monthly active users rose 10% yoy to 581k, with average weekly viewing time of over three hours. Astro said both platforms are designed to make streaming easy and seamless, resulting in On Demand shows hitting 660mn in FY23, up 25% yoy.

Meanwhile, streaming service, Sooka, which has over 22k hours of content library, achieved 1.1bn minutes watched to date, with 82% users on mobile. Smith also added, “As the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we were very pleased with viewing figures. In addition, many match events and special appearances by football legends helped increase footfall and generate on-ground excitement for all our customer groups.”

“More recently we are extremely pleased to have become the official broadcaster of Liga Malaysia. Initial reception to our high-quality coverage has been strong and we look forward to building the sport with the league and clubs,” he said. Moreover, the heightened awareness on the consequences of using illegal streaming devices at commercial premises is helping to drive higher subscription for Astro’s enterprise packs, Smith added.

In the future

FY24 will see Astro continuing to invest in its transformation for long term and sustainable growth, focusing on content, broadband, streaming, addressable advertising, customer experience, data and technology to better serve customers. Additionally, Astro will also be adding lifestyle apps, relevant for Malaysians in the near future. Focus will also be on scaling sooka, its freemium streaming service for younger cord-Nevers that is available both on both mobile and the big screen through its smart TV app.

Its future plans also include sustainability efforts. Astro says it is  guided by its give pillars: responsible business, education for all, voice for good, caring for its environment and community development.

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