Asian Pay Television Trust : Update Report (1183 KB)

ASIAN PAY TELEVISION TRUST

FINANCIAL REPORT

FOR THE QUARTER AND HALF-YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023

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CONTENTS

REPORT SUMMARY	1
REPORT SUMMARY	2
PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF ASIAN PAY TELEVISION
TRUST	6
INTRODUCTION	7
SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND OPERATING DATA	9
INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE QUARTER
AND HALF-YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2023	13
STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION	14
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS	15
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME	16
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY	17
DETAIL OF CHANGES IN UNITHOLDERS' FUNDS	21
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS	22
RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT AFTER INCOME TAX TO EBITDA	23
NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	24
NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	25
ADDITIONAL SGX-ST LISTING MANUAL DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS	52
CONFIRMATION OF THE BOARD PURSUANT TO RULE 705(5) OF
THE LISTING MANUAL	53
DISCLAIMERS	54

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REPORT SUMMARY

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ASIAN PAY TELEVISION TRUST | PAGE 1

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REPORT SUMMARY

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Revenue and EBITDA at $68.3 million1 and $38.7 million for the quarter, and $135.3 million and $78.1 million for the half- year; EBITDA margin 56.7% for the quarter and 57.7% for the half-year
• Revenue, in constant NT$, increased for the third consecutive quarter, reflecting the higher contribution from Broadband
• Positive Broadband momentum continued - growing subscriber base, higher ARPU and three years of revenue improvement in both S$ and NT$
• Continued increase in Broadband and Premium digital cable TV subscribers more than offset Basic cable TV churn; added c.10,000 net subscribers in the quarter, increasing total subscriber base to c.1,318,000
• Distribution of 0.525 cents per unit declared for the half-year;re-affirmed distribution guidance of 1.05 cents per unit for full year 2023; distributions to be paid half-yearly, subject to no material changes in planning assumptions
• Repaid net debt of $42 million in the half-year and lowered gearing to 48.1%; $38 million to be set aside for repayments for the rest of 2023
• Capital expenditure decreased by 29.3% for the quarter and 20.0% for the half-year, and continued to be within industry norms
• Approximately 93% of outstanding Onshore Facilities (constituting 91% of the Group's total debt) are hedged through to 30 June 2025; net exposure to rising interest rates is contained to only 15% of total outstanding debt

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Asian Pay Television Trust ("APTT"2) reported revenue of $68.3 million for the quarter and $135.3 million for the half-year ended 30 June 2023. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ("EBITDA") and EBITDA margin stood at $38.7 million and 56.7% for the quarter, and $78.1 million and 57.7% for the half-year.

Foreign exchange contributed to a negative variance of 6.8% for the quarter and 8.0% for the half-year due to a relatively stronger Taiwan dollar ("NT$"). In constant NT$, revenue increased by 1.9% for the quarter and 1.1% for the half-year. The year-on-year increase for three consecutive quarters reflects the positive momentum and higher contributions from Broadband.

Broadband continued to improve on all fronts - number of subscribers, ARPU3 and three years of consistent revenue growth in both S$ and NT$. The strong performance validates the success of TBC's Broadband growth strategy. During the quarter, c.8,000 subscribers were added, alongside higher ARPU which improved by NT$2 per month to NT$386 per month. In NT$, Broadband revenue, which includes revenue from data backhaul, recorded double-digit growth at 12.1% for the quarter and 12.8% for the half-year.

Group		Quarter ended 30 June			Half-year ended 30 June
Amounts in $'000	2023	2022 Variance4 (%)	2023		2022 Variance4 (%)
Revenue

Basic cable TV	48,681	52,875		(7.9)

96,570		107,574	(10.2)

Premium digital cable TV	2,715	2,913	(6.8)	5,444	5,980	(9.0)
Broadband	16,856	16,006	5.3	33,318	31,806	4.8
Total revenue	68,252	71,794	(4.9)	135,332	145,360	(6.9)
Total operating expenses5	(29,538)	(29,357)	(0.6)	(57,245)	(59,734)	4.2
EBITDA	38,714	42,437	(8.8)	78,087	85,626	(8.8)

EBITDA margin

56.7%

59.1%

57.7%58.9%

1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are presented in Singapore dollars ("$").
2. APTT refers to APTT and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
3. ARPU refers to Average Revenue Per User.
4. A positive variance is favourable to the Group and a negative variance is unfavourable to the Group.
5. Operating expenses presented here exclude depreciation and amortisation expense, net foreign exchange gain/loss and mark to market movements on foreign exchange contracts appearing in the consolidated statement of profit or loss on page 15, in order to arrive at EBITDA and EBITDA margin presented here.

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Mr Brian McKinley, Chief Executive Officer of the Trustee-Manager said, "We are encouraged by the continued increase in total revenue in constant NT$ for three consecutive quarters, compared to the prior corresponding period. While we cannot assume that this trend will continue, it signals that Broadband is starting to cushion the impact of the decline in our Basic cable TV business. Broadband, which now constitutes around 25% of our total revenue, will remain the largest driver of our long-termgrowth. We aim to extract more value from our aggressive Broadband growth strategy and grow cash flows that consistently more than offset the decline in Basic cable TV."

TBC added c.10,000 net subscribers in the quarter, increasing the total number of subscribers to c.1,318,000 as at 30 June 2023, with Broadband and Premium digital cable TV subscribers increasing by c.8,000 and c.7,000, respectively. The steady increase in Premium digital cable TV and Broadband subscribers over the past five years has consistently more than offset the churn in Basic cable TV.

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

TBC's6 operational highlights for the quarter ended 30 June 2023 were as follows:

• Basic cable TV: Basic cable TV revenue of $48.7 million for the quarter, which comprised subscription revenue of $39.8 million and non-subscription revenue of $8.9 million, was down 7.9% compared to the prior corresponding period ("pcp"). In constant NT$, Basic cable TV revenue for the quarter decreased by 1.1%. The overall decline in Basic cable TV revenue was mainly due to lower subscription revenue resulting from the decline in the number of subscribers and lower ARPU. TBC's c.667,000 Basic cable TV RGUs7 contributed an ARPU of NT$455 per month in the quarter to access over 100 cable TV channels. Basic cable TV RGUs decreased by c.5,000 and ARPU was lower by NT$5 per month compared to the previous quarter ended 31 March 2023 (RGUs: c.672,000; ARPU: NT$460 per month). The decline in Basic cable TV RGUs was due to a number of factors including competition from aggressively priced IPTV, the growing popularity of online video, as well as expectations from consumers for discounts as they compare with the lower cable TV pricing outside of TBC's five franchise areas, particularly in the Taipei region. Non-subscription revenue comprised revenue from the leasing of television channels to third parties, the sale of airtime advertising and fees for the installation of set-top boxes. In constant NT$, non-subscription revenue for the quarter was higher than the pcp mainly due to higher revenue generated from channel leasing and airtime advertising sales. The leasing of television channels, which is mainly to third- party home shopping networks, will continue to face pressure from lower demand for home shopping and heightened competition from internet retailing. These trends will continue to impact channel leasing revenue.
• Premium digital cable TV: Premium digital cable TV revenue of $2.7 million for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the pcp. In constant NT$, Premium digital cable TV revenue for the quarter was in line with the pcp. Revenue was generated predominantly from TBC's c.321,000 Premium digital cable TV RGUs each contributing an ARPU of NT$63 per month in the quarter for Premium digital cable TV packages and bundled DVR or DVR-only services. Premium digital cable TV RGUs increased by c.7,000 but ARPU was marginally lower by NT$1 per month compared to the previous quarter ended 31 March 2023 (RGUs: c.314,000; ARPU: NT$64 per month) due to promotions and discounted bundled packages that were offered to generate new RGUs and to retain existing RGUs. Video piracy issues and aggressively priced IPTV have also impacted ARPU.
• Broadband: Despite strong competition from mobile operators offering inexpensive unlimited data plans, Broadband RGUs increased by c.8,000 during the quarter, alongside an NT$2 per month improvement in ARPU. Broadband revenue, including revenue from data backhaul, was $16.9 million for the quarter, an increase of 5.3% compared to the pcp. In constant NT$, Broadband revenue for the quarter increased by 12.1%. Broadband revenue was generated predominantly from TBC's c.330,000 Broadband RGUs each contributing an ARPU of NT$386 per month in the quarter, which was NT$2 per month higher than the previous quarter ended 31 March 2023 (RGUs: c.322,000; ARPU: NT$384 per month). The growth in both Broadband subscribers and ARPU reflects the success of TBC's Broadband strategy to target the broadband-only segment, partner with mobile operators, as well as to offer higher speed plans at competitive prices to acquire new RGUs and re-contract existing ones.

1. TBC refers to Taiwan Broadband Communications Group.
2. RGUs refer to Revenue Generating Units, another term for subscribers or subscriptions; the terms are used interchangeably.

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