Astro stock falls to 5-week low!

Although Astro's profit increased in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (up to the end of April), analysts were still not optimistic about the company's prospects. At one point, its stock price plummeted by as much as 10% intraday.

Astro opened at 33.5 cents on Wednesday, but the results showed that its business was still on the verge of struggling. The stock price once fell to a 5-week low of 30.5 cents in early trading, a drop of 10% compared to the closing price of 34 cents on Tuesday.

Astro recorded a profit of RM17.01 million in the first quarter, up 7% year on year; turnover was reported at RM773 million, down 9.85% year on year.

Research analysts at Kennag Investment Bank pointed out in the report that Astro's core net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal year was RM25 million, which is lower than expected, accounting for only 13% of his and the market's profit forecast for the whole year.

Analysts believe that Astro's current fixed costs are still higher than expected. Coupled with user turnover and reduced average user revenue (ARPU), the company's revenue is expected to face growth pressure.

In addition, analysts at Dax Securities also viewed Astro's prospects with caution. This is mainly because the company is shrouded in adverse factors such as macroeconomic headwinds, weak consumer sentiment, and a stronger US dollar.

“These negative factors are expected to challenge the Group's growth and continued transformation plans,” he said.

A research analyst at Hong Leong Investment Bank added that customers are expected to continue to switch to other streaming video (OTT) products, while the strengthening of the US dollar will continue to affect Astro's multi-faceted cost structure.

In summary, analysts generally downplayed Astro's prospects and mostly lowered the company's profit forecasts. Among them, Kennag Investment Bank's research lowered the company's profit forecasts for fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 by 37% and 29%, respectively.

According to Bloomberg data, 12 investment banks follow Astro, but 7 people suggested “sell,” 4 gave it a “hold,” and only 1 gave it a “buy” rating.