Clear J-Curve Turnaround Driven by ICT Powerhouse Transformation

HONG KONG, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HKBN Ltd. ("HKBN" or the "Company"; SEHK stock code: 1310) today announced solid operational and financial results for the six months ended 28 February 2023 ("1H2023"). Despite world macro-economic challenges, HKBN is recovering through its ICT powerhouse transformation and broadening Infinite-play strategy. Key highlights of 1H2023 results include:

• Revenue of HK$6,707 million and after excluding the four months impact in 1H2022 of the Disposal Group^#, year-on-year growth is 2%.
• EBITDA (Adjusted) of HK$1,196, decreased year-on-year by 6%.
• The Board has recommended an interim dividend payment of 20 HK cents per share (1H2022: 40 HK cents per share).

^# On 3 January 2022, HKBN Group completed the disposal of 60% of the issued share capital of HKBN JOS (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. and HKBN JOS (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD. (collectively, the "Disposal Group") to StarHub Ltd..

Enterprise: ICT powerhouse transformation results in a clear J-curve turnaround

Despite a challenging economic environment brought by prolonged COVID-19, HKBN's Enterprise revenue rebounded with a clear J-curve turnaround driven by its ongoing transformation to an ICT powerhouse. With this transformation, the Enterprise business is aggressively leveraging the commercialisation of its tri-carrier fibre network, a market-unparalleled advantage, to strengthen its overall core business and solutions offerings. In addition, by unleashing the full potential of its JOS acquisition, a market-leading system integrator, the Enterprise business will generate long-term growth opportunities as it further expands focus on delivering end-to-end system integration and digital transformation for customers in Hong Kong, mainland China (especially in the Greater Bay Area) and the ASEAN regions. During 1H2023, Enterprise service revenue grew half-on-half at 9.9% to HK$2,348 million, with momentum for accelerated growth in the J-Curve turnaround moving forward.

Residential: Expanding Infinite-play for growth

As HKBN continued delivering high value bundle choices to customers, residential broadband subscriber numbers recorded a year-on-year increase of 3% to 915,000, holding a significant share of the market despite intense competition. The Company also continued expanding its Infinite-play strategy in the residential market by launching electronics shopping platform Shoppy. HKBN will continue to grow by focusing on bringing together disruptive value-added services, add-ons, experiences and market-leading OTT entertainment to capture greater wallet share of the consumer market.

Confidently executing J-Curve rebound

William Yeung and NiQ Lai, Co-Owners of HKBN said, "In business, the flywheel effect happens when small wins build on each other over time and eventually gain so much momentum that growth almost seems to happen by itself. The ~2-year revenue lag due to contract amortisation, together with the ramp-up time of new executives joining, means that the flywheel elements that we are seeing operationally today will take one to two years to play out into our business performance. The first half of FY23 already showed a marked sequential improvement over the second half of FY22, and we are confident that this J-curve turnaround will continue with the second half of FY23 being better than the first half of FY23."

For more details of HKBN's results in 1H2023, please refer to the announcement:https://reg.hkbn.net/WwwCMS/upload/pdf/en/e_FY23_InterimResultsAnnouncement.pdf 

About HKBN Ltd.

HKBN Ltd. (SEHK Stock Code: 1310, together with its subsidiaries, "HKBN" or the "Group") is an investment holding company. Headquartered in Hong Kong with operations spanning across Asian markets including Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, the Group is a leading integrated telecommunications and technology services provider. The Group provides a full range of one-stop, high-quality information and communication technology (ICT) solutions and an unlimited services portfolio. HKBN's extensive tri-carrier fibre infrastructure covers over 2.54 million residential homes and more than 8,000 commercial buildings and facilities across Hong Kong. Committed to creating a lasting positive impact to wherever it operates, HKBN embraces a core purpose to "Make our Home a Better Place to Live" and has received a highest possible rating of AAA in MSCI's 2022 ESG Ratings assessment in environment, society and governance. The Group is managed by hundreds of Co-Owners (supervisory and management level Talents in the Group) who invested their savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd.. For more information about HKBN, please visit www.hkbn.net/en.

Issued by HKBN Ltd.