M1, StarHub upgraded after signalling potential collaboration
By Jude Chan / theedgemarkets.com.sg | January 16, 2017 : 11:43 AM MYT
SINGAPORE (Jan 16): DBS Group Research has upgraded telcos M1 and StarHub to “hold” from “fully valued” after the pair last week signalled their intention to join hands against the competition.
The research house says it estimates capex savings of around 20% for both companies from 2018 onwards as a result of the potential sharing of radio access network (RAN).
“In highly dense and urbanised Singapore, we estimate RAN to account for most of the capex with sharp rise in data,” says DBS analyst Sachin Mittal in a report on Jan 13.
M1 and StarHub on Jan 12 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to study potential further collaboration in mobile infrastructure sharing, with a focus on sharing RAN, backhaul and access assets.
In a joint statement, the two companies said the pooling of network resources will allow them to roll out more cost effective next-generation networks to meet fast growing demand of mobile data services.
“More importantly, we think TPG may find it more challenging to compete with players having sizeable network capacity,” Mittal says.
The smaller of the three incumbent telcos, M1 and StarHub were expected to see their earnings decline after TPG Telecom on Dec 14 entered the fray to become Singapore’s fourth mobile operator.
Mittal says the capex savings from sharing of radio access network will help M1 sustain its 80% earnings payout ratio in FY18 and beyond, representing a yield of approximately 6%.
The collaboration will also help StarHub sustain its fixed dividend commitment of 20 cent distribution per share (DPS), representing a yield of approximately 6.5%.
DBS has raised its target price for M1 and StarHub to $2.09 and $3.01, from $1.78 and $2.65, respectively.
As at 11.36am, M1 is trading 1 cent lower at $2.09 while StarHub is trading 2 cents lower at $3.01.
Source:
Woot!!
