Astro Malaysia shares fall to record low after RM734m tax blow

Malay Mail
·1-min read
Malay Mail
Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Shares in Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd plunged to a new record low today after the pay-television operator was slapped with an additional tax bill of RM734.88 million, The Edge reported.

According to the news report, the stock fell as much as 10 per cent or three sen to 28 sen. It was trading at 29 sen at 9.05am, valuing the company at RM1.5 billion on Bursa Malaysia.

Trading volume surged this morning, with nearly 10 million shares changing hands so far.

Kenanga Investment Bank warned that in the worst case, this additional tax liability will erode Astro shareholders’ funds by 65 per cent to RM434 million.

At the end of April, Astro's debts surpassed its assets by 13 sen. If its appeal is unsuccessful, the tax bill could increase this shortfall to 27 sen, as noted by experts.

Yesterday, Astro announced that the Inland Revenue Board had issued notices of additional assessment for 2019-2023 amounting to RM735 million, including penalties, due to disallowed deductions for production costs during this period.

Astro has 30 days to appeal the decision and said it may initiate legal proceedings to challenge the notices’ basis and validity.

Astro shares have reportedly fallen 29 per cent this year, impacted by fierce competition from over-the-top media services like Netflix, which has reduced its subscriber base. Additionally, weak consumer and business sentiment has affected its advertising revenue growth.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq rise, nearly wiping out week's losses in wild turnaround

    A wild week on Wall Street is coming to a close.

  • Bank Negara museum’s latest exhibition ‘Never Too Late’ puts the fun in the fundamentals of personal finance

    KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — In 2018, 48 per cent of Malaysians were able to raise RM1,000 as emergency funds. Three years la...

  • New Strong Sell Stocks for August 9th

    AIQUY, AMFPF and ARCO have been added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List on August 9, 2024.

  • Lessons from Buffett's 2024 Stock Sales

    Berkshire has sold big chunks of Apple and Bank of America. What does it tell value investors?

  • India's Ola Electric shines in market debut

    India's biggest e-scooter maker Ola Electric Mobility dazzled on its market debut Friday after raising $734 million, as traders bet on surging demand for battery-powered vehicles. In 2021, it announced plans to invest $920 million to build a vast electric vehicle hub in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

  • Trump’s Truth Social lost $16.4 million last quarter and had under $1 million in revenue

    Truth Social parent company took hit from legal costs and investment in Truth+ service

  • Shein plots UK warehouse ahead of blockbuster float

    The Chinese fast fashion giant Shein is preparing to open its first British warehouse in preparation for a £50bn listing on the London Stock Exchange.

  • Streamers are making money, but a lot of them face this problem

    Streaming giants Disney (DIS) and Paramount (PARA, PARAA) both reported earnings this week. Disney reported an earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines for its fiscal third quarter, revealing its streaming segment was profitable for the first time. Paramount Global (PARA, PARAA) reported mixed results for its second quarter, with adjusted earnings beating estimates, but revenue falling short of expectations. Morningstar Senior Equity Analyst Matthew Dolgin joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the streaming landscape. "All these companies other than Netflix (NFLX) are continuing to make progress, but they are just not there, not mature," Dolgin notes, "the difference with them and Netflix, a decade or less ago, is that they have these other legacy businesses that they're managing. And so they're not getting the pass from Wall Street as streaming continues to grow and is not yet a mature or good business necessarily. They're seeing their other business decline, so they need that to turn." "With that said, we're pretty optimistic generally about how things are going in the streaming space," Dolgin adds, "they're making it a better business, but it takes time and in the meantime, their other businesses continue to struggle and that's why the stocks, we think, are remaining under significant pressure." Watch the video above to hear why Dolgin doesn't think YouTube posts a "really big" threat to streamers yet.  For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend. This post was written by Mariela Rosales.

  • Inflation data, retail earnings: What to watch next week

    Economic data in the form of the Consumer Price Index for July will be released next week. Economists expect the overall index to rise 0.2% in July versus the -0.1% print in June. A number of earnings reports will be released including: Home Depot (HD), Cisco (CSCO), Walmart (WMT), Deere & Co. (DE), Ross Stores (ROST), and more. US retail sales numbers for July will also be released, with the expectation of an uptick of 0.4% in July versus the flat reading in June. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime.

  • Dell Technologies (DELL) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know

    In the latest trading session, Dell Technologies (DELL) closed at $92.55, marking a +1.19% move from the previous day.

  • American Airlines (AAL) Plunges 32% in 3 Months: Buy the Dip?

    With American Airlines (AAL) shares moving south, we assess the current positioning of the stock to determine if it's a good investment at this juncture.

  • Strategist: Why Meta looks like the 'Magnificent 7' standout right now

    If you are hunting for new tech bargains, kick the tires on Meta, says one veteran strategist.

  • Is Trending Stock Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) a Buy Now?

    Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) has been one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com users lately. So, it is worth exploring what lies ahead for the stock.

  • There's no better time to be an individual investor: Professor

    It's been a volatile week for markets, but what does that mean for your long-term investments? Tulane University Freeman School of Business finance professor Peter Ricchiuti joins Wealth! to break it down and what he's teaching his students about the stock market. Ricchiuti's biggest piece of advice for investors is to "avoid the noise." He explains, "We're long-term investors, and we're mainly value buyers. And one of the things we try to push is that if a company does well, the business does well, the stock price will eventually follow." He believes that now is the best time to be an individual investor, saying, "Commissions have dropped to zero. Information is so easy to get ahold of... We're looking at applied AI, we're not investing in AI companies. We tend to invest in a lot of meat-and-potato type companies. But what impact is it going to have on the companies? And one of the general things we believe is going to help earnings. And if you help earnings, you're eventually going to help stock prices." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • The stock market is 'pretty flawless' predictor of a recession: Expert

    Recent economic data and the market sell-off has sparked fears and questions about whether the US is in a recession or if a recession is in the near future. Wall Street Journal Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip joins Yahoo Finance to discuss recession fears. "The stock market matters, in so far as it's got a pretty flawless track record of predicting recessions..." Ip says, "I think pretty much every recession was preceded by a big drop in the stock market. The problem, of course, is that not every big drop in the stock market was followed by a recession. It does have false alarms." Ip adds that "it's very hard to know exactly what we're in right now, but when I look at everything... it doesn't look yet like we have a recession in the cards." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Mariela Rosales.

  • What to do after a week of stock turmoil? Strategists say do nothing: Morning Brief

    Volatility is back and investors are stressing. But most strategists agree on what to do. The answer is... not much.

  • Marathon (MPC) Overcomes Lower Margins, Tops Q2 Earnings

    In Q2, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) spent $569 million on capital programs (53% on Refining & Marketing and 42% on the Midstream segment) compared to $562 million in the year-ago period.

  • Bull of the Day: Twilio (TWLO)

    Is Twilio a value stock now?

  • Will Homebuilding ETFs Have Their Moment Now?

    The homebuilding sector is currently not in good shape due to higher rates and land and labor shortages. However, things should improve in the coming days if the Fed cut rates.

  • Trending tickers: Nvidia, Bitcoin, TSMC and Hargreaves Lansdown

    The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Friday.