KUALA LUMPUR: Digistar Corp Bhd is banking on a portion of projects expected to arise from the switch by television stations from analogue to digital broadcasting for its future growth. The company not only plans to look within Malaysia for such projects, but it is also considering a foray into the Asia-Pacific region.
“The government has said that under the 10th Malaysia Plan, it has tasked RTM to spearhead the digital conversion. This is expected to result in a potential RM2 to RM3 billion worth of jobs,” Digistar managing director Datuk Lee Wah Chong told a press briefing yesterday.
Aside from the free-to-air channels under RTM, Media Prima Bhd also has four FTA channels in its stable. All television service providers have until 2015 to make the swap, a deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union.
“So it is not only Malaysia that has to make a change, but other countries in the region as well. There is definitely potential as all will have to make the digital migration eventually,” said Lee.
Earlier in the year it was reported that private company Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd, which is said to be connected to businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, was also in talks with the government to develop digital TV. It was also reported that Puncak Semangat is in preliminary talks with Media Prima on the conversion.
According to Lee, Digistar will most likely not be direct competitors with Puncak Semangat or its ilk, but could possibly benefit by being a subcontractor.
While the ICT and telecommunication divisions are the company’s biggest revenue generators, Digistar also has big plans for its Internet protocol television (IPTV) segment. In September, Digistar secured two contracts to implement the IPTV service in two hospitals in the Klang Valley. According to Lee, Digistar currently serves 15 hospitals and is in talks with a group that owns 22 hospitals nationwide.
“We also put in a bid to provide our service to two hospitals in Singapore. We are excited about that and are just waiting for the results to be announced,” said Lee. He added that the benefit of focusing on providing services to healthcare is that the segment is fairly resilient and gives a buffer against any potential downturn.
“We are also looking to upgrade the IPTV service to include more services,” said Lee.
Digistar also plans to set up an office in Singapore as part of its bid to expand to the Asia-Pacific. Presently, the majority of revenue comes from Malaysia.
As at end-September, Digistar’s order book stood at RM130 million, and the company is tendering for jobs worth more than RM200 million. The contracts are split equally between government projects and those from the private sector, Lee said.
Another segment that Digistar invests in is central monitoring systems (CMS) via a partnership with Fullimage MSC Sdn Bhd. Lee said Digistar would make a further announcement on the service over the next two to three months.
“This partnership will entail the sharing of revenue. We are still waiting for the licence to be awarded before we can proceed but we are expecting to see some small contribution from CMS by the end of 2012,” Lee said.
Digistar announced its full-year results for FY11 ended Sept 30, with net profit up by 345.5% year-on-year to RM19.1 million from RM4.3 million. Top line for FY11 grew by 33.5% to RM97.8 million from RM73.3 million. According to Digistar, the improvement was due to better performance across the board from the company’s various segments.
Asked if the performance is sustainable, Lee said, “We do expect to see some good years ahead as more broadcasters move from analogue to digital and there are still some three years to go.”
On a quarterly basis, while Digistar’s 4Q net profit grew to RM4.1 million from RM2.2 million a year ago, its top line declined slightly from RM24.2 million to RM21.8 million. This was due to the different times when the company booked in certain jobs and was a normal occurrence, said Digistar.
The company is working on its transfer from the ACE Market to the Main Market. Lee said, “We will be submitting the paperwork to the authorities next month and expect to know the results by February next year.”
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 30, 2011.
“The government has said that under the 10th Malaysia Plan, it has tasked RTM to spearhead the digital conversion. This is expected to result in a potential RM2 to RM3 billion worth of jobs,” Digistar managing director Datuk Lee Wah Chong told a press briefing yesterday.
Aside from the free-to-air channels under RTM, Media Prima Bhd also has four FTA channels in its stable. All television service providers have until 2015 to make the swap, a deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union.
Lee says Digistar is in talks with a group that owns 22 hospitals.
“So it is not only Malaysia that has to make a change, but other countries in the region as well. There is definitely potential as all will have to make the digital migration eventually,” said Lee.
Earlier in the year it was reported that private company Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd, which is said to be connected to businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, was also in talks with the government to develop digital TV. It was also reported that Puncak Semangat is in preliminary talks with Media Prima on the conversion.
According to Lee, Digistar will most likely not be direct competitors with Puncak Semangat or its ilk, but could possibly benefit by being a subcontractor.
While the ICT and telecommunication divisions are the company’s biggest revenue generators, Digistar also has big plans for its Internet protocol television (IPTV) segment. In September, Digistar secured two contracts to implement the IPTV service in two hospitals in the Klang Valley. According to Lee, Digistar currently serves 15 hospitals and is in talks with a group that owns 22 hospitals nationwide.
“We also put in a bid to provide our service to two hospitals in Singapore. We are excited about that and are just waiting for the results to be announced,” said Lee. He added that the benefit of focusing on providing services to healthcare is that the segment is fairly resilient and gives a buffer against any potential downturn.
“We are also looking to upgrade the IPTV service to include more services,” said Lee.
Digistar also plans to set up an office in Singapore as part of its bid to expand to the Asia-Pacific. Presently, the majority of revenue comes from Malaysia.
As at end-September, Digistar’s order book stood at RM130 million, and the company is tendering for jobs worth more than RM200 million. The contracts are split equally between government projects and those from the private sector, Lee said.
Another segment that Digistar invests in is central monitoring systems (CMS) via a partnership with Fullimage MSC Sdn Bhd. Lee said Digistar would make a further announcement on the service over the next two to three months.
“This partnership will entail the sharing of revenue. We are still waiting for the licence to be awarded before we can proceed but we are expecting to see some small contribution from CMS by the end of 2012,” Lee said.
Digistar announced its full-year results for FY11 ended Sept 30, with net profit up by 345.5% year-on-year to RM19.1 million from RM4.3 million. Top line for FY11 grew by 33.5% to RM97.8 million from RM73.3 million. According to Digistar, the improvement was due to better performance across the board from the company’s various segments.
Asked if the performance is sustainable, Lee said, “We do expect to see some good years ahead as more broadcasters move from analogue to digital and there are still some three years to go.”
On a quarterly basis, while Digistar’s 4Q net profit grew to RM4.1 million from RM2.2 million a year ago, its top line declined slightly from RM24.2 million to RM21.8 million. This was due to the different times when the company booked in certain jobs and was a normal occurrence, said Digistar.
The company is working on its transfer from the ACE Market to the Main Market. Lee said, “We will be submitting the paperwork to the authorities next month and expect to know the results by February next year.”
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 30, 2011.
