SINGAPORE — StarHub CEO Neil Montefiore has announced he will be retiring by the end of this month.

StarHub chairman Tan Guong Ching made the announcement before the info-communications company shared its quarterly results.

Mr Montefiore, 60, who had served as StarHub’s second CEO since January 2010, will be handing the helm over to current COO Tan Tong Hai, 50.

“I am confident that, together with the StarHub team, Tong Hai will further augment StarHub’s position as a leading info-communications and entertainment company,” said Mr Tan Guong Ching.

Mr Tan Tong Hai was previously the President and CEO of Singapore Computer Systems and, before that, President and CEO of Pacific Internet.

The announcement came as StarHub reported fourth quarter profits falling five per cent to S$87.9 million year-on-year. This was attributed to higher handset subsidies and cost of services.

Chief Financial Officer Kwek Buck Chye said: “Cost of sales was up significantly by S$36 million, or 14 per cent, to S$307 million. And, for the full year, it was nine per cent higher, at S$1.011 billion. The higher expense was attributed to the higher cost of equipment and the cost of services, which is primarily content cost. This was partially mitigated by lower traffic expense during the year.”

Meanwhile, as Mr Tan prepares to lead the company, he said he would “make StarHub even more exciting, continue to deliver excellent customer service and also offer innovative services. Continue to deliver shareholder value and not forgetting to contribute to the society”.

To deliver on his promises, Mr Tan said the company had formed a new department to spur innovation. “We have also automated a lot of our services — which also translates into cost savings — to provide the ability to get self-service from the My StarHub app, which is available on your handphone,” said Mr Tan.