Singtel's quarterly profit tops estimates on Optus, digital services strength
Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, said underlying net profit was $831 million for the three-month period ended June 30.
PHOTO: Reuters file
Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) reported a better-than-expected quarterly underlying net profit on Thursday (Aug 13), fuelled by strong contributions from Optus, regional associates and its digital and data centre businesses.
Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, reported underlying net profit of $831 million for the quarter ended June 30, higher than a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $746.1 million and $686 million a year earlier.
Post-tax contributions from regional associates rose 16.1 per cent to $543 million, primarily driven by higher contributions from India's Bharti Airtel and Thailand's Advanced Info Service (AIS).
Optus, its Australia-based subsidiary, delivered operating earnings of A$152 million (S$137.3 million), a 14 per cent jump from year-ago levels.
NCS, which offers AI, cloud, cybersecurity and other services to enterprises, reported a 29 per cent increase in operating earnings to $102 million. Digital InfraCo, which provides data centre services, posted a 10 per cent jump in earnings.
That helped offset a 3.1 per cent decline in operating revenue at Singtel Singapore, pressured by intense price competition and lower mobile average revenue per user.
Shares of Singtel were down 0.7 per cent around noon in Singapore, compared with a 0.5 per cent decline in the FTSE Straits Times benchmark index.