Singtel to sell minority stake in Australian unit, shares $4.2b spending plan

Singapore Telecommunications said on Thursday (May 21) it was looking to sell a minority stake in its Australian unit Optus, and shared capital spending plans of $4.2 billion in 2027.

Singtel said it was looking for a "like-minded long-term local partner owning a meaningful minority stake" in the Australian operator, which has been owned by Singtel for over 25 years and is Australia's second-largest telecom firm.

Optus has been under intense scrutiny over two back-to-back outages of an emergency number that affected thousands of users and were linked to four deaths. 

The incidents led to the departure of two senior executives, including its finance chief.

Singtel said the sale process may entail engaging with local partners who bring the "expertise to improve service provision and quality".

It sold a stake in India's Bharti Airtel for $1.16 billion last year as a part of an ongoing asset restructuring strategy.

In a separate statement on its annual results, Singtel said its planned 2027 spending would be about $3 billion, with an extra $1.2 billion allocated for data centres and AI-related purposes.

Singtel said it was taking a more cautious approach to its near-term outlook and expected earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) growth to be in the low- to mid-single digits.

While it has no direct operations in the Middle East, it said most of its key markets were net energy importers and exposed to global energy price swings, which could mean higher operating costs, softer consumer and business spending, and slower economic growth.

The group said its existing long-term power contracts should help cushion the impact, but cautioned that currency volatility across its regional markets could weigh on translated earnings.

Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator posted an underlying net profit of $2.77 billion for the year ended March 2026, up from $2.47 billion in the previous year, but below a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $2.82 billion.

It logged a nearly nine per cent rise in EBIT to $1.50 billion in 2026. Singtel declared a final dividend of 10.3 Singapore cents per share, versus 10 Singapore cents apiece announced last year.

Shares of the company were down nearly seven per cent, set for its weakest session since March 2020, and it was the worst performer on the benchmark index, which was down 0.3 per cent as of 0658 GMT (2.58pm SGT).

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