Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) reported a 14% rise in first-quarter underlying profit, driven by strong results from its Australian unit Optus and contributions from regional partners, including India’s Bharti Airtel.
The company’s performance was supported by telecom price increases in key markets and resilient growth from regional associates. Bharti Airtel’s post-tax contribution from India and South Asia more than doubled during the quarter, while contributions from other associates, including Indonesia’s Telkomsel and Thailand’s AIS, rose 24.5% to S$468 million.
As a result, Singtel’s underlying net profit for Q1 reached S$686 million (US$535 million), up from S$603 million a year earlier, closely matching analysts’ estimates of S$686.9 million.
CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said the results were achieved despite macroeconomic uncertainties and currency fluctuations. On a statutory basis, Singtel posted a net profit of S$2.88 billion, sharply up from S$690 million last year, boosted by one-off gains from the partial sale of Airtel shares and the Intouch-Gulf Energy merger.
Yuen also highlighted the company’s data centre business in Thailand and Singapore as a “bright spot” for the current financial year as these facilities near completion.
(Exchange rate: $1 = S$1.2828)
