SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications, known as Singtel said its net profit for the April-June quarter rose 12.8% on the year, to 942 million Singapore dollars ($674 million). The group’s mobile businesses in Australia and Asia performed well enough to offset the negative impact of a weaker Australian dollar.
Profit also received a one-off boost of S$47 million from the divestment of venture and tower assets. Operating revenue for the period grew 1.5% on the year, to S$4.2 billion.
The Singtel group’s consumer division — which includes mobile, Internet and pay-TV services — saw revenue grow 2% on the year. Excluding currency effects, the figure expanded by 11%.
Singapore Telecommunications’ headquarters
In Singapore, revenue from consumer businesses grew 6%. Growth in data usage made up for lower income from roaming, voice and texting services. Revenue from the consumer segment in Australia grew 13% in Australian dollar terms, also thanks to data.
Singtel owns Australia’s second-largest telecommunications company, Optus.
As for other overseas interests, pretax profit at Thailand’s Advanced Info Service grew 21% on the year in Singapore dollar terms, while the figure for Philippines-based Globe expanded 9%. Indonesian wireless carrier Telkomsel’s pretax profit rose 12%.
On the other hand, associate company Airtel, which does business in South Asia and Africa, saw its profit before tax shrink 12% on the year. Despite revenue growth in India, the company suffered from weaker performance in Africa and higher financing costs.
Singtel’s digital life division, which oversees online advertising businesses, more than doubled its revenue but remained in the red for the quarter.
