Singapore's SingTel posts stable quarterly net profit

Feb 10, 2011, 0:50 GMT

Singapore - South-East Asia's biggest phone company, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, on Thursday posted a stable net profit for its third quarter that ended December 31.

Earnings from associates suffered from competition as well as acquisition costs for its African business.

SingTel's net profit for the three months through December reached 998 million Singapore dollars (783.4 million US dollars), up 0.8 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier, the company said.

Group revenues rose 5.7 per cent year-on-year to 4.7 billion Singapore dollars, led by growth in Singapore and Australia.

SingTel said earnings of its mobile associates declined 13 per cent year-on-year to 488 million Singapore dollars, mainly because of competition in Indonesia and the Philippines as well as acquisition costs for its African operations, which are managed by India's Bharti Airtel Ltd.

'The group held its net profit stable, benefiting from a diversified earnings base,' chief executive Chua Sock Koong said.

'Singapore and Australia continued to perform and deliver strong revenue growth and cash flows despite the level of competition in these markets.'

SingTel and its associates operate in eight countries in the region - Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - and in several African countries.

SingTel said Wednesday that its mobile customer base grew to nearly 383 million by the end of December, increasing 34 per cent year-on-year.

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