Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported net profit for its fiscal fourth quarter up 3.5 percent year-on-year to SGD 898 million. Growth was held back by the weaker Australian dollar and regional currencies; excluding the currency effects, net profit would have grown 13 percent. The operator said it profited from a solid consumer business in its home market and a strong return from its stake in Indian operator Bharti Airtel. Pre-tax earnings from its holdings in mobile operators abroad increased 9 percent to SGD 558 million.
Operating revenue for the three months to March was still down 7.9 percent to SGD 4.128 billion and fell 1.1 percent on a constant currency basis. This was due to the earlier flagged weaker performance at Optus in Australia and in the Enterprise segment. EBITDA dropped 9.2 percent to SGD 1.297 billion, and free cash flow was 31.4 percent lower at SGD 868 million.
Over the full year, Singtel reported a small drop in revenue and higher profits. For the current year to March 2015, it expects stable revenue and EBITDA, and capital expenditure around SGD 3.2 billion.
