SingTel has reported declines in profit and operating revenue for its fiscal second quarter, as a steep decline in the Australian dollar lowered the contribution of subsidiary Optus.
Net profit dipped 0.8% at S$1.03 billion ($727.2 million) but would have improved 3% in constant currency terms. Likewise, operating revenue fell 3% to S$4.18 billion, but would have grown 5% with stable exchange rates.
The Australian dollar lost a sharp 13% of its value compared to the year before, negating a 3% increase in revenue from Optus' consumer business. Mobile data grew 21% over the same period.
In Singapore by comparison, consumer revenues were stable with ebitda increasing 10% on the back of careful cost management.
Group enterprise revenue declined 1%, also due to the weaker Australian dollar.
SingTel's share of pre-tax earnings from its regional mobile associates grew 1.7% year-no-year to S$632 million, thanks to strong adoption of data services and customer growth. The contribution of Indonesia's Telkomsel grew a particularly strong 21%.
“This quarter, we have again strengthened our position across Singapore, Australia and the associates’ markets,” SingTel Group CEO Chua Sock Koong commented.
“Mobile data growth continues to be a key focus. Our investments in 3G and 4G network infrastructure and spectrum, alongside increasing smartphone penetration, are delivering improved experiences for customers. While currency weakness has affected our reported numbers, our underlying performance is resilient.”
For the six months ending in September, net profit grew 5.3% to S$1.97 billion, but would have increased 8.7% in constant currencies. Group revenue declined 0.8% to S$8.39 billion.