SingTel posted a 2.2% fall in year-on-year net profit for Q4 despite strong showing from its operations in Singapore and Australia.
The telecom giant’s performance was hampered by its regional associates including India’s Bharti Airtel, Indonesia’s Telkomsel and Philippines’ Globe.
Group net profit was S$998 million ($780.1 million), while revenue rose 6% to S$4.7 million.
Bharti’s contribution had been affected by its S$9.7 billion acquisition of its Africa business in June last year. Bharti Africa posted pre-tax losses of S$31 million while Bharti South Asia’s contribution declined 9% due to foreign currency movements.
Pre-tax contribution from Telkomsel and Globe declined 10% and 27% respectively.
Pre-tax earnings from its regional mobile associates declined 13% overall to S$518 million, the company said in a statement.
SingTel’s operations in Singapore reported a 7% increase in revenue to $1.27 billion led by its mobile business.
Ebitda grew 1% to S$587 million. SingTel added 41,000 postpaid and 21,000 prepaid customers in Q4, boosting mobile revenue by 11% to $363.48 million. Postpaid ARPU rose 3% to S$92, with data accounting for more than 40% of ARPU.
Data and internet revenue grew 2% to S$401 million.
SingTel’s business through its Australian unit Optus saw its mobile segment posting a 7% increase in number of 3G subscribers to 4.8 million, from a quarter ago. Optus’ operating revenue rose 4% while operational ebitda grew 5% year-on-year to A$553 million. Optus’ results were boosted by a stronger Australian dollar.
SingTel also owns stakes in Thailand’s AIS, Pakistan’s Warid and Bangladesh’s PBTL.