Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel)
reported a 4 percent increase in income in Q2 2011-12 at S$4.61 billion against
S$4.43 billion in the same quarter in 2010-11.
Net profit fell 1.2 percent to S$882
million from S$892 million primarily driven due to weak financial performance
by its regional operators including Bharti Airtel in
India.
Bharti Airtel, in which SingTel owns more
than 30 percent stake, had posted 13.4 percent increase in revenue in Q2
2011-12 at $3.78 billion compared with $3.28 billion in Q2 previous fiscal. The
substantial growth in revenue was primarily driven by Africa and non-voice
businesses.
Airtel’s profit plummeted by 38 percent to $225 million in Q2 2011-12 from $358 million in Q2
2010-11.
“This quarter, the investments by Airtel in
its Indian 3G network and African operations incurred license fees amortisation
and financing costs, which combined with weaker regional currencies, had
dampened our results,” said Hui Weng Cheong, CEO International, SingTel.
SingTel’s operations in Singapore and
Australia demonstrated strength with EBITDA growth of 5 per cent, amid keen
competition in these markets.
The weaker regional currencies led to fair
value losses on the associates’ foreign currency liabilities and also resulted
in lower translated earnings as the Group reports in Singapore Dollar.
Consequently, the regional mobile associates’ pre-tax earnings fell 12 per cent
to S$471 million. In constant currency terms, their contribution recorded a
smaller decline of 6 per cent.
“The global economy is slowing and there is
still much uncertainty surrounding the economies in the Euro zone. Despite
headwinds, we are focused on executing our strategy to strengthen our
businesses and growing new revenue streams through innovation,” said Chua Sock
Koong, SingTel Group CEO.
“We continue to pursue growth opportunities
in the multimedia as well as ICT space and remain positive on the long-term
prospects of mobile data services, particularly in the emerging markets,” Koong
added.
SingTel said full-year earnings from
Singapore would be stable” while Australian revenue and profit will rise at
low single digit levels, according to BusinessWeek.
SingTel’s international associates, such as
Bharti, PT Telekomunikasi Selular in Indonesia and Advanced Info Service Pcl in
Thailand, contributed S$471 million to earnings, down 12 percent from a year
earlier.
SingTel, which owns minority stakes in six
operators, has 424 million mobile phone customers.
REGIONAL FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF SINGTEL
SINGAPORE
Revenue from the Singapore business rose 1
percent to S$1.60 billion. Stellar growth in mobile was, however offset by
lower fibre rollout revenue as OpenNet’s network coverage exceeded 75 percent
of the island. Excluding fibre rollout, revenue grew 3 percent.
EBITDA improved 5 percent to S$553 million
with lower mobile selling costs and stable content costs.
Mobile Communications revenue rose 9
percent to S$477 million, delivering another consecutive quarter of strong
customer connections.
SingTel Singapore added 71,000 mobile
customers in the quarter, bringing the total customer base to 3.49 million, an
increase of 10 percent from a year ago.
In the postpaid market, SingTel added
40,000 customers, reflecting strong demand for smartphones and attractive mobile
broadband bundles sold with data-only SIMs. The growth of data-only SIMs
reduced overall postpaid ARPU by 4 percent to S$85 per month. Excluding
data-only SIMs, postpaid ARPU was stable.
Data and Internet revenue was stable at
S$398 million as growth in Managed Services was partially offset by lower
revenue in International Leased Circuits. Internet-related revenue rose 3
percent with increased adoption of higher-tier plans and fibre-based services.
mio TV revenue grew to S$25 million and its
customer base increased by 22,000 to reach 335,000 as at end September.
In the fibre market, SingTel maintained its
lead with its distinctive suite of entertainment, lifestyle and productivity
applications. At 30 September 2011, SingTel had 37,000 fibre broadband customers
in the consumer and business segments, an increase of 14,000 from a quarter
ago.
Operating expenses declined 2 percent to
S$1.06 billion. Selling and administrative expenses dropped 4 percent due to
lower mobile customer acquisition and retention costs. Content costs were
stable this quarter as the broadcast of the Barclays Premier League started in
August 2010.
AUSTRALIA
Optus’ net profit for the quarter grew 4
per cent to A$182 million.
In Mobile, amid intense market competition,
total service revenue rose 1 percent year-on-year while EBITDA was stable.
Total mobile customers grew by 131,000 to 9.23 million in the quarter.
Total mobile revenue was A$1.51 billion,
with service revenue growth of 1 percent partly offset by lower equipment
revenue. Incoming service revenue grew strongly at 21 percent this quarter
supported by subscriber growth, increased SMS and voice revenue.
Blended ARPU declined A$1 from the same
quarter last year, reflecting a higher mix of wireless broadband and increased
value inclusions on selected plans.
Optus continued to lead the market through
differentiated digital services which provide customers personalised
applications and content. Optus announced the launch of Optus Go Places, a new
hyper-local mobile application featuring vouchers, restaurant listings, reviews
and ratings, bookings and travel directions.
In the small and medium business (SMB)
segment, Optus expanded its suite of integrated business tools with the launch
of Optus OfficeApps Mobile Security, a new cloud-based solution to protect data
on mobile devices.
In a key network milestone, Optus announced
the roll-out of Long Term Evolution (LTE) on the Optus Open Network, with LTE
services to be delivered from April 2012. In addition, Optus is embarking on a
number of major initiatives, including U900 spectrum migration programs that
will continue to enhance Optus 3G mobile coverage and performance across
Australia’s major metropolitan areas.
In Business and Wholesale fixed, overall
revenue grew 5 per cent, contributed by strong satellite and ICT and managed
services revenue. EBITDA increased 4 per cent year-on-year.
Optus launched a unique new IPTV service,
Optus MeTV, which redefines conventional TV viewing and offers customers access
to on-demand programmes at an affordable price. Optus also introduced a
dedicated mobile application that allows customers to access programming
information and remote record their favourite shows from mobile devices.
The number of on-net broadband customers
increased 4 per cent to 972,000 from a year ago.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
