Indian subscriber growth boost SingTel's profit
Wednesday, 08 November 2006, 20:30 IST
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Singapore: Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia's largest telephone company, said on Wednesday its second-quarter net profit rose 18.6 percent from a year earlier boosted by record subscriber growth in India. A record 8.4 million mobile phone users were added in the quarter for a total of 100 million, SingTel said, with nearly half of the customers from Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's biggest wireless operator. Associates in India and Indonesia "continue to perform strongly," said chief executive officer Lee Hsien Yang. Net income reached 956 million Singapore dollars (US$612 million) in the three months ending Sep 30, up from 806 million Singapore dollars (US$513 million). SingTel said in a statement it was sticking to its previously issued forecast for flat full-year operating revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. The profit at SingTel's Australian unit Optus fell 12 percent to 130 million Australian dollars (US$100 million). The drop was attributed to stiff competition, ebbing subscriber growth and regulatory charges. Optus has one-third of Australia's mobile market. SingTel has received a six-month licence for trial pay-TV operations in Singapore, which could threaten the 11-year-old monopoly of StarHub, the cable TV provider. The Media Development Authority said on Tuesday that the entry of new players would "inject vibrancy into the media scene". SingTel has already submitted a bid for the sought after television rights to the 2007-2010 seasons of English Premier League football.
Source: IANS
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