Boost by India's Bharti soars SingTel's profits
Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 19:30 IST
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Singapore: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), South-East Asia's largest phone company, said Tuesday that its first quarter profit rose 10 percent on record earnings boosted by India's Bharti and strong sales in the city-state. Net income rose to 927 million Singapore dollars ($610 million) in the quarter ending June 30 from 840 million Singapore dollars ($552 million) in the corresponding period a year ago. Operating revenue was 3.57 billion Singapore dollars ($2.34 billion), up 10.5 percent. SingTel expects revenues to grow by more than 5 percent in 2008 on increasing mobile phone and broadband subscriptions. "Strong economic growth in the region" has propelled broadband demand, said Chief Executive Officer Chua Sook Koong at a briefing. SingTel is focusing on Asian markets with "large populations and low telephone penetration", he noted. Bharti's contribution to net income amounted to 158 million Singapore dollars ($103 million) compared to 80 million Singapore dollars (over $52 million) a year earlier. The Optus subsidiary in Australia saw revenue increase by 3.5 percent.
Source: IANS
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