Singtel reports record Q2 profit on divestment gain

NetLink NBN Trust

08/11/2017 23:47

SINGAPORE, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications 
Ltd  STEL.SI  on Thursday reported a record net profit and 
declared a special dividend in the second quarter, helped by a 
gain on the divestment of its stake in broadband unit NetLink 
NBN Trust  NETL.SI .     
    Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator posted a net 
profit of S$2.89 billion ($2.1 billion) for the three months 
ended September, compared with S$972 million a year ago.  
    The results included exceptional gains of S$1.96 billion. In 
July, NetLink raised about S$2.3 billion from its initial public 
offering, in which Singtel divested 75.2 percent of its 
stake. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1KA2LC     
    Singtel's underlying net profit, which excludes one-time 
items, fell 4 percent to S$929 million, hurt by lower profits at 
its regional associate Bharti Airtel Ltd  BRTI.NS . 
    In October, Bharti Airtel, India's largest phone carrier, 
reported its smallest quarterly profit in nearly five years amid 
a price war.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1N64MO 
    Singtel also set a special dividend of 3 Singapore cents per 
share and an interim dividend of 6.8 Singapore cents. 
    The company said it maintained its full year outlook issued 
in May.     
      
($1 = 1.3617 Singapore dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Stephen Coates) 
 ((aradhana.aravindan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5659; Reuters 
Messaging: aradhana.aravindan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SINGTEL RESULTS/