Singtel logs 14% rise in underlying profit on Optus, regional partners' boost (updated)
11/11/2025 23:23
Corrects to surname of CEO on second reference, rather than first name, in paragraph 5 of November 12 story HY underlying profit rises 14% Optus operating earnings rise 27% Declares interim dividend of 8.2 SG cents apiece Nov 12 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI posted a 14% rise in first-half underlying profit on Wednesday, helped by a strong performance from its Australian unit Optus and regional associates, and said it expects higher operating earnings from its core units. Singtel now expects fiscal 2026 earnings before interest and tax for the operating company (OpCo), which excludes contribution from regional associates, to grow between high single digits and low double digits. It had earlier forecast high-single-digit operating earnings growth for OpCo, which posted a near 13% rise in first-half operating earnings. "We expect our growth engines to change the complexion of the business in the mid-term as they continue to scale," said Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from Nxera, the company's digital infrastructure arm, is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of more than 20% over the next four years, Yuen added. The division is expected to benefit from new operational data center capacity, the company said in a statement. Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm reported underlying net profit of S$1.35 billion ($1.04 billion) for the six months ended September 30, higher than S$1.19 billion last year but slightly below Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of S$1.37 billion. The profit highlighted a 12% rise in post-tax contribution from regional associates, including India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, Indonesia's Telkomsel and Thailand's AIS ADVANC.BK. Bharti Airtel reported a 89% jump in quarterly profit, as users upgraded to higher-margin 4G and 5G plans, as well as steady subscriber additions. Optus reported a 27% rise in operating earnings due to growth in the mobile division. Singtel declared an interim dividend of 8.2 Singapore cents per share, higher than the 7 Singapore cents apiece declared a year earlier. ($1 = 1.2942 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by John Biju and Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Alan Barona) ((Keshav.singhchundawat@thomsonreuters.com))