SingTel Q1 profit drops 23% hit by Bharti Airtel woes

SINGAPORE: Singtel has reported a $483 million net profit in the first quarter ending on June 30, a 23.1 per cent drop from $628 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

The drop was attributed mainly to foreign associates. The telco suffered an exceptional loss of $88 million in the 2024 financial year first quarter ending on June 30 whereas it made an exceptional gain of $129 million in the 2023 financial year first quarter.

The loss stemmed from Indian associate Bharti Airtel’s foreign exchange losses from a devaluation of the Nigerian naira against the US dollar. Singtel also suffered a fair value loss of $52 million from Airtel’s foreign currency convertible bonds.

A 9 per cent drop in the value of the Australian dollar also hit revenue. Operating revenue from Optus, the Singtel-owned Australian telco, fell 8.2 per cent to $1.8 billion from $1.9 billion.

SingTel’s Chief Executive Officer Yuen Kuan Moon said. “While we saw better performances and higher contributions from our regional associates as market dynamics improved, increased competition and continued declines in legacy services impacted our core telco business in Singapore and Australia.”