SINGAPORE Telecommunications Ltd said yesterday its January-March quarter profit grew 10.5 percent compared with a year ago, on higher revenue and stronger contributions from its regional associates as well as a one-time gain.
The company, also known as SingTel, said in a statement to Bloomberg News its net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter rose to 1.1 billion Singapore dollars (US$804 million), up from S$989.4 million a year earlier.
A Dow Jones poll of analysts had forecast net profit of S$905.3 million.
The quarterly figures included an exceptional gain of S$153 million from Bharti Airtel Ltd's sale of shares in a subsidiary. SingTel has a 30.4-percent stake in the Indian mobile operator.
Underlying net profit for the quarter, excluding government compensations for giving up its monopoly status in Singapore, rose 9.2 percent to S$968 million.
The strong performance of Bharti and Indonesian operator PT Telkomsel, in which SingTel holds a 35-percent stake, helped boost sales. Quarterly revenue rose 11 percent to S$3.76 billion.
SingTel said it expects double-digit underlying earnings growth in the medium term. It also expects revenue from the Singapore operations to grow at the mid single-digit level in the fiscal year through to March 2009.