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Singtel says second quarter net profit up 0.3 per cent

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AFP Singapore
Last Updated : Nov 14 2013 | 9:50 PM IST
Singapore Telecom said today its net profit in the July-September quarter edged up 0.3 per cent as a strong local dollar weighed on overseas earnings.
Net profit in the period, SingTel's second financial quarter, was 870 million Singapore dollars (USD 698.2 million), up from 868 million Singapore dollars in the same period last year, Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm said in a statement.
Group revenue fell 8.9 per cent to 4.16 billion Singapore dollars, with the firm blaming the fall mainly on the Singapore dollar's strength against its Australian counterpart. SingTel fully owns Optus, Australia's second largest telecoms company.
"As a major part of the group's earnings comes from outside of Singapore, our strong operating performance was impacted by the strengthening of the Singapore dollar," chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong said in the statement.
SingTel owns partial stakes in India's Bharti Airtel, Indonesia's Telkomsel, Thailand's Advanced Info Service, the Philippines' Globe Telecom and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom.
The Australian dollar, Indian rupee and Indonesian rupiah have all depreciated by about 10 per cent against the Singapore dollar over the past year.

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The company said the total number of mobile customers in Singapore and its regional associates rose seven per cent from a year ago to 486 million.
"In the developing markets where our regional mobile associates operate, millions of customers are experiencing the Internet for the first time via their mobile phones," said Chua.
"To encourage data usage and ensure a positive user experience, our associates are investing significantly in mobile infrastructure and content," she added.

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First Published: Nov 14 2013 | 9:50 PM IST

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