Singapore Telecom posts almost 14 percent jump in first quarter profits

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2005

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore Telecommunications' net profits for its first quarter ending June jumped 13.7 percent to 796 million Singapore dollars (482 million US) thanks to the continued strong showing of regional units.

The quarterly profits of Southeast Asia's biggest phone company were closer, however, to the lower end of analyst forecasts of between 680 million and 1.4 billion dollars.

Operating revenue in the June quarter totalled 3.21 billion dollars, a rise of 6.4 percent over the same period a year ago, it said in a statement.

The continued strong performance of its main regional mobile units -- Indonesia's Telkomsel, India's Bharti, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Thailand's Advance Info Service -- helped offset sluggish growth at home and in...