SINGAPORE (Yosefardi) – Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) booked net profit of S$1.01 billion in first quarter of 2014, ended June 2013, grew by 7% from S$945 million in the same period of last year. Compared to fourth quarter ended March 2013, the figure increased 16.4%.
Operating revenue declined 5.3% to S$4.29 billion from previous S$4.53 billion, due to cautious business environment, slowdown in Australian mobile market and weak A$, and strong Singapore mobile momentum.
Ebitda rose 7.1% to S$1.87 billion from earlier S$1.75 billion as focus on cost boosted profitability. Free cash flow jumped 23% to S$893 million, thanks to Telkomsel’s dividends and higher dividends from AIS.
Telkomsel’s mobile customers rose 7% to 125 million. It contributed profit before tax of S$255 million, boosted by data growth and higher SMS interconnect revenue.
SingTel targets free cash flow to reach S$2 billion in 2014 financial year period and allocates capital expenditure (capex) of S$2.5 billion.