SINGAPORE (Yosefardi) – Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), booked a strong third quarter ended December 31, 2013 with net profit up 6% to S$872 million despite adverse currency movements.

SingTel booked operating revenue of S$4.26 billion, declined 7% due to lower Australia mobile revenue and weaker Australian dollar.

Group consumer contributed revenue of S$2.67 billion, enterprise segment contributed S$1.55 billion, while digital life segment contributed S$48 million.

For first nine months of 2013, SingTel booked operating revenue of S$12.72 billion (down 7.2%) and net profit of S$2.75 billion (up 4.3%).

The Group continued to register strong customer growth. As of 31 December 2013, the combined mobile customer base grew 9% or 40.9 million in the year to 501 million, cross the half billion mark.

Telkomsel’s customers reached 132 million, grew by 5%. Telkomsel contributed profit before tax of S$214 million, grew by 15%.

The increase in revenue and EBITDA was driven by voice and data growth offset by network charges. For this year, SingTel expects lower revenue and allocates capital expenditure (capex) of S$2.2 billion.