Singapore Telecommunications on Thursday reported a 197 percent surge in second-quarter profit, boosted by gains from the divestment of 75.2 percent of its stake in NetLink Trust in July this year.
Net profit jumped to S$2.9 billion in the three months ended September 30 from S$972 million in the corresponding period last year.
Underlying net profit for the quarter slid 4 percent, impacted by its Indian associate Bharti Airtel, which continues to face intense competition in its local market.
Operating revenue at Singtel, Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm , grew 6.9 percent to S$4.4 billion, the company said in a statement.
Singtel's share of earnings from its regional associates fell 4.9 percent to S$487 million due to lower profit at Airtel as well as lower contribution from NetLink NBN Trust following the reduction in economic interest, the company said.
Besides Bharti Airtel, Singtel also has stakes in Indonesia's Telkomsel, Philippines' Globe Telecom and Thailand's Advanced Info Service.
Singtel's Australian unit Optus reported a net profit of 175 million Australian dollars in the quarter, down 4.4 percent from last year.
Decline in profit was due to higher depreciation and amortisation as a result of the extensive network investments, the company said.
In Australia, Optus is investing in new technologies to increase network capacity and improve customer data experience.
Singtel said it would pay a special dividend of three Singapore cents per share, totalling about S$500 million out of S$2.3 billion in proceeds from the divestment of NetLink Trust.
This is on top of an interim dividend of 6.8 cents per share, the same as last year.
Shares in the company fell 1 percent at S$3.74 on the Singapore Exchange. The stock has gained about 3 percent so far this year.
