Singapore's SingTel has hinted at making further acquisitions in Asia to offset slowing growth in its core markets. "SingTel continues to look for new investments in Asia and emerging adjacent markets and will be financially disciplined in its evaluation of these opportunities," said CEO Chua Sock Koong in a statement today announcing the group's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings (ended 31 March 2009). The group reported a 17 percent decline in net profit to SGD903 million (US$618 million), its biggest decline in two years. The results were negatively impacted by the strength of the Singapore dollar against currencies in other markets where it operates, notably in Australia where SingTel controls the country's second-placed operator, Optus. While revenue in local currency terms increased 8.7 percent in Australia and 13 percent in Singapore, the group's operating revenue in the quarter fell 5.1 percent to SGD3.57 billion as a result of the steep 21 percent decline in the Australian dollar against the Singapore dollar from a year ago.
In its two wholly-owned markets, SingTel added 34,000 mobile customers in the quarter in Singapore, reaching 2.98 million mobile customers in total, while 652,000 were added in Australia (Optus) to reach 7.79 million in total. The star performer in its Regional Mobile Associates unit - which includes its stakes in various other markets - was India's Bharti (in which SingTel owns a 34 percent stake), which added 31.9 million new mobile customers from a year ago and recorded an 18 percent rise in pre-tax ordinary profit in Indian rupee terms and a 1.4 percent rise in Singapore dollar terms to SGD225 million. However, profits at Indonesia's Telkomsel (a 35 percent stake) fell to SGD163 million, a 40.6 million decline in Singapore dollar terms and a 30.6 percent decline in local currency terms. SingTel gave no specific information on its acquisition targets but hinted that market consolidation was expected in Pakistan, where it owns 30 percent of the country's fourth-largest mobile operator, Warid.
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