1. they are payout out that 20cts
2. they are increasing their cash holdings
3. they are reducing their debts 

1. they are payout out that 20cts
2. they are increasing their cash holdings
3. they are reducing their debts 

SingTel Earnings, Dividends

SingTel net profits for the year ended March 31 were down slightly to $3.83 billion, on the back of revenues of $18.1 billion, due to lower earnings from its regional associates.

More than three-quarters of SingTel’s earnings come its stakes in foreign telcos like Australia’s Optus, India’s Bharti AirTel and Indonesia’s Telkomsel. SingTel will pay out a record dividend payout this year of 25.8 cents.

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) is engaged in operation and provision of telecommunication systems and services, and investment holding.

The Company operates in three segments: Singapore, which represents the services and products provided by SingTel and its subsidiaries excluding SingTel Optus Pty Limited (Optus) Australia, which represents the services and products provided by Optus Associates & Joint Ventures (Assoc & JV), which represents its investments in associated and joint venture companies, which mainly comprise Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) in Thailand, Bharti in India, Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe) in the Philippines, and PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) in Indonesia.

The main services and products provided by both Singapore and Australia are mobile communications, data and Internet, national telephone, information technology and engineering, sale of equipment, international telephone and pay television.

Net income dropped to $991.7 million, or 6.2 cents a share, in the three months ended March from $1.02 billion, or 6.4 cents, a year earlier, SingTel said in a statement today. That compares with the $988 million average of five analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Shareholders will get a special dividend of 10 cents a share, in addition to the final payout of 9 cents per unit, as the company returns $4.1 billion to investors this year. Profit at Bharti Airtel, part-owned by SingTel, fell a worse-than-expected 31% in the quarter as higher network costs eroded margins as Singapore revenue growth slowed.

“While the Singapore mobile market appears to be slowing, competition remains rational,” Christian Guerra, an analyst at Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia Pty, said in a May 10 report.

SingTel shares closed yesterday at $3.14 and have gained 3% this year compared with a 0.4% decline in the benchmark Straits Times Index.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in Singapore fell 5% to $551 million in the fourth quarter on content costs for its mio internet protocol television service. Revenue in Singapore rose 1% in the quarter, compared to the 13% pace of the year earlier.

In the 12 months ending March 2012, SingTel expects its Singapore earnings “to be stable.”

SingTel’s Optus unit, the second-largest phone company in Australia, is winning mobile customers amid service disruptions at third-ranked Vodafone Hutchison Australia. Income at Sydney- based Optus rose 10 percent to A$672 million ($890 million) after adding 151,000 postpaid customers in its mobile phone unit.


SingTel, which owns stakes in operators across more than 10 counties, yesterday said it has 402.5 million mobile phone customers, a 37% increase on the year earlier. 

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Singapore shares rose 0.4 percent on Thursday, tracking gains across Asian bourses and lifted by heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications after it said it would raise its dividend payout.

By the midday break, the Straits Times Index (STI) <.FTSTI> was up 12 points at 3,301.29. Total market volume was 1.05 billion shares.

"Valuations for Singapore stocks don't look awfully expensive and there are a few things going for the market," said Terence Wong, the co-head of research at DMG & Partners.

He said he expects the STI to extend its gains through the rest of the year, helped by expected capital inflows after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a second round of quantitative easing measures.

"The markets are awash with liquidity and third quarter corporate results haven't been too shabby, with a few clear outperformers."

The STI is expected to trade in a 3,280-3,320 band in the afternoon, with limited upside for the rest of the day as it nears its year-high of 3,313.61 hit on Monday.

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecoms firm, rose 1.9 percent despite posting weaker-than-expected July-September earnings, as its plan to raise its dividend payout ratio lifted investor confidence. [ID:nSGE6A80EA]

By the lunchbreak, SingTel was trading at S$3.31 with over 16.9 million shares changing hands.

However, the world's largest listed palm oil firm, Wilmar International , underperformed the broader index, falling 3.2 percent after several brokerages downgraded their ratings on the firm due to its weak third quarter earnings.

Both OCBC Investment Research and Phillip Securities downgraded Wilmar to "hold" from "buy", citing lower-than-expected third quarter earnings and weak margins. (Reporting by Charmian Kok; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms firm, reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit, partly due to the cost of acquisitions by its Indian ally.

The company, 55% owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings (TEM.UL), said earnings were hit by costs from Bharti Airtel’s (BRTI.BO) acquisition of the African telecom assets of Kuwaiti group Zain (ZAIN.KW) in June and investments in multimedia services in Singapore.

Singtel owns 32% of Bharti.

With a domestic market of just 5 million people and mobile phone penetration of over 100 percent, SingTel has bought stakes in mobile operators in high-growth Asian countries such as India and Indonesia to boost its earnings.

At home, analysts say the introduction of a next generation high-speed nationwide internet broadband network could provide more challenges for the company, especially in the corporate market.

Smaller rivals including StarHub (STAR.SI) and MobileOne (MONE.SI) are trying to take a bigger share of the corporate market.

Singtel said operating revenue in both the Singapore and Australia divisions would grow in the mid-single digit level over the full 2010-11 fiscal year, but Bharti’s acquisition costs and fluctuations in the Australian and Singapore dollar could hit earnings.

Concerns about SingTel’s profit margins have weighed on the company’s shares, which have risen by only 6% since the start of the year, underperforming the 14% rise in the benchmark Singapore index <.FTSTI>.

SingTel, the biggest company on the Singapore Exchange with a market value of US$41 billion ($52.8 billion), earned $892 million in the fiscal second quarter ended September, down from $956 million a year ago. The net profit lagged estimates by four analysts who had predicted quarterly profit of $960.5 million on average.

Revenue climbed 8.1% to $4.43 billion.



Besides Bharti, Singtel controls 100% of Optus, the second largest telecom firm in Australia, and stakes in five other mobile operators including Indonesia’s Telekomunikasi Selular and Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (ADVA.BK).