Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), which has a stake in Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, has posted a 2.3 per cent fall in net profit to S$992 million due to the loss incurred by Bharti Airtel and currency volatility.

However, the board has proposed a final dividend of 9 Singapore cents and a special dividend of 10 Singapore cents per share, the company said in a statement.

“The group delivered stable earnings even as we invested significantly to pursue new growth platforms and despite intense competition faced by our larger associates in their markets. Our resilient performance is a result of focused execution and demonstrates the strength and diversity of the group’s operations,” the SingTel Group CEO, Ms Chua Sock Koong, said.

At the end of December, SingTel owned a 15.72 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel directly through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Pastel (15.57 per cent) and Viridian Ltd (0.15 per cent), while the rest was held indirectly by the parent company.

The group’s net profit declined 2 per cent to S$992 million, but when excluding the impact of Bharti Africa, the net profit would have increased 1 per cent, the statement added.

“Ordinary pre-tax earnings from the regional mobile associates declined 12 per cent to S$479 million because of the weaker regional currencies against the Singapore dollar, Bharti’s fair value losses on foreign currency liabilities, as well as losses incurred by Bharti Africa,” the company said.

Meanwhile, the group revenue rose to S$4.6 billion during the January-March quarter, up 3.8 per cent from S$4.4 billion in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Looking ahead for the next financial year ending March 31, 2012, the company expects that in Asia, domestic demand is expected to drive economic growth, while Australia and Africa are expected to benefit from rising commodity prices.

Over the mid to longer term, the African economies are anticipated to drive market-friendly economic reforms to deliver future growth.

Excluding Bharti’s African operations, which were acquired in June 2010, earnings from the regional mobile associates would be lower by 8 per cent, the statement added.

Ordinary pre-tax earnings from the regional mobile associates declined 12 per cent to S$2.03 billion. As a result, net profit for the group fell 2 per cent to S$3.83 billion. Excluding the share of net loss and related acquisition financing costs for Bharti Africa, net profit would be stable at S$3.95 billion.

During the quarter, Bharti South Asia reported a 13 per cent growth in operating revenue on a higher mobile customer base amid a more stable pricing environment.

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