S'pore Telecom profit up

S'pore Telecom profit up

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said yesterday its net earnings had increased by 9.5 percent from a year ago to S$740 million (US$528.5 million) in the six months to Sept. 30.

Singapore Telecom said the profit was achieved on an 11.9- percent increase in turnover to S$1.96 billion during the same period. Revenue increased despite a recent series of rate cuts.

"We are confident of double-digit growth in the full financial year," chairman Koh Boon Hwee told reporters and analysts.

International telecommunications continued to be the largest earner at 45 percent, boosted by three rounds of rate cuts late last year to make Singapore more competitive compared to other regional business hubs, Koh said.

International direct traffic surged by 25.7 percent to 268.9 million call minutes compared to the same period last year.

Singapore Telecom's total assets grew S$1.82 billion, or 31.6 percent, to S$7.60 billion from last year, he added.