Singtel’s new CEO noted Covid-19 (coronavirus) continued to weigh on its performance during fiscal Q3 (ended 31 December 2020), but highlighted positive momentum as business activity began to resume in several of its markets.

Yuen Kuan Moon highlighted a strong showing from its ICT unit while acknowledging the continued effects of the pandemic on roaming and prepaid revenue.

The CEO noted the pandemic compounded intense competition in Indonesia and the Philippines, but Airtel in India maintained steady growth momentum.

Group EBITA dropped 13.5 per cent year-on-year to SGD1.01 billion ($762.5 million) and operating fell 3.2 per cent to SGD4.24 billion, though this was less than the 10 per cent annual decline recorded in fiscal Q2.

Singtel does not disclose net profit in unaudited results.

Post-tax contribution from its regional associates increased 8.4 per cent to SGD294 million.

ICT revenue increased 7.9 per cent to SGD830 million as customers adopted and accelerated their digitalisation efforts, Yuen said.

Singapore
Mobile service revenue dropped 25.2 per cent to SGD281 million; device sales fell 1.1 per cent to SGD258 million.

Prepaid subscribers fell 12.5 per cent to 1.39 million and post-paid grew 3.6 per cent to 2.77 million. Average monthly data usage rose from 6GB to 7GB.

Blended ARPU dropped 23.9 per cent to SGD23.

Australia
Mobile revenue at Optus remained flat at AUD1.5 billion ($1.2 billion), with blended ARPU up 3.4 per cent to AUD30.

Its prepaid user base fell 14.4 per cent to 3 million and post-paid dipped 1.6 per cent to 5.7 million. Average data usage increased from 12GB to 17GB a month.

Group Digital Life’s operating revenue declined 1.9 per cent to AUD315 million.