Here's depressing takeaways from Singtel's conference call

CIMB advises investors to shift to StarHub.

SingTel’s conference call after its 2QFY13 results yielded no major  surprises, said CIMB.

The main takeaways according to CIMB include the following:

1)  SingTel noted a strong take-up for its  tiered data plans but did not reveal  any numbers;

2) Optus is seeing  competition easing and scope for better yields;

3) SingTel expects  strong demand from the government sector and cloud computing in the IT and Engineering space;and

4) SingTel chose not to disclose the amount budgeted for new investments as this is a strategically sensitive number.

SingTel continued to gain market share in mobile and fixed broadband in Singapore.

Here's what OCBC thinks:

We think SingTel is in a transition stage as it attempts to build up new growth drivers and acquire customers with the view of monetising them in future. We are  concerned that further acquisitions and start-up losses may dampen its profitability in the short-term, while the returns from these investments are by no means certain.

While Optus is seeing signs of  stabilisation in the competitive environment, we stay cautious on the industry as we expect VHA to return
to the market. This will undoubtedly  be accompanied by marketing efforts to improve brand perception and to grow its subscriber base again.

What You Should Do
Switch to StarHub which offers the prospect of higher dividends whereas we think SingTel's earnings will be depressed by start-up losses of its new acquisitions, content costs and competition.

In addition, Bharti faces regulatory uncertainties and higher competition.