SingTel profit dips 2.6% to S$850m

Blame it on lower Associates' contribution falling 14.7%.

According to OCBC, SingTel reported its 1QFY13 results this morning, with revenue falling 1.6% YoY to S$4533.0m, meeting around 24% of our full-year forecast; impacted by the 3% depreciation in the AUD against the SGD. Core net profit (excluding exceptional items) slipped 2.6% to around S$850.0m, or 22.9% of our FY13 estimate.

Here's more from OCBC:

One of the key reasons for the fall was due to lower Associates’ contribution, which fell 14.7%, mainly due to the weakening of the regional currencies (especially INR and IDR against the SGD). Meanwhile, SingTel has affirmed its previous guidance for FY13, where consolidated revenue should grow at low single-digit level and EBITDA to remain stable; also estimates free cash flow to be around S$2.6b, after spending around S$950m capex in Singapore and A$1.1b in Australia; also expects ordinary dividends from regional mobile associates to grow. We will have more after the analyst teleconference. Until then, we place our Buy rating and S$3.68 fair value under review.