SingTel suffers 33% profit drop to $868.2m

Revenue also slipped 6% to $4.48b.

According to OCBC Investment Research, SingTel posted its 4QFY13 results this morning. Reported net profit for 4Q came in at S$868.2m, down 33% YoY but up 5% QoQ; core earnings slipped 2% YoY and rose 15% QoQ to S$1.0b.

OCBC also noted that core FY13 earnings eased 1.8% to S$3.61b, and was about 4% below our forecast. SingTel has declared a final dividend of S$0.10/share, bringing the fullyear payout to S$0.168 (74% of underlying net profit).

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Reported revenue slipping 6% YoY and 3% QoQ to S$4.48b, weighed down by the weaker A$. Full-year revenue fell 3% to S$18.18b, and was 3% shy of our forecast. 

Reported net profit for 4Q came in at S$868.2m, down 33% YoY but up 5% QoQ; core earnings slipped 2% YoY and rose 15% QoQ to S$1.0b. Core FY13 earnings eased 1.8% to S$3.61b, and was about 4% below our forecast. SingTel has declared a final dividend of S$0.10/share, bringing the fullyear payout to S$0.168 (74% of underlying net profit).

For FY14, SingTel expects to consolidated revenue to remain stable, while EBITDA should continue to see low singledigit growth. It also expects to spend some S$2.5b in capex, with free cashflow coming in at around S$2b. Last but not least, it has revised up its dividend payout ratio from 55-70% to 60-75%.