{
  "id": 717655,
  "title": "Singtel Q1 profit falls 71% in absence of Airtel stake sale, sees weaker Singapore business",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/singtel-q1-profit-falls-71-in-absence-of-airtel-stake-sale-sees",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-13T01:15:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singtel-q1-profit-falls-71-in-absence-of-airtel-stake-sale-weaker-singapore-business"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On August 13, Singtel revealed a sharp 71.6 percent decline in first-quarter net profit, falling to $818 million from $2.88 billion in the previous year. The drop was largely attributed to the absence of gains from the partial sale of its stake in Airtel and the merger of Intouch-Gulf Energy. Despite underlying net profit increasing by 21 percent to $831 million, driven by Airtel, AIS, NCS, Optus, and Singtel's Digital InfraCo, weak performance in Singtel Singapore dragged down overall results. Singtel Singapore's operating revenue dropped 3.1 percent to $901 million, with Ebitda declining 4.6 percent to $363 million. The group's CEO, Yuen Kuan Moon, attributed the decline to intense price competition and a shift towards service declines in mobile, ICT, and legacy services. However, Singtel reported strong contributions from its regional associates, with post-tax contributions rising 16.1 percent to $543 million, largely due to improved performance by Airtel and AIS. Digital InfraCo also saw a 18.9 percent increase in operating revenue, driven by increased data centre capacity and cloud services.",
  "summary": "Telco's underlying profit still sees robust growth of 21 per cent.",
  "key_points": [
    "Singtel's Q1 profit fell 71.6% to $818 million",
    "Weak Singapore business dragged down overall results",
    "Regional associates contributed 16.1% increase to post-tax profits"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Singtel's weak Singapore business performance, driven by intense price competition and service declines, offsets strong gains from regional associates and digital infrastructure, signalling a challenging turnaround ahead.",
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/717655.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
        "title": "Singtel Q1 gain drops 71% to S$818 million in absence of Airtel stake sale; weaker Singapore business",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/singtel-q1-gain-drops-71-to-s-818-million-in-absence-of-airtel-stake",
        "published": "2026-08-13T00:44:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}