Singtel raises full-year outlook despite 55% drop in profit in H1

source: news (news:lightreading)published 2026-11-13 14:39ingested 2026-11-14 03:02

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Singtel Group has increased its full-year operating company earnings before interest and tax (OpCo Ebit) growth guidance to mid to high-single digits for FY2027.

Gigi Onag,Senior Editor, APAC,Light Reading4 Min Read

Singtel Group has released on Friday its half-year earnings for fiscal year 2027, reporting a net profit of 1.54 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.2 billion). This represents a 55% drop from the same period last year, due to the absence of exceptional gains from the partial sale of its stake in Airtel, as well as the merger of Intouch and Gulf Energy.

Excluding exceptional gains, underlying net profit increased by 10% to S$1.49 billion ($1,16 billion) in the first half of the year ending September. This was thanks to higher earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) contributions from NCS, Digital InfraCo and Optus, as well as profits from regional associates Airtel and AIS. There was also a first-time dividend from Gulf Development.

Healthy growth from NCS, Digital Infraco and Optus boosted the group's operating revenue by 6% to S$7.29 billion ($5.66 billion), while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and operating company (OpCo) EBIT increased by 8% and 9% to S$2.15 billion ($1.67 billion) and S$0.90 billion ($698.82 million) respectively.

Backed by stronger operating momentum, Singtel has raised its full-year EBIT guidance, signaling management's confidence that the growth trajectory, particularly from NCS and core telecoms operations, will continue throughout FY2027. The group has increased its full-year OpCo EBIT growth guidance from low to mid-single digits to mid to high-single digits.

"Our higher OpCo EBIT reflects the stronger operating performance across the Group with NCS, Digital InfraCo and Optus achieving double-digit EBIT growth. Singtel Singapore’s enterprise segment continues to differentiate the business while its tri-brand consumer strategy has generated positive mobile revenue growth despite intense market competition. Contributions from our regional associates were robust as they delivered broad-based mobile growth which helped offset foreign currency headwinds," Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group CEO, said in a stock exchange filing.

The group says it is in a strong financial position, with a healthy cash balance of S$3.58 billion ($2.78 billion) and a net debt of S$9.03 billion ($7.01 billion). Eighty-six percent of the debt is hedged at fixed rates, which provides stability against interest rate fluctuations. The average maturity of this debt is around four years. All foreign currency debt is hedged. Free cash flow increased by 56% to S$2.25 billion ($1.75 billion). This was primarily due to an increase in operating cash flow resulting from improved operational performance, higher dividends received from associates and reduced capital expenditure.

Growth engines beyond Singapore

Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator is increasingly relying on its overseas and growth units to drive performance, according to its latest financial statement. Singtel Optus in Australia delivered a 2.9% rise in mobile service revenue on higher pricing and prepaid growth, NCS capitalized on demand for homeland security and enterprise AI/digital-resilience solutions, and Digital InfraCo strengthened on the back of data-center activity and the expansion of its RE:AI sovereign cloud and GPU-as-a-service business.

Yuen pointed out that the group has made significant progress in diversifying and shifting towards digital infrastructure and services. Digital InfraCo and NCS now account for around 18% of the group's EBITDA.

Furthermore, Singtel – alongside KKR – has completed the acquisition of STTGDC. Between STTGDC and its data center brand, Nxera, Singtel is now one of the top data center platforms in Southeast Asia with a combined capacity of 950MW of operating capacity.

According to Singtel, demand for Nxera’s data centers is strong, with all of the capacity in Singapore already contracted. Its data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia will begin operations by the end of this financial year, increasing the total operating capacity to over 200MW. Sovereign Cloud RE:AI continues to grow, taking a disciplined approach to capacity deployment backed by customer demand. It recently became the first in APAC to deploy the NVIDIA DGX GB300.

"With the acquisition of STT GDC, we are further positioned to enhance the growth of our portfolio as STT GDC continues its expansion with capital discipline. We have also seen strong commercial demand for our sovereign cloud RE:AI, and will continue to leverage compute, connectivity and AI services to capture growth across the AI value chain. As these businesses grow, we expect them to make increasingly meaningful contributions to the group and deliver sustainable value for our customers and shareholders," Yuen said.