SG Morning Call｜Singtel’s Net Income Rises 40% With Annual Dividend at Highest

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Thursday. STI up 0.4%; Singtel down 2%.

Stocks in Focus

$Singtel(Z74.SI)$: On Thursday, it posted a net profit of S$2.2 billion for its second half ended Mar 31, down 20.9 per cent from S$2.8 billion in the year-ago period. Its H2 underlying net profit grew 10.6 per cent to S$1.4 billion as revenue rose 2.7 per cent to S$7.4 billion. Separately, Indonesian digital bank Superbank will be consolidated into Grab’s financial services segment, after Singtel transfers its stake in Superbank to GXS Bank, which is a joint venture between Grab and the telco, Grab announced on Wednesday. The counter closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$5.02 on Wednesday.

$CityDev(C09.SI)$: The property developer posted a decline in its first-quarter Singapore property sales, while its global hotel operations recorded higher revenue per available room. For the three months ended Mar 31, the group and its joint venture associates sold 242 units with a total sales value of S$609.6 million. This was down from the year-ago period’s 795 units with S$1.9 billion in sales value. Shares of CDL closed 1.8 per cent or S$0.15 lower at S$8.07 on Wednesday, before the update.

SG Local News

Singtel’s Net Income Rises 40% With Annual Dividend at Highest

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., the country’s largest telecom operator, reported a full-year net profit of S$5.61 billion ($4.4 billion), lifted by gains from stake sales in Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Net profit climbed 40% from a year earlier, while underlying earnings would have increased 21%, the company said on Thursday.

“Our regional associates Airtel and AIS were standout performers, delivering solid contributions to the Group,” Yuen Kuan Moon, group CEO, said in a statement. “Optus saw sustained business momentum while it invested to improve operational resilience, NCS achieved record bookings on the back of strong AI demand and Digital InfraCo achieved new milestones through its Nxera data centre arm.”

OpenAI to Open Its First Applied AI Lab Outside of U.S. in Singapore

OpenAI will open its first applied ​AI lab outside of the ‌U.S. in Singapore, the city-state's Ministry of Digital Development ​and Information said on ​Wednesday.

Here are the details:

• OpenAI's ⁠staffing in Singapore will ​grow to around 200 roles "in ​the next few years", and the company said it would commit ​more than S$300 ​million ($235 million) to the city-state.

• OpenAI and ‌Singapore ⁠will collaborate to advance applied AI innovation, build AI talent, and make AI ​accessible ​to citizens, ⁠enterprises and the public sector.

• The move ​comes as Singapore bets on ​AI ⁠to transform its economy, aiming to become an AI ⁠hub ​that attracts leading ​AI firms.