Singtel posts first ever quarterly loss on Bharti Airtel charge; company's annual profit falls 44%

Singapore: Singtel posted a second-quarter loss of S$668 million ($491.29 million) hurt by a one-time charge recorded by India’s Bharti Airtel. [caption id=“attachment_130842” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Bharti Airtel said it made a provision of Rs 28,450 crore ($3.99 billion) after India’s Supreme Court last month upheld a demand by the telecoms department that wireless carriers pay Rs 92,000 crore in overdue levies and interest. Singtel or Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms firm, reported a 3 percent rise in underlying net profit to S$737 million for the quarter. Singtel is the biggest shareholder in Bharti Airtel, with an effective stake of about 35 percent. Meanwhile, Singtel said that its 2018 net profit fell 44 percent after a challenging year marked by tough competition for its local and international businesses. The company reported a net profit of S$3.10 billion ($2.27 billion) for the year ended March versus S$5.47 billion a year ago. Its underlying net profit, which excludes exceptional items, fell 21 percent to S$2.83 billion.