Singapore's SingTel 1Q profit rises 12%

SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said its profit rose 12 percent last quarter, boosted by higher income from its local and Indonesian businesses.

The company, also known as SingTel, said in a statement Thursday that net profit for the January-March period rose to 1.02 billion Singapore dollars ($738 million) from SG$903 million a year earlier.

SingTel's stakes in telephone companies in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh account for more than half of the company's profits.

Operating revenue rose 25 percent to SG$4.47 billion from SG$3.57 billion a year earlier.