Latest news with #Comcentre
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singtel Announces a S$2 Billion Share Buyback Programme: 5 Things Investors Should Know
As earnings season rolls on, many blue-chip companies are releasing their latest business updates and earnings. Singtel (SGX: Z74) is one of them, and the telco also followed up its earnings release with a surprise announcement of a S$2 billion share buyback programme. The telco's latest announcement adds one more method to its value realisation arsenal. Recall that Singtel had announced the payment of a value realisation dividend (VRD) for the previous fiscal year from its capital recycling activities. Here are five things you need to know about the telco's latest earnings report. Singtel reported a robust set of earnings for its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025. Revenue stayed flat year on year at S$14.1 billion. Operating profit, however, rose 11.1% year on year to S$3.9 billion because of lower operating expenses and a year-on-year increase in the share of associates' pre-tax profits. Net profit stood at S$4 billion for FY2025 but was boosted by an exceptional gain of S$1.55 billion from the partial divestment of Comcentre. Excluding this one-off item, Singtel's underlying net profit would have climbed 9.3% year on year to S$2.47 billion. The telco also generated positive free cash flow of S$2.5 billion for FY2025, registering a small 3.6% year-on-year decline. For Singtel's Singapore division, operating revenue dipped by 2.1% year on year to S$3.8 billion. Mobile service revenue remained flat, while roaming and the Internet of things revenue were offset by legacy services decline. Operating profit remained stable year on year at S$833 million. Singtel saw the number of Singapore mobile customers dip 2.4% year on year to 4.5 million, with the blended average revenue per user (ARPU) slipping 3.3% year on year to S$24. Data usage continued to surge, jumping almost 20% year on year to 15 GB per month. The telco, however, experienced slightly higher churn of 1.2% and saw its market share falling from 46.3% in FY2024 to 44.6% for FY2025. On the flip side, both Optus (Singtel's Australian division) and NCS posted strong results. Optus' revenue inched up 1% year on year to A$8.2 billion, led by a 4% year-on-year increase in mobile service revenue as postpaid subscribers paid more. Operating profit for the division shot up 55% year on year to A$446 million, contributed by better mobile performance and improved cost management. Over at NCS, revenue rose 5% year on year to S$2.98 billion, with Gov+ contributing to this increase. Cost optimisation, along with higher margins, resulted in NCS reporting a 39% year-on-year increase in operating profit to S$254 million. The division also saw robust bookings of S$3.2 billion for FY2025, up 5% year on year. Singtel provided encouraging guidance for FY2026 and will focus on the key areas highlighted in the slide above. In addition, the telco will continue to work on the simplification of its products and enhance system and process efficiencies. Management expects to achieve gross savings of S$600 million before the impact of inflation. Singtel expects to register operating profit growth in the high single digits before associates' contributions for FY2026. Management also reiterated its low double-digit return on invested capital (ROIC) target in the mid-term. To further realise value for shareholders, Singtel's board authorised its first share buyback programme of S$2 billion as part of the group's capital management strategy. This programme allows for the purchase of up to 5% of Singtel's total issued shares. The share buybacks will be conducted over three years till FY2028, and the repurchased shares will be cancelled. For FY2025, Singtel declared a core final dividend of S$0.067 and a final VRD of S$0.033, taking the total final dividend to S$0.10. Together with the total interim dividend of S$0.07, Singel will pay out a FY2025 total dividend of S$0.17, higher than the previous fiscal year's S$0.15. Investors should note that FY2025's total dividend comprises S$0.123 in core dividends and S$0.047 of VRD. Meanwhile, management also raised its capital recycling pipeline target from the previous S$6 billion to S$9 billion. The capital raised will be allocated for growth opportunities and may be used to pay down debt. Any excess capital will be returned to shareholders via the VRD (S$0.03 to S$0.06 per year) and share buyback programme. Explore Singapore's top 'evergreen' stocks with our FREE report. It spotlights 7 Singapore blue-chip stocks with solid dividends and growth potential. Click here to download it now to create a flow of dividend income, regardless of market conditions. Follow us on Facebook and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses! Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. The post Singtel Announces a S$2 Billion Share Buyback Programme: 5 Things Investors Should Know appeared first on The Smart Investor.
CNA
22-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Singtel posts full-year net profit of over S$4b
Singtel is allocating S$2 billion to a share buyback scheme. This comes after posting a yearly net profit of over S$4 billion, which is five times more than the previous year. The telco made an exceptional gain of S$1.55 billion, mostly from a partial divestment of its Comcentre building near Somerset. Analysts say its latest performance has put the telco in a strong financial position. Nicolas Ng with more.
Business Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Singtel returns to the black with S$2.8 billion H2 profit on exceptional gain, unveils S$2 billion buyback programme
[SINGAPORE] Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) returned to the black with a net profit of S$2.8 billion for its second half ended March 2025, compared with a net loss of S$1.3 billion for the previous corresponding period. The turnaround came on a net exceptional gain of S$1.51 billion mainly from the partial disposal of its Comcentre property and from the share of Airtel's gains which were partially offset by impairment, regulatory and tax provisions. Singtel also announced on Thursday (May 22) that the group has authorised its first share buyback programme of up to S$2 billion, as part of the company's capital management strategy. Funding for the share buybacks will be underpinned by excess capital from the Group's asset recycling proceeds. In May 2024, Singtel set a mid-term asset recycling target of S$6 billion under its Singtel28 growth plan which it is now raising to S$9 billion. On its H2 performance, Singtel said the net exceptional gain of S$1.51 billion came mainly from the partial disposal of the Comcentre property and share of Airtel's gains. The results translate to a basic earnings per share of S$0.1688, against a loss per share of S$0.0813 previously. Operating revenue for the second half was up at S$7.2 billion from S$7.1 billion in the year-ago period. Singtel's board has proposed a final dividend of S$0.10 per share, consisting of a core dividend of S$0.067 per share and a value realisation dividend of S$0.033 per share. The counter ended Wednesday 1 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$3.85 before the news.
