Singtel lifts full-year EBIT guidance as H1 profit climbs 10%

Singtel Group raised its full-year operating EBIT growth guidance to mid-to-high single digits after underlying net profit rose 10 percent to S$1.49 billion ($1.16 billion) in the first half of its financial year.

The Singapore telecom, the country's largest mobile operator, announced the upgrade in a statement on Friday. Strip out S$75 million in foreign currency impact, and underlying net profit would have grown 16 percent, the company said.

Where the growth came from

Higher EBIT contributions flowed from three businesses: NCS, Digital InfraCo and Optus — all posting double-digit EBIT growth. Singtel also booked stronger profits from regional associates Airtel and AIS, plus a first-time dividend from Gulf Development.

Operating revenue rose 6 percent to S$7.29 billion. EBITDA climbed 8 percent to S$2.15 billion, while OpCo EBIT gained 9 percent to S$0.90 billion.

Reported net profit told a different story: it fell 55 percent to S$1.54 billion, but only because the year-ago period included S$2.21 billion in exceptional gains from a partial stake sale in Airtel and the Intouch-Gulf Energy merger. The underlying business, not one-off deals, is what moved this half.

"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," said Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group Chief Executive Officer.

What did the data center deal deliver?

In August, Singtel completed its STT GDC acquisition together with KKR, becoming one of the region's top data center platforms. The combined entity — STT GDC plus Singtel's Nxera — holds 950MW of operating capacity.

Demand is running ahead of supply. Singapore capacity at Nxera is completely contracted, Singtel said, and data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia will commence operations by the end of this financial year, pushing operating capacity past 200MW.

Sovereign cloud RE:AI is scaling too, with what Singtel calls a disciplined approach to capacity deployment backed by customer demand. It recently became the first operator in APAC to deploy NVIDIA DGX GB300.

How central is the digital infrastructure pivot?

Increasingly central. Digital InfraCo and NCS now account for roughly 18 percent of Group EBITDA, according to Yuen.

"We have made significant progress in diversifying and shifting the Group towards digital infrastructure and services," Yuen said. "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."

He pointed to strong commercial demand for RE:AI and said Singtel will keep leveraging compute, connectivity and AI services "to capture growth across the AI value chain."

The transformation is executing against Singtel's ST28 growth plan. "This improved performance is the result of executing closely to our ST28 growth plan, reflecting efforts to lift the performance of our businesses and scale new growth engines while maintaining discipline in how we invest and allocate capital," Yuen said.

What happens next?

Singtel raised full-year OpCo EBIT growth guidance from low-to-mid single digits to mid-to-high single digits, and affirmed the rest of its previously issued FY2027 guidance.

Risks remain: an inflationary environment and weakening regional currencies. Singtel said it will meet those headwinds with disciplined execution and cost management.

"Contributions from our regional associates were robust as they delivered broad-based mobile growth which helped offset foreign currency headwinds. We are raising our full-year guidance on the back of this results momentum," Yuen said.

With Singapore's data center capacity sold out and new capacity coming online in Malaysia and Indonesia by year-end, the second half depends on whether the digital infrastructure engines can keep outpacing currency drag.