He points out that currency translation losses are something commonly felt by companies with significant overseas exposure but reporting in Singdollar. On a constant currency basis, revenue would have increased by 2% y-o-y instead, he adds. The currency headwinds will continue in the near term as Singapore maintains a strong Singdollar to temper the impact of imported inflationary pressures.
Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) on Nov 9 announced that earnings in 1HFY2024 ended September increased 82.6% y-o-y to $2.14 billion, boosted by an exceptional gain from regional associate Telkomsel’s integration of IndiHome, the largest fixed broadband provider in Indonesia.
While earnings rose because of this one-off item, Singtel’s operating revenue dipped slightly by 3% y-o-y to $7.03 billion due to a stronger Singdollar against regional currencies, which caused a net forex hit of over $300 million. “Our underlying performance was resilient in the first half despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and inflationary pressures,” says group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon at the results briefing on Nov 9.
