SingTel Q1 rises 10.3 pct, below consensus

SINGAPORE Aug 13 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest telco, reported on Thursday a lower-than-expected increase in first-quarter underlying net profit, citing a weaker Australian dollar against the Singapore currency. SingTel, around 55 percent-owned by state investor Temasek [TEM.UL], made underlying net profit excluding goodwill and exceptionals of S$945 million ($654.9 million) in April-June, compared with an average forecast of S$985 million from a Reuters survey of analysts.

The quarterly profit was up 10.3 percent from last year's revised S$857 million, while first-quarter attributable net profit rose 7.7 percent to S$945 million.

Faced with a domestic market of just 4.8 million people where virtually everyone has a mobile phone, SingTel has spent S$18 billion in recent years buying stakes in mobile operators in high-growth Asian countries such as India, Indonesia and in the bigger Australian market. The company, the biggest by market value on the Singapore stock market, derives around three-quarters of its revenue and EBITDA from operations outside the city state. SingTel shares have gained nearly 25 percent so far this year, underperforming a 46 percent rise on the broader Singapore share index .FTSTI. (Reporting by Harry Suhartono, editing by Valerie Lee)