SingTel Q1 net profit up 3.2 pct, free cash flow falls

SINGAPORE Aug 14 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications , Southeast Asia's biggest telephone company, on Tuesday posted a 3.2 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by larger one-time gains and as higher earnings from Thailand and Indonesia offset a drop in contributions from India's Bharti Airtel.

SingTel earned S$945 million ($758.79 million) in its fiscal first quarter ended June, up from S$916 million a year ago. The earnings beat the average estimate of S$923 million of four analysts polled by Reuters.

SingTel's core net profit, which excludes one-time gains, fell 2.6 percent to S$850 million from S$873 million a year earlier.

Free cash flow declined 21 percent to S$725 million mainly from working capital changes and lower cash flow from Australian unit Optus, the Singapore telecom firm said in a statement.

SingTel owns Australia's No.2 telco, Optus, and holds large stakes in several regional mobile phone operators including Bharti, Indonesia's Telkomsel, Thailand's Advanced Info Service Pcl and Globe Telecom of the Philippines. ($1 = 1.2454 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Matt Driskill)