Singapore Telecommunications said Wednesday net profit fell 12.1 percent for the second quarter as regional income was hit by a strong local currency and rollout costs for the launch of Apple's iPhone.
For the three months to September, net profit came to 868 million Singapore dollars (586 million US), down from 988 million dollars in the same period last year.
The result beat a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts who predicted an average net profit of 859.8 million dollars for the quarter.
Operating revenues totalled 3.89 billion dollars, up 5.3 percent from 3.69 billion dollars last year, said SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecoms company.
In the half-year to September, net profit fell 8.8 percent year-on-year to 1.75 billion dollars while operating revenues were 5.6 percent stronger at 7.67 billion dollars, the company said.
"Our expansion in the region subjects us to the volatility of the regional currencies," said SingTel's group chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong.