SingTel profit jumps 83% in first half on Indonesia gain

(Reuters) -Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported an 83% rise in half-yearly profit on Thursday, helped by a gain related to regional associate Telkomsel's integration with IndiHome and higher contributions from its other divisions.

Telkomsel, the Indonesian associate of Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm, had agreed to merge with its parent's IndiHome broadband arm in an effort to expand into Indonesia's fixed broadband market.

The deal was expected to complete in the third quarter of 2023. SingTel owns a 29.6% stake in the enlarged integrated mobile and fixed broadband company.

"For Telkomsel, first-time contributions from IndiHome largely offset the impact of SingTel's reduced stake," the company said in a statement. It had earlier a 35% stake in Telkomsel.

SingTel said its net profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was S$2.14 billion ($1.58 billion), compared with S$1.17 billion a year earlier.

The company declared an interim dividend of 5.2 Singapore cents per share, higher than the 4.6 Singapore cents per share declared a year earlier.

($1 = 1.3561 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Archishma Iyer and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Shounak Dasgupta and Subhranshu Sahu)