Over 800 Singtel shareholders gathered at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Tuesday (July 29) for the telecom giant’s annual general meeting (AGM), pressing management on concerns surrounding its Australian subsidiary, Optus. The 2.5-hour session saw intense scrutiny of Optus’ operational challenges, including a recent A100million(S83.8 million) penalty for alleged sales misconduct, lagging profitability, and reputational damage from a 2023 nationwide outage.

Despite Optus reporting a 55% year-on-year surge in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for FY2025, investors questioned why its performance still trailed competitors. Singtel acknowledged structural and market-specific hurdles but emphasized Optus’ recovery trajectory, citing cost-cutting measures, competitive pricing, and streamlined product offerings as key drivers.

However, skepticism lingered among shareholders, with one noting that Optus’ revenue and EBIT remained below pre-pandemic levels. Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon admitted that Optus’ EBITDA margin of 27% lagged behind the industry average of 30-33%, signaling potential capital expenditure boosts in network and IT upgrades.

The AGM also revisited Optus’ reputational woes, including the recent penalty for exploiting vulnerable customers with unfair mobile plans. Yuen assured stakeholders of remedial actions, including management reshuffles and stricter oversight of franchise stores.

Additionally, Singtel’s sustainability report revealed Optus accounted for over half of all group-wide staff grievances and whistleblower cases—a disparity attributed to its revenue contribution. CFO Arthur Lang reaffirmed commitments to improving financial metrics, expressing confidence in Optus’ turnaround.

All ten AGM resolutions passed, including a raise in directors’ remuneration to S$4.9 million for FY2026. The meeting underscored shareholder demands for stronger accountability and sustainable growth from Optus amid a challenging market.