By P.R. Venkat

Singtel said its fiscal year net profit rose sharply on one-off divestment gains, and announced its first ever share buyback program worth 2 billion Singapore dollars, equivalent to around US$1.55 billion.

Net profit of Singapore's largest mobile network operator for the fiscal year ended March rose to S$4.02 billion, driven by a net exceptional gain of S$1.55 billion from the partial divestment of its Comcentre headquarters, it said Thursday. Net profit was S$795.0 million in the prior fiscal year.

The telecom operator said it would implement a share buyback program as part of its strategy to enhance shareholder value through capital management. The buyback will mainly be financed by the surplus capital generated from the group's asset recycling proceeds.

Last year, Singtel set a mid-term asset recycling target of S$6 billion under its Singtel28 growth plan, which has now increased to S$9 billion.

"The programme, which will be delivered over the course of three years until financial year 2028, involves the purchase of shares in the open market that will subsequently be cancelled," Singtel said.

Revenue in the fiscal year ended March rose marginally by 0.1% to S$14.15 billion.

Singtel also proposed a final, one-tier tax-exempt ordinary dividend of 10.0 Singapore cents per share, totaling a total dividend payout of about S$1.65 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 21, 2025 20:21 ET (00:21 GMT)

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