Aug 21 Reuters Singapore Telecommunications reported on Monday a 23 decline in firstquarter net profit, citing the oneoff impact at Bharti Airtel in Nigeria as the naira depreciated sharply against the U.S. dollar, as well as high costs.

Singapore Telecommunications SingTel, Southeast Asia39;s largest telecoms company, owns an effective 29.5 stake in India39;s Bharti Airtel.

SingTel said in a statement net profit for the quarter ended June 30 was S483 million 355.91 million, compared with S628 million a year earlier.

In the three months ending June 30, SingTel logged a net exceptional loss of S88 million owing to a sharp depreciation in the Nigerian naira, compared with an exception gain of S129 million a year ago.

On an underlying basis, net profit for the quarter gained 14.5 to S571 million.

SingTel also recorded a 2.7 decline in its firstquarter operating revenue to S3.49 billion, hurt by currency exchange headwinds and competition.

While we saw better performances and higher contributions from our regional associates as market dynamics improved, increased competition and continued declines in legacy services impacted our core telco business in Singapore and Australia, SingTel39;s Chief Executive Officer Yuen Kuan Moon said.

Optus, SingTel39;s top revenuegenerating unit, saw an uptick in operating revenue during the quarter, but higher costs due to inflation and energy expenses cut into its operating earnings, which fell 5.5 to S456 million.

1 1.3571…