SingTel

[lonewolf]

There was an article in last Thur (Feb 17 2011) Biz Times that projected Spore Telecom services market to cross US$5 billion this year.

Mobile data expect to jump 21.5% to cross US$777 million in revenue. Fixed data revenue is expected at US$2 billion (up 5%). Revenue from fixed line will drop 0.9% to US$732 million and mobile voice will be flat at US$1.5 billion.

[Ben]

Any Singtel fan here? They announced a 9c final dividend and a 10c special dividend. Together with an interim dividen of 6.8c, total dividend for the year is 25.8c. This work out to an attractive 8% yield based on today price. I am looking forward to receiving this bumper didvidend payment

[corydorus]

I was hoping for a change in Singtel to be more divident based. Will the special divident be a one time event from AIS ?

Cory

[Drizzt]

AIS is a small contributor. Telkomsel and Brathi is big. they are plague with problems but if they get sorted and is able to add 700 mil in cashflow together in the near term that will be great.

FCF yield is around 6.7% based on 3.3 bil

http://www.investmentmoats.com/money-man...stainable/

[piggo]

I used to think singtel's a good dividend stock with nice opportunities for growth from the "emerging markets" but with such generous special dividends do u think that it's a signal that business opportunities are slowly drying up for them?

[Musicwhiz]

I used to think singtel's a good dividend stock with nice opportunities for growth from the "emerging markets" but with such generous special dividends do u think that it's a signal that business opportunities are slowly drying up for them?

Just playing Devil's Advocate here - does this extend to all companies which pay out one-off special dividends too? That their growth prospects are necessarily muted, unclear or non-existent?

Could it be the case of cash piling up that cannot be put to effective use yet (i.e. a timing issue)? And so the case for a special dividend?

[Drizzt]

Both not true. It is an exercise to make people stick with Singtel. They want the flexibility to make growth acquistioms still that's why their div policy is much lower than hr other 2 I feel.

There is 2 special div within 2001 to 2010.

Their growth is actually problematic now. Had the free cf return to us, we would have enjoyed higher returns

[piggo]

I used to think singtel's a good dividend stock with nice opportunities for growth from the "emerging markets" but with such generous special dividends do u think that it's a signal that business opportunities are slowly drying up for them?

Just playing Devil's Advocate here - does this extend to all companies which pay out one-off special dividends too? That their growth prospects are necessarily muted, unclear or non-existent?

Could it be the case of cash piling up that cannot be put to effective use yet (i.e. a timing issue)? And so the case for a special dividend?

Well, the reason why we put money into companies is because we believe that they can grow it better. When they start giving back our money in bulk, it's as good as admitting that there are better opportunities out there at this point in time. Which makes me wonder if such a situation would persist. If it does would other telcos with higher yields and better payout ratio be a better buy?

[Musicwhiz]

Well, the reason why we put money into companies is because we believe that they can grow it better. When they start giving back our money in bulk, it's as good as admitting that there are better opportunities out there at this point in time. Which makes me wonder if such a situation would persist. If it does would other telcos with higher yields and better payout ratio be a better buy?

Hmm, I don't agree 100% with your statement.

While it is true that we invest in a company hoping for growth of the business, hence making it more valuable (which translates to a higher share price), one should also note that investment does contain a yield component, which is the dividend returned to shareholders as part of profit-sharing.

I guess a better way of saying it may be that a Company should strive for the optimal mix of growth cum yield, meaning retaining enough earnings to grow steadily, yet paying off a portion of profits as dividends to reward shareholders and ensure there is some cash flow for them.

If a Company is able to pay out a special dividend, yet retain enough cash for growth and opportunities, then that situation still sits well with me.

Just my 2-cents.

[Ben]

Indonesia's Telkom aims to buy back Singtel's 35% stake in Telkomsel. If the plan materialised, Singtel is set to book a significant one-off exceptional gain. Maybe they will pay out part of the gain as special dividends.

Telkom thinks they will be able to convince Singtel to sell but it was reported that Singtel is not too keen on the proposal. Telkomsel is highly profitable. If Singtel sells, they might not be able to find another investment that offers the same rate of return. But everything has a price, it all depends on how desperate and how sincere Telkom wants control of Telkomsel.