NetLink NBN Trust beats IPO earnings forecast

Singapore’s NetLink NBN Trust, the network company for Singapore’s next-generation national broadband network (NG-NBN), has beat its post-tax profit targets for the financial period between June 19 and March 31 by 10.8%.

The operator reported a net profit for the period of S$50 million ($37.4 million). This compares to a projection of S$45.1 million included in the prospectus for its S$2.3 billion IPO, which was completed in July last year.

NetLink NBN Trust attributed the higher than expected profit to lower operation and maintenance costs, staff costs and other operating expenses

NetLink NBN Trust reported revenue of S$228.6 million, 1.8% lower than forecast, due mainly to lower installation-related revenue. But this was partly offset by higher than expected recurring residential and non-residential connection revenue.

For the fourth quarter, the operator reported a 6.4% lower than expected profit after tax of S$15.3 million and 4.4% lower than forecast revenue of S$80.7 million.

“Our better-than-forecast earnings reflects the resilience of our business model,” NetLink NBN Trust CEO Tong Yew Heng said.

“The growth in the number of connections for residential, non-residential and segment fiber for the relevant financial period was higher than the forecast.”

As the network company for the NG-NBN, NetLink NBN Trust designs, owns, builds and operates the passive fiber network infrastructure for the network. As of the end of March, the network spanned around 76,000km of fiber cables, 16,200km of ducts and 62,000 manholes.