Singapore - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) on Wednesday said net profit for the second quarter of its fiscal year rose 10.1 per cent from a year ago, led by robust performance in its markets in Singapore and Australia.

Net profit for the second quarter ending September 30 reached 956 million Singapore dollars (688 million US dollars), up from 868 Singapore dollars a year earlier, SingTel said in a statement.

In the second quarter, South-East Asia's biggest telecommunications company posted group revenue of 4.1 billion Singapore dollars, a growth of 5.4 per cent year-on-year from 3.89 billion Singapore dollars.

"Our strong financial results were achieved amid a cautious economic climate and despite the negative currency impact," SingTel chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong said.

On Tuesday, SingTel reported that its mobile customer base in the Asia-Pacific expanded to more than 273 million by the end of September, up 57 million, or 26 per cent, from a year ago.

SingTel has six regional mobile associates - India's Bharti, Indonesia's Telkomsel, Globe in the Philippines, Advanced Info Service in Thailand, Pakistan's Warid and Pacific Bangladesh - and a wholly-owned business unit, Optus, in Australia. (dpa)