Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, Singtel, is reportedly expecting to book net exceptional losses of around $1.21 billion in its full-year results. This is mostly attributed to the impairment of assets at its two units that are based in the United States. These units include Trustwave Holdings, a cyber-security firm, and Amobee, a digital advertising platform.
As per Singtel, the company had begun a strategic review for considering alternatives for the two enterprises. These options may comprise restructuring of business or product segments, a partial or full divestment, or business combinations with other market players.
Sources speculate that the net exceptional losses for the second half year will be $839 million. The numbers are subject to finalization given that the statutory audits of Singtel and its subsidiary companies are ongoing, stated the telecom major.
According to Yuen Kuan Moon, the Group Chief Executive at Singtel, the company is open to all types of strategic deals and collaborations comprising inviting investors who possess complementary capacities and can augment the value of the enterprises. Moon further added that cyber security stays core to the group’s strategy and information and communication technology (ICT) offerings. The review will be geared towards ensuring that growth is captured in the Asia Pacific, asserted Moon.
For the record, the move comes amid headwinds that Trustwave and Amobee are facing from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenges in the cyber security and digital marketing industries.
In the opinion of Samba Natarajan, the CEO of Singtel Group Digital Life, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to an almost year-long shrinkage in the advertising expenditure by some of the largest advertisers and agencies of Amobee. Natarajan also expressed that the economy is not the same across all industries, even though it is picking up.
Some of the group’s business at Amobee is heavily leveraged in sectors comprising travel, auto, and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods). This means that these sectors will take longer time for picking up and so the group is disproportionately affected on its enterprise at Amobee, stated Natarajan.
Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singtel-flags-12-billion-exceptional-loss-in-annual-results-starts
