Singtel’s Optus headwinds could trigger near-term risks, warn analysts

[SINGAPORE] A string of crises encountered by Singtel’s Australian unit Optus could derail planned price hikes and increase operational costs, warned analysts.

The cautionary note follows a challenging week for Optus, after an emergency call outage on Sep 18 led to three deaths in Australia.

Adding to its woes was the A$100 million (S$84.6 million) fine it was served by the country’s federal court on Wednesday (Sep 24) for selling phones and contracts to disadvantaged consumers.