SingTel's net profit shrank 9.6 percent on year to Sg$902 million ($719 million) for the three months ended in December, according to a statement from Southeast Asia's largest telecommuncations firm by revenue. Group revenue in the period rose 3.0 percent to Sg$4.83 billion, it said. The quarterly fall in net profit is Singtel's fourth consecutive slump and comes despite an uptake in mobile customers in Singapore. "The strong gain in mobile customers in Singapore during the quarter led to higher acquisition and retention costs," the statement said. SingTel added 61,000 mobile customers in Singapore in the quarter, cementing its top position in the local market with a market share of 45.8 percent. However, the company's overall profit was hit as "contributions from the regional mobile associates declined due to their weaker currencies and 3G losses from Bharti India," the statement said. "In Singapore dollar terms, pre-tax earnings of the regional mobile associates fell 8.0 percent to Sg$449 million, and in constant currency, it would have declined 3.0 percent." Bharti Airtel in particular was hit by 3G rollout costs and higher finance charges, with pre-tax profit diving 30.0 percent on year to Sg$128 million. Analysts voiced concern over Bharti's negative impact on SingTel. "(SingTel's) acquisition of Bharti could be a millstone around its neck as it continues to drag on the telco's profits," IG Markets said in a report. Singtel has a 32.3 percent stake in Bharti Airtel, in addition to stakes in Thailand's Advanced Info Service, Globe Telecom of the Philippines, Indonesia's Telkomsel, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited and Warid Telecom in Pakistan. Singtel's wholly-owned Australia unit Optus generated third-quarter net profit of Aus$177 million ($190 million), up 4.0 percent from a year ago.