Optus parent company Singtel has posted a surge in profit and upgraded its full-year earnings forecast despite ongoing fallout from the Australian telco’s fatal Triple Zero outage.

The Singapore-based group reported a 14% rise in underlying profit to S$1.35 billion (A$1.6 billion) for the six months to September 30, boosted by stronger results from its regional businesses and a 27% jump in Optus earnings before interest and tax to A$283 million.

Singtel chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon (pictured below) said the company was “stepping up efforts to improve Optus’ operational capabilities” after the September 18 outage that left thousands of Australians unable to reach emergency services and was linked to three deaths.

“We will do right by our customers and all Australians,” Mr Yuen said. He confirmed an independent review of the outage is under way and will be made public by the Optus board.

Despite the crisis, Singtel lifted its full-year earnings guidance from “high single digits” to a range between high single and low double-digit growth, citing solid momentum across its regional portfolio.

Including one-off gains from the partial sale of its Airtel stake, Singtel’s net profit soared to S$3.4 billion (A$4 billion).

Optus’ mobile subscriber base edged up to 10.7 million, with growth driven by low-cost brand Amaysim.

The telco, however, still faces a regulatory and political storm.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is investigating the outage, with potential fines of up to $30 million under tougher new emergency services laws.

The federal government has also flagged a review of the telco’s $1.5 billion in government contracts up for renewal next year.

To address system failures, Optus is hiring 300 additional call centre staff in Australia and bringing network monitoring roles back from India after cutting ties with Nokia, which was blamed for “personnel failings” during the outage.

Meanwhile, speculation is growing over the future of Optus’ ownership.

Boost founder Peter Adderton has pushed for an Australian-led buyout and even suggested Elon Musk could enter the frame in a shake-up that could redefine the nation’s telco landscape.