News
Revenue, EBITDA inch up as Qatar-based telco group reports 16% increase in customer base.
Ooredoo on Sunday reported that third-quarter net profit fell 51% compared to last year due to foreign exchange losses.
Revenue for the three months to 30 September edged up 2% year-on-year to 8.35 billion riyals (€2.09 billion), and EBITDA increased 3% to QAR3.68 billion.
Net earnings came in at QAR370 million, down from QAR756 million. Analysts polled by Reuters predicted a quarterly profit of QAR499.3 million.
Ooredoo’s customer base saw solid growth, coming in at 133 million compared to 115 million a year ago. The Qatar-based telco said the increase was driven by its operations in Indonesia, Myanmar, Oman, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, the Maldives and Palestine.
"We are successfully implementing our digital strategy and delivering world class infrastructure and innovative products, which helped us increase our customer base by 16%," noted Ooredoo chairman Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saud Al-Thani, in a statement.
Eight out of Ooredoo’s 10 operating units have launched 4G, he added.
At Ooredoo’s closely-watched Myanmar unit, subscribers surged to 8.8 million from 4.8 million a year ago. The company said its mobile network now covers 85% of the population. In the nine months to 30 September, Ooredoo Myanmar narrowed its EBITDA loss to QAR7 million from a year-earlier loss of QAR30 million.
