Robust earnings growth in the domestic market and Oman helped Ooredoo report a consolidated net profit of QR1bn in the first six months of this year.
Ooredoo Qatar’s net profit rose 25% to QR1.14bn on a 14% expansion in revenues to QR4bn and 14% in customer base to 3.4mn.
However, consolidated net profit fell 41% on a 3% fall in revenue to QR16.04bn; even as customer base grew 21% to 114.2mn.
Overall performance was “negatively” impacted by adverse currency movements and the security situation in Iraq, Ooredoo said, adding excluding the negative foreign exchange impact in Indonesia, Algeria, and Tunisia, group revenue would have increased by 3% and group net profit would have decreased by 24%.
“Ooredoo has shown strong growth in its customer numbers reaching over 114mn customers during the first half of the year,” Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, chairman of Ooredoo, said.
Data revenue grew by 64% compared to the first half of 2014, and now delivers 34% of the group’s total revenue.
“Our group revenues and Ebitda reached QR16bn and QR6.5bn respectively in the period. We have seen revenue grow in local currency terms in Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait and Oman,” according to Dr Nasser Marafih, Group chief executive.
Ooredoo Oman’s net profit grew 18% to QR210mn. Revenue rose 12% to QR1.19bn on continued investments and robust growth in both mobile and fixed data.
Ebitda increased by 19% to QR648mn driven by revenue growth. Customers grew 11% to 2.8mn with significant increase in mobile post-paid customers (6%) and mobile pre-paid customers (12%).
However, Ooredoo Kuwait’s net profit fell 8% to QR55mn; while revenues rose 2% to QR1.11bn and customers by 8% to 2.5mn. Ebitda was up 6% to QR250mn.
Asiacell Iraq registered a 90% plunge in net profit to QR63mn as revenues declined 24% to QR2.46bn and customer base stood at 11mn. Ebitda fell 33% to QR1.03bn.
Ooredoo Algeria’s net profit plummeted 90% to QR40mn as revenue declined 13% to QR2.06bn; even as customer base expanded 21% to 13.2mn. Excluding the losses caused by an 18% depreciation of the Algerian dinar, net profit would have been QR215mn.
Ooredoo Tunisia’s customer base was 7.3mn at the end of first half of 2015. Net profit tanked 43% to QR105mn.
Impacted by a 17% depreciation of the Tunisian dinar and challenging economic conditions, revenues fell 23% to QR920mn and Ebitda by 27% to QR412mn.
Indosat grew its customer base 24% to 68.5mn. Adverse currency movements led it to book net loss of QR188mn compared with net profit of QR99mn in year-ago period. Excluding the foreign exchange impact, Indosat would have recorded a net profit of QR49mn. Ebitda fell 4% to QR1.6bn.
Ooredoo Myanmar, whose operations started in August 2014, generated QR510mn revenue and delivered strong positive Ebitda. By the end of June 30, 2015, it had 4.3mn mobile customers.