Omantel expands in 1H

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has announced a net profit of OMR42.9 million (USD111.8 million) for the first half of 2006, up 9.7% from OMR39.1 million in 1H 2005, on revenues that rose by 20.5% year-on-year to OMR157.6 million. The company attributed the growth to expansion across all its business areas, leading to a 19.9% increase in operating costs. Omantel’s total number of subscribers rose by 23.5% to 1.541 million by the end of June 2006 compared with 1.248 million a year earlier. Wireless arm Oman Mobile’s subscribers hit 1.17 million at the end of the period, up from 909,000 at end-June 2005, as mobile revenues rose by 25% year-on-year to OMR112.8 million.