Omantel Q1 net profit slips 15%

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has announced in a statement on the Oman bourse that its net profit for the first quarter of 2010 fell 15% to OMR32.4 million (USD82.6 million), compared to OMR38.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The company posted revenue of OMR110.6 million for the three months ended 31 March 2010, up 12% against the OMR98.8 million generated in 1Q10. Omantel’s operating expenses climbed 25% year-on-year to OMR75.2 million due to an increase in expenditure to enhance the company’s 3.5G network services, as well as a rise in depreciation. Omantel’s wireless arm, Oman Mobile, recorded a 4.8% year-on-year rise in first-quarter turnover to OMR65.2 million, up from OMR63.3 million a year earlier. During the first quarter of 2010, the cellco completed the installation of 647 3.5G cell sites across the Sultanate. Omantel’s total subscriber base totalled 3.133 million at 31 March 2010 (up from 2.141 million a year), including 1.979 million mobile customers, a rise of 12.1% year-on-year.