Nawras net profit slips 13% on rising costs

Oman’s second national telecoms operator Nawras Telecom has announced its financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2011, reporting revenue of OMR96.9 million (USD251 million), an increase of 6.3% over the same period of 2010. In a statement to the Muscat Securities Market, the company said sales were driven by contributions from mobile post-paid services, continued growth of home and business broadband and international wholesale services. Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled OMR49.2 million in the first half of 2011, down 3.9% year-on-year due to increased operational and administrative costs, as Nawras continued to roll out its fixed line network. The company, which is 55% owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), said net profit in the six-month period fell 13.3% over the year-ago period to OMR22.1 million, due to higher depreciation expenses from its fixed line business, which was launched in mid-2010. Nawras reported revenue of OMR48.8 million in the three months ended 30 June 2011, an increase of 7% compared to turnover of OMR45.6 million posted in the year-ago period. The company said EBITDA totalled OMR23.6 million in the three-month period, down 2.5% year-on-year, while net profit dropped 13% from OMR11.5 million in 2Q 2010 to OMR10.0 million a year later. At 30 June 2011 Nawras’ fixed line customer base totalled 13,300, while the number of mobile subscribers stood at 1.758 million.