Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the Sultanate’s incumbent telecoms operator, has reported revenues of OMR462.9 million (USD1.2 billion) for full-year 2013, an increase of almost 1% from OMR458.9 million in the previous year. Growth was mainly driven by strong domestic retail and wholesale businesses revenues, with total turnover from Oman up 4.4% year-on-year to OMR450.7 million in 2013. Net profit was OMR119.3 million for the twelve-month period, up 2.6% from OMR116.2 million in 2012, while total group expenses rose 2.2% to OMR341.1 million from OMR333.9 million over the same period.
Commenting on the results, Omantel CEO Amer Awadh Al Rawas said: ‘We are pleased with the results Omantel has achieved during 2013 which reflects our commitment to shareholders to maintain a sustainable growth for the company… During the year, we have been able to expand our customer base, increase our revenues and grow the net profit despite challenging market conditions and the increasing fierce competition in the local market as well as from the global over the top players.’ He added that the number of 4G LTE base stations reached more than 470 by end of the year, while improvements to the company’s 3.5G network have also been made, following the allocation of more spectrum by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).