Omani telecoms operator Nawras, which is majority owned by Qatar’s Ooredoo, has reported revenue of OMR52.7 million (USD136.5 million) for the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 9.4% from OMR48.2 million in the year-ago period. Growth was mainly driven by rises in both fixed and mobile data turnover, as well as international voice revenue, which offset a decrease in SMS revenue. EBITDA for Q1 2014 totalled OMR26.6 million, up by 15.7% compared with OMR23.0 million in the year-ago quarter, while net profit rose 14.3% from OMR7.7 million in the first three months of 2013 to OMR8.8 million twelve months later.
The total number of customers grew by 8.9% year-on-year to 2.433 million at 31 March 2014, including a 27.5% rise in fixed service customers to 65,728. The mobile post-paid customer base grew by 4.1% from 182,090 in Q1 2013 to 189,554 a year later, while pre-paid mobile subscribers increased by 8.8% to 2.177 million as at end-March 2014 compared to 2.001 million a year earlier. ‘Our strong quarter-on-quarter results are bolstered by the confidence of our customers in the strength of our ongoing network modernisation programme, which continues to enhance the customer experience,’ commented Nawras CEO Greg Young, adding: ‘Careful management and optimisation of costs has contributed to the improving EBITDA result. The recent segmentation to focus on different customer requirements has also helped us to provide the plans and bundles that both consumers and businesses need. Our ‘Turbocharging’ programme will continue during 2014, bringing world class telecommunications services to more and more areas of the country and bringing the latest technology, value and innovative products and services to our customers.’