Kuwait Telecom Company (Viva), the country’s second largest cellco in terms of subscribers, has announced at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that its net profit skyrocketed to KWD40.3 million (USD133.87 million) for the twelve months ended 31 December 2014, up from KWD24.2 million reported in 2013. The operator, which was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in December 2014, reported a 31.0% annual increase in revenues to KWD239.0 million, while EBITDA grew to KWD112.6 million, a 71.6% improvement on the KWD65.6 million booked in 2013. Adel Al-Roumi, Chairman of the Board, said: ‘2014 was a major milestone for the company after it was successfully listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, where investors’ trust in the company was reflected on the share price, which resulted in a return higher than 600% at the inception of the company.’
Viva’s chief executive officer Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Badran added: ‘Viva is now the second largest telecoms operator in terms of revenues with 32% of the total revenues in the Kuwaiti telecoms market in 2014, with a customer base of 2.4 million, and network coverage of more than 99% of Kuwait’s residential areas and other geographically equipped areas.’