Qatar-based multinational telecoms operator Ooredoo Group has reported consolidated revenue in the second quarter of 2015 of QAR8.005 billion (USD2.196 billion), down 5% year-on-year from QAR8.401 billion. However, it achieved revenue growth in local currency terms in Qatar, Oman, Indonesia, Myanmar, Algeria, Kuwait and the
Maldives, while excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange (FX) in Indonesia, Algeria, and Tunisia, the group’s revenue would have increased by 3%. Consolidated EBITDA fell by 7% year-on-year to QAR3.251 billion in the three months to the end of June 2015, while net profit in the quarter was 39% lower than the same period of 2014, at QAR501 million. Excluding FX impact, group EBITDA would have been in line with the year-ago results and net profit would have decreased by 24%. The fall in profitability was primarily due to the ongoing security and other challenges faced in Iraq. Ooredoo Group’s consolidated customer base jumped by 21%, or over 20 million, in a year to reach 114.2 million at 30 June 2015, driven by strong mobile user base growth in Indonesia, Myanmar and Algeria. Data now constitutes 34% of the group’s revenue (up from 20% a year earlier); Qatar, Oman, Algeria and Tunisia were the main drivers for the data services growth.