Omantel 9M net profit down 37% on higher royalty fees

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the Sultanate’s incumbent telecoms operator, has announced its preliminary unaudited financial results for the first nine months of 2017, reporting revenue of OMR406.8 million (USD1.0 billion), an increase of 3.0% from OMR394.8 million in the year-ago period. EBITDA totalled OMR201.7 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2017, down by 2.2% from OMR206.4 million in 9M16, while net profit dropped 37.0% year-on-year to OMR59.9 million. The fall in net profit was predominantly attributed to a rise in royalty rates; effective from 1 January 2017 the Omani government increased the fee payable by telecoms operators from 7% of gross annual revenues to 12%.