Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo has posted Q1 2018 consolidated revenue of QAR7.763 billion (USD2.119 billion), down by 3% year-on-year, highlighting strong revenue contributions from Iraq, Kuwait, Tunisia, Palestinian Territory and Myanmar offset by downward sales pressure in Indonesia and Algeria. Group EBITDA dropped 11% y-o-y to QAR3.049 billion in the three months to 31 March 2018, and quarterly net profit attributable to Ooredoo shareholders decreased by 17% to QAR486 million, as ‘positive performance in Iraq and Myanmar was offset by market challenges in Indonesia and Algeria’, Ooredoo’s report added. Data service revenue from consumer and enterprise customers was reported as QAR3.3 billion in 1Q18, or around 43% of group turnover, compared to over QAR3.4 billion (also roughly 43% of total sales) in 1Q17.
Ooredoo’s consolidated customer base increased by 1% y-o-y to more than 150.5 million across ten markets at the end of March 2018, driven by strong mobile take-up in Iraq, Tunisia, Maldives and Palestinian Territory. Domestically, Ooredoo Qatar reported revenue of QAR2.0 billion and EBITDA of QAR955 million for Q1 2018, roughly flat compared to QAR2.0 billion/QAR1.0 billion twelve months earlier, as lower mobile voice and roaming revenues were partially offset by sales of Ooredoo TV (fibre IPTV) and devices. Qatari total customers (mobile and fixed) decreased to 3.3 million from 3.5 million a year previously, following a ‘concerted effort’ to remove inactive mobile SIM accounts.