Kuwait-based telecoms group Zain has published its consolidated financial results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2018, reporting an 28% increase in revenues year-on-year to KWD1.3 billion (USD4.3 billion), while EBITDA increased 25% annually to KWD519 million. Zain disclosed that the positive developments were due to the consolidation of Zain Saudi Arabia, which resulted in Zain recording an additional USD1.1 billion in revenue and USD487 million in EBITDA, offsetting losses of USD216 million in revenues, USD79 million (EBITDA) and USD27 million (net income) due to 47% currency devaluation in Sudan. The company booked a net profit of KWD197 million in the nine months under review, up 23% year-on-year.
In operational terms, Zain Group reported a consolidated customer base of 49 million at 31 December 2018, up 5% y-o-y. In Kuwait subscriber numbers reached 2.6 million (down from 2.7 million in 2017), while Jordan saw its customer base decrease to 3.7 million (down from 3.9 million). Zain Saudi Arabia’s subscriber base stood at 8.1 million at end-2018, down from 8.2 million a year earlier. Zain Iraq, meanwhile, served 16 million users at end-December 2018, with nearly 1.3 million net additions over twelve months.