Bahraini telecoms group Batelco has announced its financial results for the three months ended 30 September 2022, reporting net profit attributable to equity holders of BHD16.3 million (USD42.9 million), a 4% increase from BHD15.7 million in Q3 2021. Revenues in the period under review rose by 2% to BHD100.6 million, compared with BHD98.2 million a year earlier, while EBITDA slipped by 1% to BHD41.1 million. For the first nine months of 2022, net profit grew by 2% year-on-year to BHD54.1 million, revenues were 1% higher at BHD298.3 million, and EBITDA declined 2% to BHD123.5 million. The group’s international operations contributed 53% of revenues in 9M22 (unchanged y-o-y) and 54% of EBITDA (53% a year earlier).
At 30 September 2022 the group’s total subscription base stood at 4.1 million, compared with 3.9 million twelve months earlier. This figure excludes Sabafon – Batelco’s associate company in Yemen – and Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Atheeb Telecom.
Commenting on the results, Batelco CEO Mikkel Vinter said: ‘Q3 revenues from key international investments were impacted by the currency exchange rate, particularly the weakening British pound, however our team accelerated the efforts in other key business areas including mobile and adjacent services, which led to improved revenue growth for the period.’