Oman Telecommunications Co., the country's biggest telecom
operator, said Tuesday that fourth-quarter net rose 10% on the year to 30
million Omani rials ($78 million), as the telco's Pakistani unit began to make
a profit.
The fourth-quarter net profit exceeded the OMR26.60 million
that analysts at Muscat-based Gulf Baader Capital Markets had penciled in.
Omantel's fourth-quarter net profit stood at OMR27.3 million
in the same period a year ago, Omantel said in a statement. Revenue in the
fourth quarter of 2011 increased to OMR119.5 million, compared with OMR100.8
million a year earlier, Omantel added.
"The strategic plan to bring our subsidiary in Pakistan,
WorldCall, to profit has been fruitful," Omantel Chief Executive Amer
Awadh Al Rawas said in the statement. "The company [WorldCall] has been
able not only to reach the break-even point but also to make profit of $3.4
million despite the tough market conditions in Pakistan."
Omantel acquired WorldCall in 2008, but since its acquisition
the unit has been hit by local competition and an uncertain political
environment.
Omantel said its total subscribers rose 6% on the year to
3.530 million subscribers by the end of 2011. Omantel Mobile, the company's
mobile business arm, has increased its subscribers by about 7% with the number
reaching 2.28 million.
Nawras is Omantel's main competitor in the local market.
Omantel said that its 3.5G network investments caused mobile and fixed
broadband customers to increase by 51% and 16% on the year, respectively, by
the end of December 2011.(C) Total Telecom
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