Wataniya reports solid 2010 financials

Qtel Group-controlled Wataniya Telecom reported its fourth-quarter and full year results, announcing that its total customer base increased to 16.6 million at the end of Q4 2010, compared to 15.2 million at the same period in 2009.

Revenues for 2010 rose by 13.5 per cent to KD 539.4 million (US$1.9 billion), while net profit fell to KD 78 million, compared to KD 108.3 million in 2009. However, excluding the one-off gain in 2009 which resulted from the positive outcome of the licence fee legal case against Kuwait’s communications ministry, profits grew by 38.8 per cent or KD 21.8 million

Wataniya’s operation in Algeria (Nedjma) increased its revenue by 23.5 per cent and EBITDA increased by 41.8 per cent year-on-year, resulting in its first annual net profit. In Palestine more than 350,000 were counted at the end of the year.

Other metrics included:

• Wataniya Kuwait’s customer base increased to 1.78 million customers at the end of 2010, an increase of 15.7 per cent year-on-year
• The Tunisiana customer base at the end of 2010 stood at 5.93 million customers, up 13.8 per cent
• Nedjma customer base at the end 2010 was 8.25 million customers, up 2.7 per cent
• Saudi Arabia’s Bravo’s customer base stood at 200,000 at the end of 2010, up 8.3 per cent
• Wataniya Maldives total customers at the end of 2010 were 110,000