Service providers in the Middle East are engaged in a bitter fight to protect and even grow their mobile digital services, though the process is taking some rethinking of old assumptions. Etisalat Group has taken a pro-active position in fashioning a digital services paradigm, and other service providers appear to be taking note

Etisalat’s Al Shamsi believes the telecom industry brings a great deal to OTT partnerships, which is something that ought to be acknowledged and rewarded in its interactions with them

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Nawras today reported that it generated the highest ever quarterly revenue in Q412, amounting to OMR51.4 million (US$133.5 million), up 1.2 per cent year-on-year. Growth was supported by fixed and mobile data and international voice revenue partially offset by a drop in SMS.

Full-year revenue came in at OMR193.5 million down 1.7 per cent year-on-year, primarily driven by a reduction in SMS and on net voice revenue, partially offset by growth in both mobile and fixed data revenues.

EBITDA reached OMR26.2 million, down 2.2 per cent year-on-year, and reached OMR94.9 million for the year, down 8.2 per cent year-on-year. EBITDA for 2012 was affected by lower revenue as well as an increase in cost of sales due to increased international minutes.

Net profit for the fourth quarter was OMR10.3 million, down 13.4 per cent year-on-year while for the year it was down 22.1 per cent to OMR37 million. Net profit was affected by lower EBITDA as well as higher depreciation partially offset by lower interest cost.

The fixed service customer base grew by nearly 62.9 per cent to 44,261 in 2012, while the mobile post-paid customer base developed by 3.4 per cent to 179,182, and the mobile prepaid customer base increased by 11.9 per cent from 1.76 million at the end of 2012.

Samsung announced impressive results for the fourth quarter of 2012, while at the same time warning that it is not set for an easy ride in the coming year.

The company’s Mobile Communications (handset) business generated quarterly revenue of KRW27.23 trillion (US$25.3 billion), up 58 per cent year-on-year.

Looking forward Samsung said that “the furious growth spurt seen in the global smartphone market last year is expected to be pacified by intensifying price competition compounded by a slew of new products”.

In the current quarter, demand for smartphones in developed countries is expected to decelerate, although “their emerging counterparts will see their markets escalate with the introduction of more affordable smartphones” throughout the year.

The company is also anticipating continued declines in its feature phone business.

Moving back to Q4, Samsung said its growth was “mainly driven by solid sales of Samsung’s Galaxy SIII and Note II” smartphones, which “beat the popularity of their predecessors with record sales in record time”.

The company noted gains from its “full line-up of entry- to mid-level smartphones, expanded sales of tablet PCS and an increase in average selling price from the previous quarter”.

As usual, the company did not breakout details of its shipment volumes, although figures released by IDC today peg the company at 111.2 million units for the quarter, up 12.3 per cent from 99 million units in the same period of 2011.

The company was the largest global device maker, with market share of 23 per cent, compared with 17.9 per cent for Nokia.

On a group level, Samsung reported a profit of KRW7.04 trillion for Q412, up 76 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of KRW56.06 trillion.

For the full year, it saw a group operating profit of KRW29.05 trillion, on revenue of KRW201.10 trillion.

The government of Mali has granted a mobile operator licence to a consortium, the Planor-Monaco Telecom International Group – making it the third mobile network operator in the country.

Monaco Telecom is the technical partner in the consortium, which operates through the Malian company, Alpha Telecom Mali, which is understood to be controlled by the local businessman, Apollinaire Compaoré, who owns Télécel Faso in Burkina Faso, and is a shareholder in MTN Côte d’Ivoire.

The consortium paid US$105 million for the 15-year licence, which had been expected to be awarded late last year.

The two existing operators are France Telecom-Orange and Maroc Telecom’s Malitel.

Nokia has reported a profit attributable to shareholders of €202 million (US$272 million) for Q412 to the end of December, compared with a prior-year loss of €1.07 billion, on revenue of €8.04 billion, down 20 per cent year-on-year.

In its core Devices & Services unit, the company saw an operating profit of €276 million, up 36 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of €3.85 billion, down 36 per cent.

Its mobile device volume of 86.3 million units was down 24 per cent year-on-year from 113.5 million, due to drop-offs in both its smartphone shipments (6.6 million units, down 66 per cent) and its mass market terminals (79.6 million, down 15 per cent).

At Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), there was a Q4 operating profit of €251 million, up 275 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of €3.99 billion, up five per cent.

For the full year, Nokia Group saw a net loss of €3.11 billion, compared to a prior-year loss of €1.16 billion, on sales of €30.18 billion, down from €38.66 billion.

Devices & Services saw a full year operating loss of €1.1 billion, compared with a prior-year profit of €884 million, on net sales which fell 34 per cent to €15.69 billion.

Mobile device volume for the full year was 335.6 million, down 20 per cent from 417.1 million, with a drop-off of 55 per cent in smartphone shipments (to 35.1 million) and a 12 per cent drop in mass-market terminals (to 300.5 million).

NSN saw a full year operating loss of €799 million, compared with a €300 million loss in the prior year, on sales of €13.78 billion, down two per cent from €14.04 billion.

Nokia’s net cash position improved by €800 million sequentially, of which €650 million was generated by NSN, though it announced it would not be making a dividend payment to investors for 2012 (for the first time in at least 143 years), helping it “ensure strategic flexibility,” and further solidify its “strong liquidity position.”

The company’s guidance for the current quarter was muted, due to the continued competitive environment in the mobile device market, seasonal weakness, and macroeconomic conditions.