Saudi Telecom (STC) blamed rising costs as it posted an 8.7 percent fall in second-quarter profit.

The telco reported a net profit of SAR2.56 billion (US$683 million) in the three months to June 30, stating that general and administrative costs, plus amortisation and depreciation costs, rose by a combined SAR246 million in the second quarter, while taxes and employee retirement payouts together increased SAR178 million.

Quarterly revenue grew 4.3 per cent to SAR12.22 billion.

STC reported falling profits in two of the preceding three quarters, stalling an improvement in its bottom line that had been due to trimming its international ambitions and refocusing on its lucrative home market.

In February, the telecommunications regulator announced it would cut interconnection costs, a move seen helping loss-making number three player Zain Saudi win market share.

Ooredoo posted revenue of QAR 8 billion (US$2.2 billion) in the second quarter of the year, down five per cent year-on-year. The group’s net profits for the period totalled QAR 501 million, a decline of 39% year-on-year.

Ooredoo said that the business during the period was impacted by adverse currency movements and the security situation in Iraq.

The telco ended Q2 with a total 114.2 million subscribers in its global operation, climbing 21 per cent year-on-year. Ooredoo said that the increase in the customer base was chiefly driven by strong performances in Indonesia, Myanmar, and Algeria.

Data represented 34 per cent of the group’s revenue in the first half of the year, up compared to 20 per cent in the first half of 2014. Qatar, Oman, Algeria, and Tunisia were the main drivers for the growth, as Ooredoo rolled out high-speed broadband networks, introduced new pricing and bundles, data offers, and services for its consumer and enterprise customers.

In Qatar, the company ended Q2 with 3.4 million mobile subscribers, up 14 per cent year-on-year. The operation in Qatar accounted for 25 per cent of the group’s overall revenue in the first half of the year.

Zain Group announced its consolidated financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2015.

Active customers served reach 46.3 million as at the end of the period, and for the second quarter of 2015, the company announced generating consolidated revenues of US$940 million (KD 283 million).

EBITDA for the quarter reached US$411 million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 44 per cent. Net income for the quarter reached US$130 million, down 37.7 per cent year-on-year.

For the first six months of 2015, Zain Group generated consolidated revenues of US$1.9 billion, down 15 per cent year-on-year in USD terms (down 10 per cent year-on-year in KD terms). The Group’s consolidated EBITDA for the period amounted to US$806 million, down 14 per cent year-on-year in USD terms (down nine per cent in KD terms). EBITDA margin stood at 43 per cent at the end of the period.

Consolidated net income reached US$269 million, down 34 per cent year-on-year.

Etisalat Group today announced its consolidated financial statements for the three months to end-June 2015, with consolidated revenues for the second quarter amounting to AED13.3 billion (US$3.64 billion), up six per cent year-on-year.

Consolidated EBITDA for the second quarter totalled AED6.8 billion, up 17 per cent year-on-year, and resulting in an EBITDA margin of 51 per cent.

Consolidated net profit after Federal Royalty amounted to AED1.5 billion in the second quarter, down 40 per cent year-on-year, and impacted by share of results from associates and forex losses.

Etisalat explained the decline in net profit after Federal Royalty as being attributable to higher depreciation and amortization charges; the impact of Mobily’s additional provision for accounts receivables, higher net finance costs, incurring forex losses during the period against forex gains in the same period last year, and higher Federal Royalty charges.

Aggregate subscriber base reached 168 million subscribers.

Orange, Fipar-Holding (the Moroccan Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion group), and FinanceCom today signed the final documentation increasing Orange’s interest in Méditel, the Moroccan telecommunications operator, in application of the agreements they signed in December 2010.

Through this transaction, Orange has acquired an additional nine per cent of Méditel’s capital and benefits from the rights set out in the December 2010 agreements. As a result, Orange now holds 49 per cent of Méditel’s share capital. The board of directors of Méditel will now be composed of five members proposed by Orange and four members appointed by the Moroccan shareholders. The company will now be fully consolidated in the financial statements of the Orange Group.

Created in 1999, Méditel opened up the telecoms market in Morocco in both fixed and mobile services. The operator has undertaken massive investments in its networks, which now include over 5,400 km of fibre optic cable, including 870 km in Morocco’s ten largest urban areas. In addition, Méditel will complete the overhaul of its mobile network this year, extending its 3G coverage to 95 per cent of the population. In March 2015, the Moroccan regulator ANRT assigned one of the three 4G licences to the operator. Méditel was the first operator to launch its 4G service, in June 2015.

Méditel counted more than 13 million mobile subscribers, representing a 31 per cent market share at the end of 2014.

The transaction has already received the necessary authorisations from the public authorities and the regulator.