Batelco reports story of declining top- and bottom-line results

Batelco Group today announced its results for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2011, which the telco described as being marked by growth and diversification of the its customer and revenue base from across the seven markets in which it operates.

Gross revenue for the period came in at BD245.5 million (US$651 million), down four per cent from the BD256.1 million reported over the same period in 2010. EBITDA for the nine months stood at BD93 million, down 16 per cent year-on-year.

Consolidated net income came in at BD56.5 million, down 14 per cent year-on-year, with the group subscriber base surpassing 11 million, an increase of eight per cent and 41 per cent quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, respectively.

37 per cent of revenues and 29 per cent of operating profit were sourced from markets outside Bahrain during the nine months to end-September.

Gross revenue specifically for Q311 amounted to BD82.3 million, down four per cent year-on-year, while net revenue was down by seven per cent to BD 60.3 million.

Batelco Group thus reported an operating profit of BD18.9 million for Q311, down 29 per cent year-on-year. EBITDA for the three months to end-September amounted to BD28.3 million, down 22 per cent from the year earlier.

Batelco reported it is free of debt and as of September 30 had substantial cash and bank balances of BD86.8 million reflecting a 65 per cent increase over the same period last year.

“Since the end of Q2, we have added more than 800,000 new subscribers to our customer base, which now exceeds 11 million across the MENA region and India,” commented Batelco chairman, Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. “This increase underscores the ongoing growth of our business and the strength of our offering despite a year-over-year decline in the group’s revenues and profitability.”