Etisalat has said it continues to make good progress with its due diligence review relating to its proposal to acquire 51 per cent of the total issued share capital and voting right (excluding shares held in treasury but including all shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of any options) in Zain.

Etisalat reported that its due diligence effort has recently accelerated. The telco added that its discussions with 18 international and regional banks regarding the financing required to complete the proposed transaction continue, and it remains highly confident that it will be able to secure the necessary financing.

The final progress and the results on the transaction are to be presented after the due diligence completion review to Etisalat’s board of directors by the end of February.

Motorola Mobility, the standalone handset division of Motorola, reported a 21 percent rise in its fourth-quarter revenues to US$3.4 billion. Net profits were US$80 million, compared to a loss of US$204 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

For the full year, 2010 net revenues were US$11.5 billion, up four per cent compared to 2009, while the net loss was reduced to US$86 million from US$1.34 billion in 2009.

The company generated positive operating cash flow of US$225 million and US$606 million in the quarter and full year, respectively. As planned, subsequent to the end of the quarter, the company received US$3.2 billion in cash related to its separation from Motorola.

"The improvement in our financial results last year, including profitability in the fourth quarter, is indicative of the progress we have made in delivering innovative smartphones and improving the Mobile Devices business," said Sanjay Jha, chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility. "With the global opportunities ahead, along with our diversified portfolio, our brand, and our people, we are well positioned to grow, and further improve our financial results in 2011."

Jha says, "With the global opportunities ahead, along with our diversified portfolio, our brand, and our people, we are well positioned to grow, and further improve our financial results in 2011"

Mobile Devices segment net revenues in the fourth quarter were US$2.4 billion, up 33 per cent compared with the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating earnings were US$72 million compared to an operating loss of US$166 million in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2010, net revenues were US$7.8 billion, an increase of nine per cent compared to 2009. The 2010 GAAP operating loss was reduced to US$76 million from an operating loss of US$1.2 billion in 2009.

The company shipped 4.9 million and 13.7 million smartphones in the quarter and full year, respectively, compared to two million in the fourth quarter 2009. Motorola shipped total handsets (including smartphones) of 11.3 million and 37.3 million in the quarter and full year 2010, respectively.

Home segment net revenues in the fourth quarter were US$1 billion, up one per cent compared with the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating earnings were US$54 million, compared to an operating loss of US$30 million in the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2010, net revenues were US$3.6 billion, compared to US$3.9 billion in 2009.

Motorola Mobility expects to make a net loss of between US$26 – US$62 million in the quarter, although consolidated operating earnings should roughly breakeven.

Omani telco Nawras announced its first full-year unaudited financial results since its IPO in November 2010, for the year ended December 31, 2010. The results showed revenue growth of 10 per cent to OMR 188.9 million (US$491 million) compared to OMR 171.6 million in 2009. EBITDA grew 17 per cent to OMR 102.5 million, while net profit increased 20 per cent to OMR 50 million. 2010 also saw the successful launch of the fixed service business and the international gateway.

The telco also reported that its consolidated customer base stood at over two million at the end of 2010.

Huawei Technologies has asked a US District Court to prevent Motorola from illegally transferring Huawei’s intellectual property (IP) to Nokia Siemens Networks (“NSN”). Huawei took this action as NSN seeks to complete its US$1.2 billion acquisition of Motorola’s wireless network business.

Since 2000, Huawei and Motorola have had a cooperative relationship in the radio access network and core network businesses, where Motorola has resold Huawei wireless network products to customers under the Motorola name. During this period, Motorola was provided with products and confidential Huawei IP developed by Huawei’s team of more than 10,000 engineers.

Since the July 2010 announcement by NSN of its purchase of Motorola’s wireless network business, Huawei has tried to ensure that Motorola does not transfer this confidential information to NSN. Motorola, however, has not responded with assurances that it will prevent disclosure of that information to NSN. If Huawei’s proprietary commercial property and information is transferred to a third party, Huawei will suffer irreparable commercial damage.

Motorola’s failure to adopt measures sufficient to ensure that Huawei’s proprietary information remains confidential has compelled the company to file for the appropriate legal protection of its rights.

Batelco reported gross revenues in 2010 stood at BD340.3 million (US$902.7 million), with net profit amounting to BD86.8 million, a 17.4 per cent decline year-on-year.

While the Batelco Group ended 2010 with a customer base of 9.2 million subscribers across its seven operating markets, its annual financial results were affected by the decline of market share in Bahrain and by its share of expected losses for its start-up operation S Tel (India), which has just completed its first full year of operation.

The board of directors is to recommend a full-year cash dividend of BD64.8 million, which represents the equivalent of 45 per cent of the paid-up capital – at a value of 45 fils per share.

Kaliaropoulos says that acquisitions remain high on the company’s agenda for 2011

“In spite of tremendous growth in customer numbers group-wide and strong results from our subsidiary Umniah, we continue to be impacted in Bahrain by increasing competition and regulatory decisions that limited Batelco’s growth in a heavily saturated market,” commented Batelco chairman Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

Bahrain was the only market where Batelco experienced a reduction of customers for mobile and fixed broadband services in 2010 over 2009. The telco said the decreasing numbers of customers and TRA’s non approval of certain pricing in broadband services limits Batelco’s ability to effectively compete, which contributed to reduced revenues and operating profits.

“Our operating profit for 2010 of BD106.5 million declined by 4.7 per cent compared to the previous year. Whilst Batelco Bahrain’s operating profit was lower, stronger year-on-year results from Umniah reduced the overall decline in operating profit,” explained Batelco Group CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos.

“At a group level, factors that further impacted our net profit included our share of S Tel’s first year losses and the end of Sabafon’s investment tax exemption in Yemen, a total of BD13 million adverse impact,” Kaliaropoulos added.

The total number of customers across all of Batelco’s operations grew by 67.1 per cent over 2009, with numbers in excess of 9.2 million end-2010.

At the end of 2010 Batelco Bahrain’s customer base stood at 770,000 mobile customers (6.3 per cent lower than 2009), 88,500 broadband customers (4.5 per cent growth) and 185,000 fixed lines, a decline of 7.4 per cent compared to 2009.

Batelco Group’s total mobile base stood at over 8.8 million with just under 250,000 broadband customers.

Umniah, Batelco’s 96 per cent owned subsidiary in Jordan, continued to demonstrate its strength and popularity in the Jordanian market with a mobile customer base of 2.1 million and 19,000 broadband customers, increases of 31.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent year-on-year respectively.

Sabafon, in which Batelco holds a 26.94 per cent equity investment ended the year with over 3.6 million customers, up 40.2 per cent year-on-year.

In Saudi Arabia, where Batelco holds a 15 per cent equity stake in Etihad Atheeb, the number of broadband customers grew 100 per cent to 104,000 in 2010.

Customer numbers at S Tel India, in which Batelco holds 42.7 per cent equity, have also significantly increased. S Tel now operates in Bihar, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East and boasts a network of 3,500 base stations. During the first full year of operation the customer base has grown to over 2.3 million, representing quarter of the Batelco’s customer base. S Tel is now in the process of rolling out services in its final circle Jammu & Kashmir.

Kaliaropoulos said that acquisitions remain high on the company’s agenda for 2011.

“We had hoped to increase our footprint in 2010 but the right opportunity did not materialise. To realise further growth and diversify our revenues, we need to increase our scale and invest in companies that are already established but still offer growth in their markets or in new start ups ready to launch. Acquiring new licences is not an option that we are considering,” Kaliaropoulos said.