Oman telco Nawras is celebrating the milestone achievement of serving more than two million mobile customers in the sultanate. The company began commercial operation in March 2005 as a mobile operator employing 250 employees. It has since grown to become a full service provider with approximately 800 staff.

“We are extremely grateful to the more than two million people in Oman who are our valued customers and we thank them for choosing to rely on our innovative mobile service to get closer to their friends and families”, said Ross Cormack, Nawras CEO.

Nawras enjoys a mobile market share of close to 50 per cent, and is preparing to launch an IPO of 40 per cent of its stock next month.

Qtel Group today reported its first half results to end-June, recording a 13.7 per cent increase in revenues year-on-year to stand at QAR13.1 billion (US$3.6 billion).

Net profit attributable to Qtel shareholders at the end of the period stood at QAR1.8 billion, up 12.5 per cent year-on-year. The group’s consolidated customer base stood at 66.6 million at the end of June 2010, up from 51.4 million a year earlier, with its EBITDA performance described as strong, increasing 14.6 per cent to QAR6.3 billion. This resulted in an EBITDA margin of 48 per cent, an improvement of two per cent compared to the first six months of 2009.  

“We are pleased to see the results starting to come through on our in-market strategies. In particular, we continue to enjoy good results in Qatar and see important progress in Kuwait, where decisive efforts to maintain market share are yielding results. Indonesia, Iraq and Algeria continue to demonstrate their growth potential while the roll-out of fixed-line services in Oman also represents an exciting landmark in our development as a group,” commented Nasser Marafih, CEO of the Qtel Group.

Telecom Egypt reported revenues of EGP5.209 billion (US$914 million) for H110, flat year-on-year from EGP5.202 billion a year earlier. Retail revenues for H110 amounted to EGP2.703 billion, a decline of 10 per cent year-on-year, with total access revenues, comprising connections and subscriptions amounting to EGP908 million for the first half, down from EGP1.073 billion a year earlier.

Net profit for the period amounted to EGP1.963 billion, up 12 per cent year-on-year, with consolidated EBITDA amounting to EGP2.763 billion, representing a slight decline of 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

Total voice revenues declined 21 per cent to EGP1.118 billion as the effects of mobile substitution were felt. Revenues from Internet and data, on the other hand, showed an increase of 24 per cent year-on-year during H110, to reach EGP393 million. The majority of this revenue is attributed to Telecom Egypt’s Internet and data subsidiary, TE Data, which added 115,797 ADSL subscribers (net) over the period, bringing the total number to 741,046 as of end-June.

Telecom Egypt’s total wholesale revenues amounted to EGP2.506 billion in H110, up 15 per cent year-on-year.

The telco counted 9.4 million fixed-line subscribers at the end of June, 110,000 higher than at the end of March.

UAE telco Du today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2010.

Highlights for the period included:

• 182,100 net active mobile subscribers added during the quarter, taking the total at quarter end to 3.92 million
• Revenues of AED1.7 billion (US$463 million) achieved, a 30 per cent increase compared to Q209 and an eight per cent increase compared to Q110
• Gross margin grew by 31 per cent year-on-year to AED 1.13 billion and eight per cent quarter-on-quarter
• EBITDA grew 87 per cent compared to Q209 to AED454 million, up 24 per cent quarter-on-quarter. EBITDA margins also improved to 27 per cent in Q210, up from 23 per cent in Q110 and 19 per cent in Q209
• Net profit before royalty more than doubled year-on-year to AED275 million compared to AED115 million in Q209, representing a 42 per cent increase over the previous quarter
• Sustained momentum in post paid active mobile subscriber additions with 29,700 added during the quarter, up 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter, bringing the total to 194,000 or five per cent of the total mobile subscriber base
• 52 per cent growth in Du’s fixed line subscriber base from 328,600 lines in Q209 to 499,900 lines in Q210, with 43,200 lines added during the quarter

Internet VoIP call provider Skype will seek to raise US$100 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, as it looks to diversify and boost its user base and revenue.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week, Skype said it plans to use the money it raises from the IPO for “general business purposes” as it pursues a strategy to grow both its base of free users and paid subscribers, increase its marketing and advertising revenue and expand its services for businesses.

Most of Skype’s revenue currently come from fees its charges for its SkypeOut service, which allows users to make calls outside of the Skype domain to regular phone lines and mobile devices.

In the first half of 2010, Skype increased its net revenue 25 per cent to US$406.1 million from US$324.8 million in the same period in 2009. However, net income dropped to US$13.1 million from US$22.5 million.

Skype, founded in 2003, was acquired by eBay in 2005 for US$2.6 billion. Last November eBay sold 70 per cent of the company for US$1.9 billion in cash and a note from the buyers in the principal amount of US$125 million.

An investor consortium led by Silver Lake and including Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a 56 per cent stake, while Skype co-founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom acquired 14 per cent. The deal put Skype’s value at US$2.75 billion.

As of June 30, Skype had a monthly average of 124 million free users and 8.1 million paying users, up from 91 million free users and 6.6 million paying users respectively in the second quarter of 2009. Total registered users grew from 397 million in 2009’s second quarter to 560 million in 2010’s second quarter.