Nawras reports record Q4 revenues, but 22% slide in net profit for the year

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.