STC’s Q4 results hit hard by Cell C and Aircel write-downs

Saudi Telecom (STC) has posted a sharp fall in its fourth-quarter profits as the company was negatively impacted by write-downs of overseas subsidiaries and a one-off tax charge.

The company posted a net profit for the quarter that was down by 80 per cent to SAR468 million (US$124 million), compared to SAR2.28 billion (US$608 million) a year ago.

The company took one-time write downs of SAR641 million on its investments in South Africa’s Cell C and India’s Aircel. The company was also hit by a SAR544 million charge for deferred taxes at Aircel.

Excluding the write-downs, profits would have risen by 10 per cent.

For the full year, the company reported revenues rose by 6.7 per cent to SAR59.4 billion, while net profits fell by 4.9 per cent to SR7.35 billion.