Group Announces Third Quarter 2014 Profits of BD40.9 Million

29/10/2014 14:23 AST

Batelco Group (Ticker: BATELCO), the international telecommunications Group with operations across 14 countries, today announced its results for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2014 (“the Period”). The net profits, representing a year-on-year increase of 11% and 40% compared to the third quarter of 2013, were positively boosted by strong contributions from the Group’s international operations and the success of cost reductions programmes across the Group, particularly in Bahrain.

For the nine-month period, the Group reported net profit of BD40.9M (US$108.5M) versus BD36.7M (US$97.3M) for the corresponding period of 2013, representing an 11% increase compared to the same period last year. Quarterly net profits also increased by a substantial 40% compared to the third quarter of 2013 and an impressive 53% compared to the previous quarter in 2014. Profits for the period were boosted by the Islands portfolio and cost reduction programmes across the Group, with substantial savings realized in Bahrain. EBITDA for the period was BD111.4M (US$295.5M) representing a margin of 38%, compared to EBITDA of BD88.1M (US$233.7M) and a 32% margin for the corresponding period in 2013. The Group’s gross revenue for the period stood at BD291.9M (US$774.3M) and increased 8% from BD271.2M (US$719.4M) for the same period in 2013. Q3 2014 gross revenues showed a 3% decrease compared to Q3 2013, but remaining steady over the last quarter. Operating profit for the nine-months of 2014 was up by 33% from BD46.5M (US$123.3M) to BD61.9M (US$164.2M). Quarterly operating profits increased 45% over Q3 2013 and 31% over Q2 2014. Batelco continues to reap the benefits of its expanded operations with some stellar performances from the Island portfolio including Sure Channel Islands & Isle of Man and Dhiraagu Maldives.

The Group’s balance sheet remains strong; as of 30 September 2014 net assets were valued at BD574.7M (US$1,524.4M) with cash balances of BD137.3M (US$364.2M). This includes the impact of the interim dividend (10 fils per share) announced and paid during the quarter. Earnings per share for the period stood at 24.6 fils.

Batelco Chairman, Shaikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, announced the results following a meeting of the Board of Directors at Batelco Group Headquarters on Wednesday 29th October, stating, “We are very pleased with our progress over the first nine months of the year which have been marked by consistently strong cash generation and growing customer numbers across the Group.”

“Throughout the period, we remained focused on evolving and diversifying the business and have made great progress in this regard with the delivery of new and enhanced services across our operations.”

“With the on-going focus on improving our competitiveness across all our operations by leveraging on the Group’s combined knowledge base and technical capabilities, we are confident that we can continue to evolve into a more recognisable name internationally while exceeding our promises to customers and meeting our commitment to shareholders,” he added.

Operational Highlights

Batelco Group CEO Alan Whelan stated that across the Group, Batelco continues to execute its strategy very successfully, and this has been demonstrated by improved financial performance and growing customer numbers.

“Innovation in our approach to serving customers is very important as well as the manner in which all our operations are managed. Our success is demonstrated by the overall growth of our subscriber base which has reached over 9.3 million customers, growth of 5% year on year. The majority of our operations performed very well with Bahrain and Umniah in Jordan delivering substantial growth in mobile numbers while Bahrain, Umniah, SURE Channel Islands and Dhiraagu in Maldives were the key contributors to growth of the Broadband customer base.”

Press Release