24/07/2014 01:30 AST
Nawras posted a net profit of OMR18.7 million for the first half of 2014 compared to OMR15.2 million in the same period of 2013 as the telecom operator yesterday announced unaudited financial results for the six months period ending June 30.
The increase in net profit for the year is driven by higher Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation), partially offset by higher depreciation cost due to network modernisation, the company said in a statement.
Total revenues for the first half increased by 10 per cent, and amounted to OMR108.2 million, compared to OMR 98.4 million for the same period last year. The growth is driven by increases in both fixed and mobile data revenues as well as voice revenue offset by decrease in SMS revenue.
The Ebitda for the first half of the year stood at OMR56.7 million, compared to OMR46.6 million for the first six months of 2013. Ebitda growth for the year is driven by higher revenue. The total number of customers grew by 7.7 per cent, to reach 2,472,497 at the end of the first half of 2014 compared to 2,295,722 for the same period of 2013.
The fixed service customer base increased by nearly 13.4 per cent to 64,192 customers from 56,598 customers for the same period of 2013. Year-on-year, mobile post-paid customer base also grew by 2.6 per cent to 190, 531 customers, compared to 185,705. In addition, year to date, mobile pre-paid customer base increased by eight per cent to 2,217,774 customers compared to 2,053,419 customers.
Innovative offers
Commenting on the results, Greg Young, the chief executive officer said, "Nawras was able to grow revenue during the first half despite the ongoing challenges of the competitive environment. Revenue growth was driven by increases in both mobile and fixed."
"In mobile, strong increases in data were achieved, with voice also increasing — both stimulated by our innovative consumer offers. The introduction of Shahry (monthly) post-paid plans with data add-ons and smartphone devices greatly contributed to the take-up of data, as did increased inbound roaming. Voice is increasing , driven by our Mousbak International offers for countries such as for Bangladesh and Pakistan," he added. "In fixed, the positive increase has come largely from B2B. In particular, our government sector revenues had a strong second quarter.
Investment in our network continues to underpin the revenue performance, enabling faster uploads and downloads and better quality of voice. Our turbocharging programming has greatly improved the network experience for customers in the south to Salalah and inland in the governorate of Al Dakhiliyah. We continue to improve our 3G network northwards to Ibri, Dankh and Buraimi. We launched Home Broadband over LTE, and our 4G mobile usage is growing each quarter."
Greg pointed out that the results were proof of the ongoing hard work and dedication of the employees of Nawras.
Times of Oman
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