Telecom firms upbeat on revenue after nine-month results

Muscat: Telecommunication companies operating in the Sultanate are optimistic about the future of the sector and the expected revenue in the coming years due to the good results posted in the first nine months of 2018.
The unaudited financial statements of the Oman Telecommunications Company "Omantel" and the Omani-Qatari Telecommunications Company "Ooredoo" showed a positive performance. Omantel's revenues during the first nine months of 2018 increased to OMR1.5 billion—including revenues from Zain Group of Kuwait in which Omantel owns a controlling share of 21.9 per cent—compared to OMR406.7 million during the corresponding period in 2017.
The mother company's revenues declined marginally from OMR403.9 million to OMR401.2 million. Omantel's net profits showed a remarkable growth to hit OMR184.3 million compared to OMR64.2 million during the corresponding period last year. The mother company's net revenues declined by 21.5 per cent to register OMR46.3 million compared to OMR59 million during the corresponding period last year.
The revenues of Ooredoo increased from OMR204.3 million to OMR211.9 million. The net profits also rose by 16 per cent to OMR26.8 million compared to OMR23.1 million during the same period last year.
Omantel's customer base—exclusive of resale companies affiliated to Omantel—as of September 2018 declined by 3.3 per cent to 3.4 million subscribers compared to 3.5 million subscribers in September 2017. The Ooredoo customer base also decreased from 3 million to 2.9 million subscribers.
The company attributed this decrease to standardising the welcome pack by operators as per the instructions of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA). The figures published by Ooredoo pointed out that the number of fixed telephone subscribers increased by 28.8 per cent to more than 140,000 compared to 108,000 as of September 2017. The number of postpaid mobile subscribers increased by 4.1 per cent to 233,000 compared to a drop by 5.7 per cent in the prepaid mobile subscribers to 2.5 million subscribers.
Omantel said that the share of its mobile communication network, including the resale companies, is some 58.2 per cent, and that its share of revenues stood at 58.3 per cent. The company's share of prepaid and postpaid fixed telephone stood at 74 per cent and its share of revenues is estimated at 81.9 per cent.
The company said in its report that it is committed to investing in the network and that it has expanded its 4G network coverage to 94 per cent of the population.
The market value of Omantel as of November 2018 declined by OMR279.7 million to reach OMR624 million, as the share price decreased from OMR1.205 as of the end of December 2017 to OMR0.832 as of the end of November 2018. On the contrary, the market value of Ooredoo increased by OMR27.3 million to hit OMR369.7 million, as the company's shares increased by 42 baisas to 568 baisas.