Vodafone Qatar has earned a distributable profit of QR152mn in nine months up to December 2014 even as the service provider reduced its net loss to QR150mn, the company announced here yesterday.
The company earned a total revenue of QR1.73bn, up 21% on the same period in the previous year.
The mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) remained at QR125 for the nine-month period, Vodafone Qatar, which also achieved full requirements of Shariah compliance, said.
The company has seen its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) scaling up to QR421mn in nine months up to December 2014, up 22% on the same period in 2013.
Vodafone Qatar’s customer base stood at 1.41mn in December last year, up 11% on December 2013.
The loss per share (lps) has come down to Dh18 in December 2014 compared with Dh25 for the same period last year.
Vodafone Qatar chairman Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani al-Thani said, “The Qatari telecom market has witnessed some major changes in the period, in particular the prepaid segment due to extremely competitive pressure on prices. Despite this challenging trading environment, Vodafone Qatar maintained strong revenue growth by continuing to grow its customer base.
“We intend to invest heavily in our network over the next few months with significant network enhancements, which will result in an improved customer experience and faster Internet speeds to satisfy the burgeoning demand for data.”
Vodafone Qatar said it successfully refinanced $330mn of conventional external borrowings with a Shariah compliant ‘Wakala’ investment agreement.
This transaction has a tenure of five years and will be used for working capital and capital expenditure. The refinancing is unique, being Vodafone Group’s first Shariah compliant inter-company financing.
Vodafone Qatar will be declared fully compliant with Shariah practices throughout its business, including commercial and financial operations with effect from April 1 this year.
Effective January 1, the company has commenced implementation of Shariah rules and practices on all its operations, Vodafone Qatar said.
Business / Business
Vodafone Qatar earns distributable profit of QR152mn in nine months up to December 2014
Sheikh Dr Khalid: Strong revenue growth.
