Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), which last week slashed 27 months of profits, swung to a second-quarter net loss yesterday that missed forecasts as it took provisions relating to a dispute with rival telecom operator Zain Saudi.
Mobily, an affiliate of the UAE’s Etisalat, made a net loss of 900.9mn riyals ($240.2mn) in the three months to June 30, it said in a bourse statement.
This compares with a profit of 92.5mn riyals in the prior-year period.
Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast that Mobily, which competes with the Gulf’s No 1 operator Saudi Telecom Co and Zain Saudi, would make a quarterly loss of 633mn riyals.
Mobily said the quarterly loss was largely due to it taking an additional provision of 800mn riyals relating to claims against Zain Saudi. This dispute is in arbitration.
In the second quarter, Mobily also paid additional taxes and its depreciation costs rose. Combined, these totalled 126mn riyals.
The firm’s revenue for the three months to June 30 was 3.57bn riyals, which is flat year-on-year.
Last Thursday, Mobily restated its results for the 27 months to March 31, slashing total profits over the period by nearly 1.76bn riyals in its latest attempt to resolve an accounting scandal.
The company had attributed its woes to the premature booking of revenue from wholesale broadband leases and mobile promotional campaigns and it has also made further changes to the way it accounts for some contracts and the depreciation of property and equipment.
Mobily’s shares have been suspended since June pending its response to a regulator investigation. Shares will resume trading on Riyadh’s bourse today, the stock market regulator said in a statement.
The stock is down 58% since the accounting scandal broke, wiping about $9.4bn off the company’s value.
Mobily’s earnings restatements have also put it in breach of loan covenants and it remains in talks with lenders to agree new terms on its outstanding borrowings, it said in Sunday’s bourse statement.
The company’s net debt as of June 30 was 14.96bn riyals, down slightly from 15.03bn riyals at 2014-end. It said it serviced all its debt obligations for the first half of 2015.

Kingdom Holding
Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 12.6% rise in second-quarter net profit yesterday as its income increased and costs fell.
Kingdom has minority stakes in some of the world’s most high profile companies including Citigroup and Twitter.
Kingdom made a net profit of 238.3mn riyals ($63.6mn) in the three months to June 30, up from 211.7mn riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
It attributed the profit rise to higher income from its associates and joint ventures and lower general and administrative expenses and finance charges.
Kingdom’s statement did not elaborate. Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in each reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.
The hotel unit of Kingdom sold its 50% stake in Four Seasons Resort Mauritius to its joint-venture partner Sun Resorts, Kingdom said in June without disclosing the value of the deal.
That month, a group of French companies led by a state-backed fund agreed to invest $150mn in Kingdom, the first foreign direct investment in the company since Saudi Arabia opened up its bourse to foreign investors.

Viva Kuwait
Mobile operator Viva Kuwait reported an 8% rise in second-quarter profit yesterday.
The firm, an affiliate of Saudi Telecom, the Gulf’s No1 telecom operator by market value, made a net profit of 11.22mn dinars ($37.05mn) in the three months to June 30, up from 10.41mn dinars a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.
Second-quarter revenue was 67.87mn dinars, against 58.11mn dinars a year ago.

Housing Bank
Jordan’s Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, the country’s second largest lender, said yesterday its first-half net profit was $86.9mn, hardly changed from $86.2mn a year earlier.
The bank said assets stood at $11bn at end of June, up 3.3% from the end of 2014. The bank’s main shareholder is Qatar National Bank, with a stake of over 35%.
“The results reflect the bank’s prudent policies,” said chairman Michel Marto without elaborating. He said customer deposits rose 6.7% to $8.2bn compared to the end of last year.
The bank’s total capital adequacy ratio reached 17.8% at the end of June, well above the regulatory standard of 12%, the bank said.
The bank, which is one of the largest foreign banks operating in Syria, said its operations there were performing well despite the unrest. It gave no further details.