Ooredoo Group has posted a nine-month net profit of QR1.8bn, up 4% on the same period last year, which the telecom major said was driven by strong contributions from its operations in Qatar, Oman, Indonesia, Algeria and Maldives.
Group customer base increased by 16% to reach almost 133mn led by strong growth in Indonesia, Myanmar, Oman, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Maldives and Palestine.  
Ooredoo said it continues to be a data leader in its markets: First telecom provider to launch 4G services in Myanmar (May 2016), 4G rollout started in Algeria (post period October 2016). The 4G networks are now available in 8 of Ooredoo’s 10 markets.
Ooredoo Qatar nine-month results (up to September) showed a slight improvement over last year. Revenue stood at QR6bn (+1%), EBITDA was QR3.1bn (flat) and net profit was QR1.6bn (+2%). Customer numbers reached 3.4mn in Qatar, a decrease of 1% over 2015.
Ooredoo boosted international connectivity during the period, successfully completing the landing of the new high capacity Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) subsea cable system in August 2016, to provide customers with access to new, high-speed global routing, and faster, more reliable bandwidth.
In addition, the company continued to invest and enhance the Qatar Data Centre, which is set to celebrate ten years of operation at the end of the year. The centre provides customers with access to more than 30 data centres in nine countries through strategic partnerships.
On the results, Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani said, “Ooredoo has produced good results for the past nine months, delivering healthy profitability levels and value for its shareholders. In Q3 we have seen a positive trend for revenue and EBITDA. We are successfully implementing our digital strategy and delivering world class infrastructure and innovative products, which helped us increase our customer base by 16% to reach a total of almost 133mn. A recognised market leader in our core markets, we are the first telecom provider to launch 4G services in Myanmar and we have just started the 4G rollout in Algeria, with eight out of 10 of our operations now operating 4G networks. We believe we play a crucial role in connecting and developing the citizens of emerging economies where we operate and are proud to be making good progress in this area.”
Ooredoo Group chief executive officer Sheikh Saud bin Nasser al-Thani said, “Our strategy to optimise efficiencies across a consolidated portfolio resulted in improved financial results for the period. Our focus on efficiencies delivered an improved group EBITDA Margin of 42%. Our financial performance has been stable over the course of the past nine months, with a robust group revenue of QR24bn and a strong group net profit attributable to shareholders of QR1.8bn, driven by strong contributions from Qatar, Oman, Indonesia, Algeria and Maldives.”
Ooredoo Qatar produced a positive performance in terms of revenue and net profit. Both Ooredoo Oman and Ooredoo Kuwait delivered strong results with growth in revenues and EBITDA.