Ooredoo Group has posted a net profit of QR1.1bn in the first half of this year. 
This, however, is down 25% compared with the same period last year. Net profit in H1, 2016 benefited from significant foreign exchange gains of QR540mn. However, these temporary gains were reversed in the second half of the year. 
Ooredoo Group revenue in the first half of this year increased to QR16.3bn, an improvement of 2% over H1, 2016. 
In local currency terms, growth was driven by Ooredoo Qatar, Ooredoo Oman, Ooredoo Kuwait, Ooredoo Tunisia, Asiacell, Indosat Ooredoo and Ooredoo Maldives. Excluding foreign exchange translation impact, revenues increased by 3% year-on-year.
Group EBITDA increased by 7% to almost QR7bn with an improved EBITDA margin of 43%, indicating a “strong” operational performance and “good” cost control. Excluding Foreign Exchange translation impact, EBITDA increased by 8% year-on-year.
Continued strong data growth from consumer and enterprise customers drove data revenue to QR7.2bn in H1, 2017; equivalent to 44% of Group revenue. 
Group B2B revenue increased to 17% of group revenue (QR2.8bn) in H1, 2017 reflecting Ooredoo’s ongoing investment in services for business customers.
Ooredoo Group customer base increased by 14% year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach almost 150mn driven by strong growth across major markets. Quarter on quarter customer numbers slightly increased. 
The telecom major said its data leadership with 4G roll-out was continuing in multiple markets; 4G networks are now available in eight of Ooredoo’s markets. 
On the results, Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani said, “This has been a very good first half of the year for Ooredoo Group. We delivered growth in revenues and EBITDA, and our strategy to optimise efficiencies across our diverse portfolio resulted in an improved group EBITDA margin to 43%. 
“With customers at the heart of our business, Ooredoo delivered a 14% increase in customer base and we are now proudly serving almost 150mn customers across our operations. 
“At the core of our strategy is our vision to enable more people to be able to enjoy the Internet. As part of this approach, Ooredoo continued to build our data leadership, enhancing our networks, growing the range of content and applications available and providing more self-service and self-care options for customers. We have also increased the range of services available to business customers across our footprint, enabling companies to deliver more services online. These strategic initiatives are making a positive difference, as reflected on H1 results.”
Ooredoo Group chief executive officer Sheikh Saud bin Nasser al-Thani said, “During the first six months of the year, Ooredoo has made good operational improvements across its business, delivering an increase in revenues of 2% over the same period last year. In local currency terms, growth was driven by Ooredoo Qatar, Ooredoo Oman, Ooredoo Kuwait, Ooredoo Tunisia, Asiacell, Indosat Ooredoo and Ooredoo Maldives. 
“Ooredoo Qatar produced a positive performance in terms of revenue, EBITDA and customer numbers in our domestic market. So did Indosat Ooredoo, which delivered another outstanding performance this quarter.
Ooredoo Oman increased the revenue by 2%, whilst customer numbers were up 9%. Despite difficult market conditions, Ooredoo Kuwait reported 4% growth in revenues and a significant 25% growth in EBITDA.”


Ooredoo Qatar has 3.5mn customers
Ooredoo Qatar delivered a “positive” performance in H1, registering growth in revenue, EBITDA and customer numbers.
First-half revenue stood at QR4bn, slightly higher than in the same period in 2016. 
Customer numbers reached 3.5mn, a 4% increase over last year’s first half (3.4mn). 
EBITDA stood at QR2bn for H1, 2017, 4% above the same period last year (QR1.9bn).
Ooredoo continued to upgrade its network to enable more people to enjoy the Internet at ultrafast speed. The company was the first in the region to successfully upgrade one of its ‘4.5G LTE-Advanced Pro’ cell sites to support CAT 16-enabled devices, providing data speeds of up to 1 Gbps. 
The company’s entertainment portfolio continued to perform strongly, with its Ooredoo tv service reaching more than 100,000 customers in May.