Vodafone Qatar reported a narrower first-quarter net loss yesterday as the company restructured its senior management team.

The telco, which was launched in 2009, said its net loss for the quarter ended June 30 was QR84.9mn ($23mn), compared with a QR118mn loss in the same period a year earlier, according to an e-mailed statement.

Revenue rose to QR459mn from QR350mn. It had 1.15mn subscribers at the end of the quarter, up 31% on year.

“Revenue for the quarter grew by 31% year-on-year, driven by a combination of continued strong customer growth and a stable ARPU (average revenue per user) which resulted in a near doubling of Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) over the same period last year,” Steve Walters, Vodafone Qatar’s chief financial officer, said in the statement.

Vodafone Qatar also said it had appointed a new board with Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani as its chairman, replacing Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud al-Thani who had, according to a previous statement, been the chairman. The telco had announced in April that chief executive Richard Daly would leave the company in June and that he would be replaced by Kyle Whitehill, chief executive of Vodafone Ghana.

Besides, chairman Sheikh Khalid, the new board consists of Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal al-Thani, vice chairman; Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla al-Thani, non-executive member; Rashid Fahad al-Naimi, non-executive member; Abdulla Mohamed al-Khulaifi, non executive member; Nick Read, non-executive member; Kyle Whitehill, executive member; Richard Daly, non-executive member and Steve Walters, executive member.

Sheikh Khalid said: “I am delighted for the opportunity to chair Vodafone Qatar’s board. In its four years of operations, Vodafone Qatar has brought in much needed competition to the market that has resulted in improved services and a much better experience for customers.

“I look forward to working with the company’s board members and executive management in continuing Vodafone’s success story in Qatar by taking it to new levels and delivering good financial returns for our shareholders.”

In the June quarter (three months) Vodafone Qatar’s mobile average revenue per user was stable at QR123. Quarterly profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was at QR99mn, an increase of 92% year-on-year, while distributable profit stood at QR16mn, the company said.